There is no
question thatbased the Robinson trial upon the actual trial of nine young African-American men
charged with rape in Scottsboro, Alabama. Like the Tom Robinson trial, the original arrests and
charges were based solely upon the word of a white woman. This woman, who was a known
prostitute, had been riding illegally on a train with another young woman; she made her charges
of rape against the black men who were also riding on the train because she had been traveling
with a minor and was trying to avoid prosecution under the Mann Act, an act prohibiting anyone
from taking a minor across state lines with immoral purposes. While Mayella Ewell was no
prostitute, she did try to deflect the blame for her actions onto an innocent African-American
male.
This infamous first trial resulted in the conviction of all the
defendants. However, it was taken to the Supreme Court of Alabama, but despite Chief Justice
John C. Anderson's dissent, the ruling did not change. Appeals were made, but seven of the nine
men went to prison. In another similarity to Tom Robinson, one of the inmates attempted escape
and was shot by a guard, although he was not killed.
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