Scottsboro Trials
Has the judicial system changed since
then? For the better or worse?
Breana Stephen
Period 6
In 1931 these young men were tried for gangrape and assault. Sentenced to death, but after
the first trial were found innocent because one of
the plaintiffs confessed the true events of the
incident.
O.J. Simpson was tried
for the murder(s) of
Nicole Brown
Simpson and Ronald
Goldman 60 years
later and found
innocent.
So how are they different?
The Scottsboro Boys were found guilty because
they were black, O.J. Simpson was found
innocent because of his defense team.
Sam Sheppard
Sam Sheppard was accused of murdering his wife in
1954. After two trials(1954 & 1966) he was found
innocent after the second. After his death in 1970 the
case was revisited in 2000 after Sheppard’s son filed a
civil suit in 1997. Sheppard was found guilty of the
crime.
Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst was tried and convicted of armed
robbery and planting pipe bombs in police
cars in 1976. She served 22 months of her 7
year sentence.
McMartin Preschool Abuse Trials
In 1987 Ray Buckey and Peggy Buckey were
accused of sexually abusing many McMartin
Preschool students. Both were not convicted
of the crimes and all charges were dropped in
1990.
Rodney G. King
Rodney King was beaten
mercilessly upon his
arrest in 1991 by
officers. The officers
were tried but the jury’s
verdict dismissed the
evidence of the
videotape showing the
officers actions saying
that the tape was not
sufficient evidence to
try the officers.
John Hinckley
John Hinckley was
tried in 1982 and
found not guilty for
the attempted
assassination of
President Ronald
Reagan. The verdict
was determined
because of reason of
insanity.
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh was
tried for bombing an
Oklahoma City
airport in 1997. He
was found guilty
and sentenced to
death.
Lindy Chamberlain
Lindy Chamberlain was tried in 1982 for
murdering her 10-week-old baby. Her defense
was a dingo killed her baby.
Bibliography
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"Sam Sheppard." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/sheppard/samsheppardtrial.html>.
"Scottsboro Trials." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm>.
"Patty Hearst." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hearst/hearsthome.html>.
"John Hinckley." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/hinckleytrial.html>.
"McMartin Preschool Trial." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcmartin/mcmartin.html>.
"The Trials of The Los Angeles Police Officers (Rodney King's Beating)." Famous Trials.
UMKC. <http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/lapd.html>.
"The Trial Of O.J. Simpson." Famous Trials. UMKC.
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/simpson.htm>.
"The Oklahoma City Bombing." Famous Trials. UMKC. 01 June 2009
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcveigh/mcveightrial.html>.
"Lindy Chamberlain." Famous Trials. UMKC. 01 June 2009
<http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/chamberlain/chamberlainhome.html>.