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On March 25th, 1931, a fight broke out between a group of black teens and a group of white teens on a freight train in Alabama. The white teens reported the black teens to the police, and the nine of them were arrested in Paint Rock, Alabama. Two white women were found on the train, and accused the nine black teens of raping them.
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The nine teens begin their trials in front of an all- wite audience. It only takes three days for the jury to reach a decision: guilty.
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Clarence Norris, age 19, and Charlie Weems, age 20, were found guity and sentenced to death after the jury heard six testimonies, two of which were from doctors who said there were no signs that the girls had been raped.
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Haywood Patterson, age 18, was tried by himself. After only three hours, the jury decided he was guilty, and he was sentenced to death.
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Olen Montgomery, age 17, Andy Wright, age 18, Eugene Williams, age 13, Willie Roberson, age17, and Ozie Powell, age 16, are all sentenced to death. During this trial, it was revealed that Willie Robeson was "diseased with syphilis and gonorrheat", so he couldn't have raped either of the girls.
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The case of Roy Wright, age 12, ended up in mistrial, after 11 of the jurors agreed on the death penalty, while one of them held out for life in prison.
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Ruby Bates denies that the boys ever attacked her in a letter to her boyfriend.
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Judge J. P. McCoy hears a writ (court order) of habeas corpus, saying that Roy Wright should be released from jail because he was never sentenced. On January 30th, the judge dismissed the writ.
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Sam Leibowitz is chosen by the International Labor Defense (ILD) to become first chair o the Scottsboro case.
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Haywood Patterson is separated from the case of the other boys and is placed on trial at Decatur.
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Judge Horton grants Haywood Patterson a new trial.
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The cases are moved from Judge Horton's court to Judge Callahan's court.
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The Alabama Supreme Court denies the motion to grant new trials.
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The US Supreme Court stated that the exclusion of African Americans on the juries of the trials was unfair to the black defendants and deprived them of their right according to the Fourteenth Amendment. So, they overruled the case.
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On his way back to the Birmingham Jail, Ozie Powell slit the throat of a deputy and was shot in the head by Sheriff Jay Sandlin.
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Clarence Norris is convicted and is given the death sentence. In July 1938, his sentence is changed to life in prison.
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Andy Wright is convicted and given 99 years in prison.
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Charley Weems is convicted and given 75 years in prison.
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All rape charges against Roy Wright, Eugene Williams, Olen Montgomery, and Willie Roberson were dropped.
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Ozie Powell pleads guity to assaulting the deputy and was given 20 years inprison. The rape charges against him were dropped.
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Charley Weems was released on parole.
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Clarence Norris and Andy Wright are put on parole, and both go north (which is a violation of their parole), so they are returned to jail.
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Ozie Powell is released on parole.
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Haywood Patterson escapes Kilby Prison.
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Clarence Norris was pardoned by Governer George Wallace.
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