Plot: A look at the infamous "Scottsboro Boys" case that occurred in Alabama in 1931, in which nine young black men were arrested, tried and quickly convicted in the rape of two white women, despite overwhelming evidence that showed their accusers had falsely accused them and the fact that one of the women later admitted that no rape had in fact occurred (although both had had sexual relations with their boyfriends on the day prior to the "rape"). The case was one of the first that shined a spotlight on what many called the "legal lynchings" that occurred in the South whenever blacks were accused of crimes, especially against whites and most especially against white women.
Alternative Plot: Using trial transcripts, courtroom photographs and other archival material, this documentary tells the story of nine African-American teenagers who, in 1931, were accused of rape by two white women. Despite a complete lack of evidence, the boys were convicted and sent to prison. Although ultimately exonerated, the boys' lives were devastated by the incident, and the filmmakers connect the public outrage regarding this case to the beginnings of the civil rights movement of the 1950s.
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