March 25 - Today in Legal History
March 25, 1931 - 'Scottsboro Boys' Arrested
In Paint Rock, Ala., nine black teens are charged with the assault and rape of two white women. Less than a month later, they will be convicted and eight will be sentenced to death. Among them, there will be 16 trials and two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Powell v. Alabama (1932) and Norris v. Alabama (1935). They will spend varying amounts of time in prison in a case that will come to symbolize racial injustice in the South.
Related resources:
- Audio: Race and the Justice System (Justice Talking)
- The Scottsboro Boys Trials (University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law)
- Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (PBS)
- Norris v. State of Alabama (FindLaw)
- Powell v. State of Alabama (FindLaw)
