Scottsboro Boys

The alleged rape victims in the Scottsboro case were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Both were from poor families who lived in a racially mixed section of town in Huntsville, Alabama. Twenty-one-year-old Victoria and the teenaged Ruby were mill workers. Both were familiar with "hoboing," or catching rides on freight trains. The women hopped the train from Huntsville to Chattanooga on March 24 looking for work. They were returning on March 25 when they were caught in the police roundup in Paint Rock, Alabama.

When questioned by police they said they had been beaten and raped by a gang of black men carrying pistols and knives. Price identified six young men who were being held at the jail. The police assumed the other three in custody had attacked Bates.

Scottsboro physician Dr. R. R. Bridges examined Price and Bates less than two hours after the alleged assault had occurred. He found little evidence to support their contention of being victims of a violent attack. Bridges reported no lacerations or blood, no serious bruising or head injuries, and described the women as calm and composed during the examination. Victoria Price, however, testified that they had been crying and in a state of shock.