PART II: THE RETRIAL
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| Judge James Edwin Horton |
The
retrial took place before Judge James Edwin Horton. He was a white Judge and already prejudiced.
To a given certainty it was obvious he would assist deliver a guilty verdict. He was entrusted with the duty to perform a “legal”
lynching that the public had yearned for.
But this time the trial dynamics would be
different. The Scottsboro boys would be represented by Mr. Samuel Leibowitz, a
renowned criminal lawyer. Mr. Lebowitz come with the entire legal arsenal to
set the nine Negro boys free and would represent them on a probono basis.
Further
on this retrial, one of the white girls who had alleged being raped by the Scottsboro
Boys, Ruby Bates had retracted her statement and admitted that the alleged rape
was a fabricated story.
An
all-white people jury were selected and the trial begun.
The
prosecution opened the case. The chief witnesses were the Complaint, Victoria
Price and the two doctors, Dr. R. R. Bridges and Dr. Marvin Lynch who had
examined the girls after the rape allegation.
Victoria
price gave here chilling, thrilling, moving and gory account of how she was hit
on the head by the butt end of a gun by one of the Scottsboro boys, how she was
forcefully undressed and laid on the gravel or jagged rocks on the half-filled gondola
car train; how one of the Scottsboro boys place a knife on her neck and
threatened to kill her if she dared not co-operate, how each of the Scottsboro
boys penetrated her and discharged semen in her and her cloths, how her vagina
bleed and her cloths were filled with blood.
Samuel
Leibowitz cross examined her. He asked
her what she did for a living; which car of the freight train had the alleged
incident occurred; if she had had sex the previous night before the train ride but
she evasively answered these questions and refused to give any direct answer.
The
Prosecution called their next witness Dr. R. R. Bridges to the witness stand;
the doctor said he examined the white girls about one hour thirty minutes after
the rape allegation. That indeed the
girls had engaged in sex; that there was presence of semen in her pubic hair,
there was spermatozoa in her vagina; 
Dr. Bridges testifying
On
cross-examining the doctor, he affirmed that the girls came to the hospital for
examination one hour thirty minutes after the alleged rape; that they were not
hysterical, nervous or depressing of spirit; that she did not observe blood on
the hair or stich any wound on the white girl’s head; that the clothing of the
girls were intact and there was no sign of forceful undressing or signs of
rough handling; that there was no semen or blood stain on their cloths; that
her cloths were not damp or wet due to the discharge of semen and bleeding from
the vagina; That the discharge of semen around their vagina area was dusty and
starchy a sign of no recent sexual intercourse; the vagina had no lacerations,
tears or signs of rough handling; that
the semen quantity in their vagina was so minimal to have been discharged
by nine
boys; that the spermatozoa in their vagina was dead or non-motile;
After
the cross examination and reexamination, the prosecution was to call the Second
doctor, Dr. Lynch to testify but the prosecution made an application that Dr. Lynch,
be excused from testifying as his evidence would be redundant and repetitive to
the first doctor. His application was granted. Dr. Lynch was excused from
testifying.
The
prosecution closed its case
The
defense opened its case.
The
accused called his witnesses. Each of the Scottsboro boys testified and denied
having seen, met, interacted or raped the white women while on the freight train.
It emerged one of the boys had fully blown venereal disease and could not walk
as a result and therefore, could not in any way have had sexual intercourse;
and if indeed he had intercourse with Victoria Price then the complainant
should have been infected, and there was no evidence to indicate she was;
Further one of the boys was nearly blind and had sat on the last gondola car
away from where the alleged rape incident had happened, when the train was
stopped and a search done the boy was
found on the last train car, how possible was it that he was able to walk over and
on top of the train cars to where the complaint was, rape her and go back with
such poor eye sight?
The
other white girl, now defendant witness, Ruby Bates, testified that they had
agreed to forge the story to avoid arrest; that no rape has occurred and that
the Scottsboro boys were as innocent as a dove.
From
Ruby Bates testimony, it came out clearly when the train was stopped at Paint
Town the two white girls had given a “foul, contemptible and outrageous” lied
to the police. They had told the police the fabricated rape story to divert the
police attention from being suspected for being prostitutes
and engaging in immorality so that they do not risk being arrested and prosecuted
for violating the Mann Act that made those actions a felony.
On summing up the
defense case Mr. Leibowitz
asked the jury, “Can this poor scrap of colored humanity receive a fair trial?”
The
case was closed.
With
all this contradiction in evidence there was hope for the Scottsboro boys to be
free.
The
jury was given time to confer on the conviction and sentence. They came back
after a short while.
They
returned a verdict of Guilty and a sentence of death by electric chair again.
The
questions lingered, what had happened to the evidence of the doctor, the
complainant, the inconsistency and contradiction of evidence, was the case
really proven beyond reasonable doubt?
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| Scottsboro Boys with their Lawyer, Mr.Leibowitz |
This
was a classic example of racism in the justice system. A system that was to
judiciously and dutifully do justice was at the center of traversing justice.
Here were children trapped in an unjust system not knowing or understanding
what is going on around them. They lie miserably in their death cells awaiting
their execution. The Jury mind had been clouded with prejudice. The justice system
was not an avenue to get to the truth even in the midst of all this contradicting
evidence. The judicial system had been turned to a place to perform a legal
ritual and bring about results already decided regardless of any testimony or
evidence. It was clear that the boys were being killed merely for being Negro.
Due
to this prejudices, uncertainties and questions in regards of the trial, Mr.
Leibowitz applied for a motion for the Judge to overturn the verdict and order
a retrial; on the grounds that the jury had not considered the law and evidence
in giving a determination in this case.
(Read
on the outcome of the Motion on the next blog)
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