But, many states went further, and to some extent provided access to free legal representation in certain criminal matters. Their trial began just a few days later.Īt the time of the Scottsboro Boys’ trial, even without the mandate of the federal government, every state in the Union had established the right to have the assistance of counsel similar to that found in the Sixth Amendment. At arraignment, they each pleaded not guilty of the charges against them. Fearing the growing mob outside, the sheriff called in the local militia to help protect the defendants day and night. With each sensational account appearing in the local papers, the community’s outrage spread like brushfire. They were all between 13 and 19 years old. The posse arrested nine of the young men of color. In 1930’s Alabama, rape was a capital offense. There, two white girls, who were also stowed away on the train, claimed that they had been raped by six black youths. Word was sent up ahead, and when the train arrived near the town of Scottsboro, Alabama, a sheriff’s posse was waiting. Shortly after the train crossed into northern Alabama, a fight broke out between a group of seven white boys and a larger group of black teenagers, with almost all of the white teenagers being thrown off of the slow-moving train. In March 1931, a large number of kids and young adults hopped aboard a freight train in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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