...Haywood Patterson also known as the Scottsboro Boys. What happen to them was that they were on a train and they were accused of rape by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. All nine men were convicted soon after for rape. Atticus Finch defended Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" the story revolves around the trial and the life of Finch and his family before, during and after the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus faced loads of criticism for defending a black man. The similarities that are shared between the trials of the Scottsboro Boys and that of Tom Robinson in "To Kill a Mockingbird" are many. First of all they both take place in a racist and segregated state in the south; Alabama. Both Trials are defended by white lawyers who face much criticism and threats from racist people. In both cases the defense was strong and evidence supporting their innocence was strong but in both cases they were found guilty. This is a great novel because it relates a lot to the time in which the novel was written, along with...
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...On April 29, 2017 at approximately 2019 hours, I responded to Advernir at Magnolia apartments located at 210 Welcome Way, Fern Park, Seminole County, in reference to criminal mischief. Upon arrival I made contact with witnesses Dana Connors, James Hargis and Dylan Morehouse, all of whom provided me with a sworn written statement. Connors, Hargis and Morehouse all stated they were swimming when they observed approximately five black males, who appeared to be teenagers playing basketball. They further stated the subjects then entered the pool area and began horse-playing, before proceeding to enter the restroom where they ripped off the cabinet doors. According to the witnesses one of the subjects then kicked in the door to the maintenance...
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...Greensboro Four Fraternity The Greensboro Four were a group of four young men who were black and teenagers during the mid-20th century towards the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. The four men were named Ezell Blair Jr, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond. Ezell was born on October 18th, 1941-present, he is currently 76. Frank was born on January 3rd, 1941 and died on January 9th, 2014, age 73, of respiratory complications. Joseph was born on March 25th, 1942 and is still kicking at 75 years old. And David was born on April 20th, 1941 and died 27 years ago on December 7th, 1990 at age 49 of lung cancer. These honorable men are known for starting one of the biggest civil rights movements during the 1960’s. What they did, was one Saturday they walked into a restaurant, that only served only white people, sat down and ordered lunch for themselves. The waiter told them to get out before he called the cops because that restaurant only served white people. But the Greensboro Four wouldn’t budge so the waiter left them without food and they sat there until closing time. They left and were back as soon as the doors opened the next day, they sat there all that day until the waiter called the cops and the Greensboro Four were arrested, but other...
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...Victoria Price and Her Mother * Victoria Price – born in Fayetteville, Tennessee * Victoria lives with mother, Mrs. Ella Price – unpainted shack in Huntsville * Victoria – Confident young woman, arrogant, pretty * Victoria worked in mills – almost 10 years (Earned good money) * Known as prostitute throughout Huntsville and Chattanooga * Mrs. Russell – Neighbor of Prices’ ; Victoria cause of divorce between Mr. and Mrs. Luther Bentrum ; Caught Victoria one morning – lying in backyard unconscious with a man in her lap Plausibility of the Charges Questioned * Girls pressed no charges against Negroes – changed mind until put into custody * Victoria Price – Enjoys attention and publicity; The case meant nothing – showed no emotion and seemed unbothered by experience as long as they are charged with death penalty * Ruby Bates – Against position Victoria put her in; People at trial thought she was slow and stupid; Victoria wanted trial to hurry so death charges will be against Negroes The Trial * April 6, 1931 – 5:45 in the morning – nine Negroes locked in county jail at Scottsboro * Thousands of people from nearby countries and states – came for trial – only people with special permits allowed in The Return to Huntsville * March 25 – 10 in the morning; couldn’t find any work at mills, returned home to Huntsville – train * Met seven white boys – Ruby; did not speak to boys but Victoria talked, laughed, sang with them; Victoria declared...
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...My drama class went to watch a play called the Scottsboro Boys on the 19th November. I had never seen a live play before, well a professional live play so I didn’t know what to expect when I went to watch this with my drama class. I knew a little bit about the story as our teacher had previously explained the main parts of the story a few weeks back, for e.g. that the Scottsboro boys were 9 black boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931 but it turned out that they were wrongly accused by two white women and were actually innocent. Through that explanation from my teacher I knew it was cases like that, that ultimately sparked the Civil Rights Movement. I had studied the Civil Rights Movement briefly in secondary school in History but not thoroughly. I know about specific leaders involved in the Civil Rights Movement for e.g. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Robert F. Williams etc. In secondary we looked at how their work influenced the way society is today and how the world is today. In the performance I was mainly eager to see how they would take a story that so many people look back on and see it as nothing but a racist act towards black people and turn into something that we would be able to not only understand but enjoy as well without feeling anger. At first I never knew it was a musical until a few days before the play but generally I love musicals as I love music myself so it was very exciting to know the play was a musical. When I entered the theatre, I noticed that...
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... One night in Scottsboro during the tragic time of segrigation in 1930 the freight neared Stevenson, less than half the way to Huntsville, Victoria testified that the 12 Negroes climbed into the gondola in which the two girls were riding with the seven white youths, walking over the top of a box car in front and jumping into the gondola. Ruby said in a personal interview later that she did not know how many colored boys were in the crowd. She said she was too frightened to count them. The Negroes gave the number of their gang as 15. Victoria maintained emphatically that there were 12. According to Victoria's testimony, a Negro identified at the trial as Charlie Weems came first waving a pistol, followed by the others in the crowd. A mile or two past Stevenson, Victoria said that the Negroes began fighting with the white boys, shouting "unload, you white sons-of-bitches" and forcing the white boys to jump from the freight which was moving at a fast rate of speed. One of the white boys, Orvil Gilley, who said he was afraid to jump for fear he would be killed, was allowed by the Negroes to remain. One of the Negroes testified that he pulled Gilley back upon the car as he was hanging over the edge for fear he might fall between the cars and be killed. The local papers reporting the trial, however, claimed that he was forced to remain out of viciousness to witness the alleged assault. Victoria's story continued that while the freight was moving rapidly between Stevenson...
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...of their life. The night when the boys were accused of raping two girls was a rough night for them. They were on a train late at night and ¨What they see are dozens of white men with rifles and pistols-an armed posse-rushing in to grab Haywood Patterson, his friends, and any other black boys they can find in the cars¨ (Sorensen). When they got out of the cars, the two girls accused them of raping them. This was unfair to the nine boys because they had never even committed the crime and the girls knew that. This is an important scene in the story because it illustrates how the story started. After the being taken out of the cars, ¨The captured boys are marched into a line, tied to each other in a truck, and taken to jail in Scottsboro, Alabama¨ (Sorensen). These boys went from being on a train to being sent to jail and tied in a truck in the matter of minutes. This was important because it showed how quickly the boys lives changed. As well as the nine boys and the accusers being on the train, there were also some white boys on the train. ¨The white boys who were forced off the train had made a story that a black gang had assaulted them, and the stationmaster had wired ahead to the next town, Scottsboro.” (Sorensen). These white boys made a lie to get the black boys in even more trouble. This is important because it shows racism. The white boys are using the color of the black boy's skin to get out of trouble. The accusers had a troubling past before they accused the boys of this...
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...Powell v. Alabama Facts- An group of African-American teenagers were on a freight train through Alabama. They got into a fight with some white youths, throwing the white boys from the train. A message was sent, requesting all blacks be removed from the train. Two white girls on the train testified that they had been raped by six different youths in turn. The youths were taken into custody. The community was very hostile, as a mob met the youths. The trial judge appointed “all members of the bar” for the purpose of the arraignment. The defendants themselves were illiterate and “ignorant”. They were all tried separately, each trial lasting a day, convicted, and sentenced to death. Issue- Whether the defendants had sufficient counsel. Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated. Held- No. The Court noted that when counsel was in place that neither the defense counsel nor the court could say what a prompt and thoroughgoing investigation might disclose as to facts as there had been no proper investigation, and no opportunity to do so. Given the hostile circumstances, the illiterate status of the defendants, the close surveillance, their isolation from their families, and that they stood in deadly peril of their lives, the failure of the trial court to give them reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel was a clear denial of due process. Discussion- The necessity of counsel is so important and urgent that the failure of the trial...
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...be: intentional, untrue, damaging to the reputation of that person, and directed to/at someone other than the person it is regarding (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Defamation). Allegations of serious criminal actions or allegations of serious sexual misconduct are examples of defamation per se. The plaintiff does not have to prove damage to his/her character when defamation per se applies (http://www.abbottlaw.com/defamation.html). The lack of First Amendment protection is to avoid having reputations destroyed by malicious spoken or written statements of others. The First Amendment does not provide protection for obscenity. The three part test that decides whether sexual material will be protected or not is called the Miller Test. As stated at http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/First+Amendment , “Material will not be declared obscene unless (1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that its predominant theme appeals to a...
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...Obscenity Anything that is indecent or offensive or contrary to the good customs or religious beliefs, principles or doctrines, or tends to corrupt of deprave the human mind, or is calculated to excite impure thoughts or arouse prurient interest, or violates the proprieties of language and human behavior, regardless of the motive of the producer, printer, publisher, writer, importer, seller, distributor or exhibitor. Laws and Regulations on Obscenity Revised Penal Code Obscenity is defined as a crime against public morals. In particular, it is an offense against democracy and good customs. Book Two, Title Six, Chapter Two, Article 201 of the RPC deals with Obscenity. It has been amended in 1976 by two Marcos Presidential Decrees which have so far not been repealed. It provides: Art. 201. Immoral doctrines, obscene publication and exhibitions, and indecent shows. - The penalty of imprison mayor or a fine ranging 6,000 to 12,000 pesos, or both shall imprisonment and fine, shall be imposed upon. 1. Those who shall publicly expound or proclaim doctrines openly contrary to public morals. 2. (a) The author of obscene literature, published with their knowledge in any form; the editors publishing such literature , and the owners / operators of the establishment selling the same; (b) Those who, in the theaters, fairs, cinematographs, or any other public place, exhibit indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows whether live or film. 3. Those who shall...
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...from wearing underwear only would be unconstitutional? Can any limits be placed upon what clothing one may wear? I have to admit, my first response was yes, I agree that baggy pants should be outlawed. However after careful consideration, No I don’t agree. Our kids should have the right to express themselves freely. A child’s pants sagging in my opinion should not be viewed as an obscenity (FindLaw). I believe it could be seen as disrespectful which is far different from offending my person. The first amendment allows for all people to have freedom of voice and the right to carry expressions outwardly. Some would argue that wearing no clothes is a form of free speech and in most cases law enforcement would disagree. In the case of Miller VS California, also dubbed the, “Three Prong Obscenity Test”, the courts established guidelines to test what could be consider obscene. This test has three parts: Could an average person using free ethics view the expression as indecent? Could the expression be described as vulgar and sexually explicit? Could the expression be determined worthless, without value? All parts need to be reasonably satisfied for the offense to be deemed as obscene (Cornell University Law School). In lieu of this case, I would agree that being naked publically would be offensive. However in an adequate place, a nude beach or nude camp this expression is appropriate. Do you believe that a law prohibiting people from wearing underwear only...
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...that, yes, imposing mandatory life-without-parole onto a juvenile is unconstitutional, was the case of Miller v. Alabama. In the case of Miller v. Alabama, on the night of July 15, 2003, 14 year old Evan Miller committed a murder and then preceded to set the home on fire of where the murder was committed. He was charged with and convicted of capital murder in the course of arson and given the mandatory sentence of life without parole. What interested me about this case as well as the resulting Supreme Court ruling due to this case, is the fact that it deals with the issue of giving juveniles adult sentences. I personally do not believe that anyone who commits a crime whilst under the age of 18 should receive mandatory life without parole or death sentences, so I am in favor of the new Supreme Court ruling. However I am not saying that just because you are under the age of 18 that you should be let off easy. I still think that some harsh punishment and strict supervision is in order, just not as harsh as the punishment that would be given to adults. Children lack maturity compared to adults, and they are more vulnerable to negative influences and outside pressures, from both friends and family. They also lack the ability to fully extricate themselves from their settings and their situations. The violation of our human rights that arises in the Miller v. Alabama case...
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...A recent Supreme Court case in which a juvenile being tried as an adult was brought up was Miller v. Alabama. It's premise was that Evan Miller, a fourteen year old boy, along with his accomplice, Colby Smith, set fire to their neighbors trailer from whom they had purchased drugs. The neighbor and owner of the trailer, Cole Cannon, had fallen asleep after a drinking session with both Miller and Smith and only woke to find that he was being robbed. After noticing this, both Miller and Smith proceeded to beat Cannon with a baseball bat. They later returned to set fire to the trailer so as to cover their tracks and burn any evidence of their deed. Cole Cannon later died as a result of severe injuries he received by being beaten with a bat, as...
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...likely abused themselves? How do you break that cycle of abuse? Can you? Graham v Florida (2010) is one of two United States Supreme Court rulings involving juvenile delinquents since “Juvies” was made. Terrence Graham was convicted in Florida as having committed armed robbery. Graham already had burglary and attempted robbery charges on his record. The Florida state court convicted him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Graham appealed the decision, saying that this sentence was in violation of the Eighth Amendment in that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment. When the case went to the Supreme Court, they ruled that it was unconstitutional for a juvenile to be sentenced to life in prison without parole for a non-homicidal act. The other Supreme Court ruling regarding juveniles (since “Juvies” was made) is Miller v Alabama (2012). In this case, Evan Miller and Colby Smith killed another juvenile by beating him to death and then burning a trailer with the juvenile inside. Miller was 14 years old when he committed this crime. Miller was tried as an adult for capital murder, and was indicted by a grand jury. The jury deemed Miller as guilty, and gave him a life sentence without the chance of parole. Miller appealed this decision on the same grounds as Graham, stating that a life sentence for a juvenile constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The appellate court and the Alabama Supreme Court denied Miller’s appeal. When Miller’s case made it to the Supreme...
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...against another, between state and federal government known as “original jurisdiction” actions, cases from state courts, and cases brought up of reviewable decisions made in federal appellate or district courts ("Supreme Court Historical Society ", n.d.). The case being used for this paper has two separate cases involved, but I will only be using one as a reference. The two cases in which were brought to the United States Supreme Court together are very similar and involve teens being given life sentences without the possibility of parole for committing murder. The United States Supreme Courts case number is 10-9646, Miller v. Alabama. This case was brought to the United States Supreme Court on 20, March 2012, involving two fourteen year old boys, whom were found guilty of murder in two separate cases, and also from two separate states, one being Alabama and the other being that of Arkansas. With in each of these cases one of the boys did the killing and in the other the boy was an accessory to murder. Each boy was sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. One case involved a burglary that ended with the store clerk being shot and killed, while the other involved a case of arson. These cases outlined will test the Supreme Court’s past rulings in the determination of teens not being small adults and...
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