On November 21, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles unan­i­mous­ly vot­ed to posthu­mous­ly par­don Charles Weems, Andy Wright, and Haywood Patterson, three of the nine ​“Scottsboro Boys,” a group of black teenagers who were charged in 1931 of rap­ing two white women. Eight of the nine defen­dants, includ­ing the three who were recent­ly par­doned, were orig­i­nal­ly sen­tenced to death. The racial injus­tice of the case sparked protests and two U.S. Supreme Court deci­sions, one because the defen­dants did not receive ade­quate coun­sel and the oth­er because no blacks were allowed to serve as jurors dur­ing the tri­als. The three who were recent­ly exon­er­at­ed were the last of the group who had not already been par­doned or had charges against them dropped. Legislation passed in Alabama ear­li­er this year allowed the Board to grant posthu­mous par­dons in cas­es involv­ing racial or social injus­tice. The par­don and parole board­’s assis­tant exec­u­tive direc­tor, Eddie Cook, said, ​“Today, we were able to undo a black eye that has been held over Alabama for many years.” Alabama Gov. Robert J. Bentley said, ​“The Scottsboro Boys have final­ly received justice.”

(“Scottsboro Boys Get Posthumous Pardon in 1931 Ala. Rape Case,” Reuters; N.Y. Times, November 21, 2013). See Race and Innocence.

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