Scottsboro Defendants: Decades of Imprisonment Despite Recanted Accusations

Despite Ruby Bates recanting her accusation in 1933, Alabama courts continued to convict Scottsboro defendants. Haywood Patterson was convicted four times. Clarence Norris was sentenced to death three times. Ozie Powell was shot in the head by a sheriff during transport. Four defendants were released in 1937 after plea negotiations; Norris received a new death sentence in 1938. Patterson escaped Alabama in 1948. The last defendant, Andy Wright, was paroled in 1950 — 19 years after a demonstrably false accusation. The case demonstrated that no evidence threshold could overcome racial presumption of guilt in Alabama courts.