Race has always been one of the most controversial issues in the United States. All types of racism and slavery shaped how Americans operated in American society. Extremely high levels of unawareness and ignorance led to the unintended utterance of racist remarks that opened the door to racial discrimination. Violent crimes, including racial discrimination and rape, increased due to racial prejudice. The paper uses the 1989 Central Park Five 1 case from the city of New York to include the Scottsboro Boys case and explain how racial discrimination and rape were significant problems in the American legal system and culture during the 20th century. The paper details the effects of racial discrimination and rape in the provided incidents and the efforts made by the American civil rights movement to combat the never-ending injustice in American culture. The cases under analysis resulted in erroneous convictions led to unequal treatment and unfairness in the American legal system, resulting in an injustice. Due to the notoriety of the cases in American society, they profoundly affected the culture, legislation, American society, and the American Justice system.
In 1980, New York City was tense, and the crime rate was relatively high. Various types of crime, such as criminality, rape, and racial prejudice, were prevalent. In the late 1970s, the rate of immigration increased, people were losing their jobs and the crime rate was on rise (Scottsboro, n.d). At the beginning of the decade, American society was confronted with formidable obstacles, such as the onset of a nationwide recession. In 1980, however, the economic condition improved, but the crime rate rose (Scottsboro, n.d). The rising use of drugs such as cocaine led to increased drug misuse and drug users. During the crackdown on the epidemic, Hispanic and African-American groups with low incomes were the most affected. People were engaging in drug-related deals due to substantial monetary gains and speedy returns (Scottsboro, n.d). To decrease the number of drug dealers in the city, the mayor boosted the number of counter-terrorism policies.
Moreover, racial discrimination increased, particularly among adolescents and young adults. During this period, racism was rife among working and educated whites (Scottsboro, n.d). A white mob assaulted three African-Americans on Howard’s beach in one of the most common examples of racial intolerance. This resulted in the death of a Hispanic student who was aged 16 (Scottsboro, n.d). Thus, the case revealed the extent of racial animosity in New York and the United States.
The Central Park case occurred in 1989 when an elderly white woman named Trish visited New York’s Central Park. During the incident, she was raped and assaulted by a single proprietor (Scottsboro, n.d). Other crimes, such as robbery, were prevalent during this time. The police initiated an investigation and were able to apprehend four criminals (Scottsboro, n.d). The youngsters who were arrested were African Americans and Hispanics.
The teenagers were questioned for 28 hours and confessed to attacking and raping Trish. However, during the interrogations, the youths reported being coerced and intimidated by the police, thus, this made them cooperate and agree with what the police demanded of them (Scottsboro, n.d). The white jury found the five adolescents guilty of raping Trish and committing numerous other crimes, despite the lack of sufficient evidence to prove their involvement. However, the evidence discovered at the crime scene did not indicate a gang rape but a single perpetrator (Scottsboro, n.d). The adolescents were incarcerated for between five and fifteen years.
After nearly ten years, the perpetrator came forward and admitted to having raped and murdered Trish. The investigation was reopened, and further inquiries were initiated. The killer’s DNA was extracted and examined and determined to match the DNA recovered at the crime site (Scottsboro, n.d). Later, the appropriator described how he committed the deed on his own. In 2002, the Supreme Court judge annulled the conviction, but it was too late because the final condemned individual had only four months left to be released (Scottsboro, n.d). In 2003, the five plaintiffs filed a civil claim against the state of New York for malicious prosecution on charges of rape, emotional torture, and racial discrimination (Scottsboro, n.d). In 2014, the matter was resolved for $41 million (Scottsboro, n.d). The case clearly shows how innocent people were convicted for crimes that they never committed.
The Scottsboro Boys incident occurred in 1931 when nine African American adolescents battled with white adolescents while traveling from Alabama to Tennessee. After losing the battle, the white created a scenario in which they reported the African Americans to the police, claiming that they had begun the brawl. The policy stopped the train in northern Alabama near Scottsboro and charged African Americans with assault. The white jury convicted the African Americans of assaulting the white woman citing that the incident was a gang rape (Bergold & Kovera, 2020). The African Americans were falsely accused of committing the crime, thus, this showed the level of racial injustice that the blacks were facing.
A quest marked the subsequent years for the truth, which was accomplished by launching countless initiatives. In the first 1931 trial, eight of the 15 Scottsboro Boys were found guilty and sentenced to death by a white jury (Scottsboro, n.d). The cases came twice before the American Supreme Court of civil justice, but the verdicts were reversed both times. Haywood, one of the accusers, recanted her testimony about how she was induced to do the crime. Haywood was sentenced to seventy-five years in prison following a legal battle and favorable public opinion in favor of the Boys. In Alabama, for the first time, a black man convicted of raping a lady was not sentenced to death as it was a norm in the American court system (Scottsboro, n.d). Even after it was discovered that Haywood was implicated in the crime, some criminals, such as Ozie Powell, were not immediately released; instead, additional charges were filed. The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles voted in 2013 to exonerate posthumously the boys who had not yet been pardoned (Scottsboro, n.d). The case led to legislation mandating posthumous pardons for wrongful convictions older than 75 years.
The two instances were crucial turning points in the development of the American civil system. The Scottsboro Boys case is the catalyst for the civil rights movement that resulted to reforms that fought for equality in the American society (Scottsboro, n.d). The incorporation of Central Park demonstrates that more work is required to ensure that minorities and majorities receive equal treatment under the law; however, this is not the case since the notion of white superiority is dominant in the American society (Scottsboro, n.d). In American society, the white majority will perceive the minority to be inferior. If equality existed in this scenario, the outcome could be different.
The similarities between the two events occurred in the United States during racial intolerance. The teenage African Americans accused of gang raping a white woman were convicted of the crime based on scant evidence, a criterion that the modern courts are using (Rosario, 2022). In Scottsboro, the verdict was based on the evidence provided by the accusers; however, in Central Park’s case, the conviction was based on coerced confessions. This demonstrates that the evidence used to secure the conviction was insufficient.
The media coverage is an additional essential component of the cases. The news was dominated by the use of racially insensitive language, which was presented in a manner that was based on the news outlets’ perceptions of what was appropriate. Thus, this affected the evaluation of the minority defendants in the legal systems in the American society (Bergold & Kovera, 2020). In the case study of Scottsboro, for example, the southern media never reported anything that could have helped the accused defend himself since the defendants were majorly blacks (Bergold & Kovera, 2020). In the Central Park case, a catholic newspaper highlighted the victim’s faith but afterward concealed the information since it was related to the blacks, thus, failing to defend the blacks against conviction (Bergold & Kovera, 2020). The absence of this vital information influences public opinion, affecting the administration of justice in the United States.
In conclusion, the American legal system is influenced by the concept of race and the belief that whites are superior. Cases involving the Scottsboro Boys and the Central Park Five are comparable and have overlapping occurrences. In both instances, allegations of interracial rape involving African Americans exist. The outcomes of the cases are identical because innocent persons were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to jail terms they never earned. The cases garnered significant attention from American society. The Scottsboro case revealed the racial impunity of the Southern Justice system and the hypocritical nature of the white woman. Using New York City as a control experiment, the prominent example reveals the concealed racism in sectors of American society. Even in relation to the American Civil Rights Movement, this instance demonstrates the problem of racism and white superiority.
Reference
Bergold, A. N., & Kovera, M. B. (2020). The effects of racial bias and jury diversity on juror decision-making. Bias in the law: A definitive look at racial prejudice in the US criminal justice system, 115-140.
Rosario, L. A. (2022). A wee bit Racist: What are the rules of evidence, Alex? Available at SSRN 4088885. Web.
Scottsboro, R. Remembering Scottsboro: The legacy of an infamous trial. Princeton University Press. Web.