Case Study

Case Study

Nine black youths -- young, ignorant, and illiterate -- were accused of raping two white women. Alabama officials sprinted through the legal proceedings: a total of three trials took one day and all nine were sentenced to death. Alabama law required the appointment of counsel in capital cases, but the attorneys did not consult with their clients and had done little more than appear to represent them at the trial. This cases was decided together with Patterson v. Alabama and Weems v. Alabama.

The record shows that, on the day when the offense is said to have been committed, these ...