HARPER LEE & THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS

1. HARPER LEE & THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS Meerim Umetalieva

2. THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS • A true story about a court case in Alabama. • The court happened in 1930 - 1937 but lasted for a long time.

3. THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS • It tells about nine African Americans accused of raping two white girls. • Young men had gone to find a job in Memphis. • While riding a train they got into fight . • Two white women were also involved in the fight and in order to get away from jail they blamed African Americans for raping them. • Doctor said that girls were not raped. • Even though there was little evidence they were quickly convicted

4. Scottsboro Trials • Eight were arrested to death, and one was sentenced to life in prison. • Later the case was overlooked but sentenced were ended up being convicted again. • The trial was then sent to Supreme Court but was denied and sent back to lower courts. • These trials reflect American prejudices.

5. Timeline • March 25 1931 : Posse stops Southern Railroad train in Paint Rock, Alabama. Scottsboro boys are arrested on charges of assault. Rape charges are added against all nine boys after accusations are made by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. • June 22, 1931 : Executions are stayed pending appeal to Alabama Supreme Court • January 5, 1932 : Ruby Bates, in a letter to Earl Streetman, denies that she was raped • March, 1932 : Alabama Supreme Court, affirms the convictions of seven of the boys

6. Timeline • May 1932 : The U.S. Supreme Court announces that it will review the Scottsboro cases • November 1932 : The Supreme Court, by a vote of 7-2, reverses the convictions of the Scottsboro boys in Powell vs Alabama • May 7, 1933 : Thousands march in Washington protesting Alabama trials • June 22, 1933 : Judge Horton sets aside Haywood Patterson’s conviction and grants a new trial • October 20, 1933 : The Scottsboro cases are removed from Judge Horton’s jurisdiction and transferred to Judge Callahan’s court

7. Timeline • November-December 1933 : Patterson and Norris convicted and sentenced to death • January 1935 : The US Supreme Court agrees to review the most recent Scottsboro convictions • January 23, 1936 : Patterson is convicted for a 4th time of rape and sentenced to 75 years in prison • January 23, 1989 : Norris, the last surviving Scottsboro boy, dies at age 76

8. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TKM & THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS • Two stories are about young African Americans who were accused in raping white girls. • The background of these stories happened on 1930s in Alabama. • There is a racialprejudicein America. • There is not any real evidence to accuse these guys. • Two girls, raped in two stories, belong to bottom level of whites.

9. HARPER LEE • She was born on April 28, 1926, grew up in the small southwestern Alabama town of Monroeville • Studied at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama (1944-45), and then pursued a law degree at the University of Alabama (1945-49), spending one year at Oxford University, England • Worked as a reservation clerk for Eastern Airlines in NYC until 1950s when she decided to devote herself for writing • Worked in Holcombe, Kansas, as a research assistant for Truman Capote’s novel “In cold blood” in 1959 • Published her first and only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, in 1960

10. HARPER LEE • To Kill A Mockingbird won the 1961 Pulitzer Price • President Johnson named Lee to the National Council of Arts in June 1966, and since then she has received numerous honorary doctorates • She continues to live in NY and Monroeville, but prefers private existence, granting few interviews and giving few speeches

11. SOURCES • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee • http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm • http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/harperle.htm • http://law.jrank.org/pages/12399/Scottsboro-Trial-History-Scottsboro-Boys.html