Twin-City herald., 1933-12-09
Second Scottsboro
Boy Found Guilty
By Alabama Jury
LEIBOWITZ INDICATES CASE
WILL GO TO SUPREME COURT

Decatur, Ala, Dec. THE second
of the Scottsboro boys, Charles Nor
ris, was found guilty by a Morgan
county jury here yesterday. The
verdict carries with it an automatic
sentence to death in the electric chair.
Thanksgiving Day a similar verdict
was given by jury in the case of
Haywood Patterson. The two youths
along with seven others are charged
with having attacked two white girls,
hoboes on freight train in 1881.
This is the third trial of the youths.
First Trial
Two years ago at the first trial of
the nine youths which was held in
a "lynch atmosphere" in Scottsboro,
Alabama, both of the girls gave testi-
mony charging the youths with rape.
Eight of the boys were sentenced to
death. 1t was sensed by liberal ele-
ments in the south and north that
something was wrong with the cases.
An investigation made by the Inter-
national Labor Defense revealed cir
cumstances which warranted the en-
trance of that organization into a
fight to save the youths from death
sentences. After appeals to the Ala
bama Supreme Court and the U. S.
Supreme Court, new trials were
ordered.
Ruby Bates Repudiates First Story
At the second trial, one of the wo-
men, Ruby Bates, repudiated her
former testimony. She told the
startled court and jury that none of
the condemned youths touched either
her or the other woman, Mrs. Vic
toria Price. A white man companion
of the girls on the freight train, Les
ter Carter, southern born, also testi-
fled that no such attack occurred.
Testimony indicated strongly that the
rape charge was concocted by Mrs.
Price to save herself from a six
months sentence for vagrancy. De-
spite the evidence in favor of the in
nocence of Haywood Patterson, the
first youth tried in the second trial,
the all-white jury speedily convicted
him. Later, the trial judge, James
E. Horton, set the verdict aside, or
dering new trial for Patterson. The
new trial began late in November.
Bates Woman Too Ill To Testify
Ruby Bates, the star witness for
the youths, underwent a major oper-
alton in New York hospital shortly
after the beginning of the new trials.
She received numerous threats of
lynching if she returned to Alabama,
but she declared she was willing to
go back to her home if her physicians
allowed her. Instead, dispositions were
made Of her testimony in New York.
Judge Shows Biased Attitude
Judge w. W. Callahan, who pre-
sides over the present trials, in direct
contrast to Judge James E. Horton,
has made no pretense of being fair
and impartial. He has constantly
badgered defense counsel Samuel Leib-
owitz. Repeatedly he has stopped
cross examination by defense counsel
whenever state witnesses faltered. In
his charges to both the Charles Nor
ris and the Patterson juries, he has
shown his biased attitude. At the
close, his charge to the Norris jury
defense counsel filed IL exceptions to
the charge.
Sentences Will Be Appealed
1t is probable that the sentences
will be appealed to the U. S. Supreme
Court. It is expected that all Of the
boys will be found guilty since it is
almost an impossible task to find
jurors in this section who have not
formed definite opinions of the case
and who are not prejudiced against
the Negro as a race. One juror when
questioned after the trials six months
ago said he felt the boys were in
nocent but that he would not dare
face his neighbors if he voted to free
them.