Letter from Judge W. W. Callahan in Decatur, Alabama, to Governor Benjamin Miller in Montgomery, Alabama.
Judge Callahan oversaw the trials of the "Scottsboro Boys" after Judge James E. Horton was removed from the case. In the letter Callahan explains that troops will not be needed to protect the prisoners and maintain order in the town: "I do not believe now and have never believed that...
| Format: | Electronic |
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Alabama Department of Archives and History
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| Online Access: | http://cdm17217.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/3213 |
| Summary: | Judge Callahan oversaw the trials of the "Scottsboro Boys" after Judge James E. Horton was removed from the case. In the letter Callahan explains that troops will not be needed to protect the prisoners and maintain order in the town: "I do not believe now and have never believed that soldiers were necessary in the trial of these Scottsboro negroes at Decatur...I have never heard but very little expression of feeling against the negroes. There has been some feeling expressed against the lawyers in the case. I believe that the militia not only advertises the case and thereby brings an extraordinary number of people to court, but that it also irritates the situation." He does, however, ask for the authority and funds to appoint more bailiffs and deputies to oversee the court. He also mentions "considerable bills" owed to local establishments that housed jury members during the first set of trials. |
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