The Crucible Research Paper : West Memphis Three

In 1931, in Scottsboro, Alabama, nine young black men were charged with raping two white women. They were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. While the death sentences were overturned by the Alabama Supreme Court, the Scottsboro boys still served an average of ten years in prison for a crime that they didn't commit. While the Scottsboro trials took place over 200 years after the Salem Witch Trials, the circumstances surrounding both cases are extremely similar.

      Fifteen hundred miles away, in Portland, Oregon Brandon Roses ten is found guilty of murdering his five-year-old sister because he claimed that she was annoying him. Later investigators found out that Brandon’s father had told him that killing his sister was “OK”, because he was too young to be put in jail. Another investigation is currently under way (Edmonds). In Austin, Texas, two young men Efrain Perez and Raul Villareal were both seventeen in June of 1993. As part of Villareal’s gang initiation, the boys spent the evening in an open field drinking and fighting among

Revenge, the abuse of authority and the desire for power are all present in both Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible and the case regarding the West Memphis Three.

On March 25, 1931, With the Great Depression gripping the nation after the stock-market crash of 1929, people jumped on to freight trains to travel from one city to another city in hope to search for work. A group of whites and a group of blacks who are later called the ‘Scottsboro boys’ got in a fight on a train. The Scottsboro boys were defending themselves and they kicked the white group off in Jackson County. Then, two women who were on the train were trying to avoid arrest therefore falsely accused the nine black youths (who range from the age of thirteen to nineteen years old) of raping them. The Scottsboro boys were then arrested with assault and rape charges added against all nine of them after the allegations were made by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. It was a rousing allegation in the Jim-Crow South, where many whites were attempting to maintain power just 66 years after the end of the Civil War.

Why Memphis has one of the highest crime rate city in the US? Over the past decade, Memphis has become an attractive city for many tourists around the world to visit. It has historical landmarks related to famous characters such as Elvis Presley. Furthermore, Memphis has one of the top music destinations in the world and the city where many forms of music were established and still being recorded till today. Moreover, Memphis is a good place to live because it has a lot of historical places, incredible foods, cool weather, friendly population, famous characters, and lovely music. All that describe the bright side about this wonderful city. On the other hand, Memphis also has a dark side that we can’t deny or hide it that is the

The year of 1692 marked a time of mass hysteria and conflict within the small village of Salem, Massachusetts; this time was known as the Salem Witch Trials. The trials plagued the village with chaos, mystery, and accusations. As the hysterics of witchcraft rippled through Salem, more than two-hundred people were accused and tried, one-hundred-fifty townspeople were arrested, approximately twenty people were executed, and five others died in prison. The trials had a domino effect on the townspeople and sent the village into a downward spiral. Since then, the trials have become tantamount to paranoia, as almost three centuries later, they continue to beguile the great minds of many. To this day, though there are many possible theories, and

The Salem Witch trials are a very known event in history. Groups of people were accused as being witches by the church and its followers. The murders of the West Memphis is another very similar situation of the West Memphis police blaming three teenage boys because they stood out from other citizens. There are many similarities between these two events of mass hysteria and false accusations.

Can anyone truly be sure if what a person is saying is the truth if there isn’t proof to show it? This question is one of the many jurors have to ask themselves while making decisions in cases with purely circumstantial evidence. On March 25th 1931, Haywood Patterson, Clarence Norris, Andy Wright, Roy Wright, Ozzie Powell, Willie Roberson, Charles Weems, Eugene Williams, and Olen Montgomery- also known as the Scottsboro boys, were charged with rape by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. The girls claimed to have been raped by the Scottsboro boys after fighting broke out between them and a group of white men. The alleged crime happened on a train, during that time period hoboing- travelling by train in search of jobs, was incredibly popular. Key witnesses to this trial were the Scottsboro boys, the 15 white men on the train, Dr. R. R. Bridges- the doctor who examined the women after the alleged rape, and the eyewitness Ory Dobbins. The final verdict in the trial let four of the Scottsboro free while four were sentenced to serve in prison for a long period of time and one was sentenced to death (The Trials of "The Scottsboro Boys": An Account, Linder). The Scottsboro boys trial was unfair and biased due to public, media, jury bias, incorrect trial proceedings, and finally witness bias.

In 1692, a town in Massachusetts by the name of Salem Village found itself in one of the most well-known cases of mass hysteria. This saga started with three girls Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams, and Ann Putnam a neighborhood friend. Abigail Williams, the niece of the town’s minister, began to display weird and questionable behavior. The town’s physician William Greggs, was called to determine the cause of this sporadic behavior. The town’s physician determine that the three girls were under “the Devil’s influence” and they had been bewitched. What started as a silly game between children, slowly brought the town of Salem to the edge of insanity. This insanity lead to the killing of 25 innocent people due to their crimes of witchcraft. When scholars look back at the Salem Witch Trials they often time ask the question “What were the key factors in the spread of hysteria throughout the town of Salem?” Most scholars contribute the widespread of hysteria to three important factors; these factors include social, political, and religious tension that occurred in Salem Village. Each one of these factors played a key role in the start of the Salem trials and why it spread so rapidly throughout Salem Village.

In the year of 1692, Salem Village, Massachusetts went through an event known as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. This odd occurrence all started whenever 2 young village girls encountered a West Indian Slave woman to learn about thier futures. One of the girls claimed to see a coffin by looking into a glass with egg white in it. In the months following this incident, one of the girls father, Reverend Samuel Parris reported the girls suspicious behavior. He reported that they had been crawling in holes, under chairs and stools, and mumbling ridiculous phrases. Reverend Parris later found out about these girls meeting with the indian woman and professed that the girls were not sick, but rather possessed. This “possession” spread rapidly and the witch hunt began.

While Wes Moore (author) was preparing for Oxford and having his story illuminated in the Baltimore Sun, the other Wes Moore was arrested for robbery, along with his brother, and was charged with murder; they would most likely receive the death penalty. Because Wes (author) couldn’t shake the story and a feeling of connection with the other Wes Moore, he wrote a letter to him. The imprisoned Wes Moore wrote back, and so began a correspondence. While spending time with Wes, the author discovered that “ generation of young men, boys who came of age during a historically chaotic and violent time and emerged to succeed and fail in unprecedented ways”

There was no evidence collected and tested at the crime scene which could have proved who committed the murders. A lieutenant who contacted a juvenile officer in Memphis both agreed that the murders had to have been done by someone in a cult. The juvenile officer quickly knew of someone who was involved in a cult and said this juvenile could be capable of a crime like this. The accused, Damien Echols, was immediately interviewed and asked questions that the police believed no one but the killer would know the answers to. The answers that were given by Damien Echols were known answers throughout the community and this made Damien look guilty. Damien’s appearance was very strange and different and he was not considered “normal” in the communities beliefs. He was considered guilty by his Wiccan beliefs and his gothic appearance. Not only was Damien deemed guilty of this crime, but two other boys were also accused of these murders. There are many inconsistencies with the case. The police did not collect all evidence in the woods that could have been collected to possibly link the murders to someone. According to TruTV Crime Library, there was a boy who claimed he saw who committed the murders. He claimed he even saw men who spoke Spanish commit the murders. He later changed his story and said he saw one of the victim’s fathers killing the three boys. This same boy could not even identify two of the boys

In 1995 where was a witch hunt (of the literal sense) in Wenatchee, Washington. “The "sex ring" story spilling out of Wenatchee, Washington, in 1995 sounded like something out of a lurid psychological thriller” (Kershner 32). This was a witch hunt were over 50 adults were accused of molsting children. The whole entire town was put up on alert to the situation, even so the preacher if the towns church was accused of molesting children on the church altar. Over 200 children witnesses came forward, there was an 11 year old girl who rode around the town in a police car and pointed out all the house he was molested in, she pointed out over 21 different houses. Over half of the child witnesses ended up mentioning the church in which they were molested in and the called th ewhole ordeal the “Church sex cases”.

The West Memphis case remains a mystery to this day. Even after the closing of the it, 6 years ago, people still question who murdered the three children. After investigation ended Damien Echols one of the man wrongly accused of killing the kids wrote the novel Life After Death which explained his side of the story. It peeked the interest of the public as it was one of the first pieces to have been in the view of the alleged murderers. The documentary West of Memphis became famous as it showed why the West Memphis Three were not the criminals. The writing itself was engaging due to its switching between the author’s past and period in prison and his writings while in prison. The most affecting and beautifully written passages were ones

The boys, 17, 16, and one not identified, had been out drinking Thursday night at The Viper Room and were reportedly not carded. Later that night, heading home, the car swerved and hit a juniper tree on the side of the highway, ejecting Jason Hobbs and instantly killing Robert, Bob, Smith. They were found an estimated 15 minutes later by Sam Myers, a trucker heading to Klamath. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it,” Myers commented, “I didn’t know what to do but get help right away.”