The Martinsville Seven - Race, Rape and Capital Punishment (Hardcover)

In January 1949 a thirty-two-year-old white woman in Martinsville, Virginia, accused seven young black men of raping her. Within two days state and local police had rounded up all the suspects and extracted confessions from them. In a series of trials that lasted eleven days, all were found guilty and sentenced to death - a sentence that was carried out, amid a storm of protest from civil-rights advocates and death-penalty opponents, in February 1951. Here is the first comprehensive treatment of the Martinsville case. Covering every aspect of the proceedings, from the commission of the crime through two sets of appeals, Eric Rise reexamines common assumptions about the administration of justice in the South. Although racial prejudice undeniably contributed to the outcome of the case, so did concerns for due process, crime control, community stability, judicial restraint, and domestic security. The success of the due process campaign by groups such as the NAACP helped curb the most egregious abuses of authority, but it did little to help defendants who conceded their guilt but protested unusually severe sentences. The author focuses on the efforts of the attorneys for the Martinsville Seven, who, rather than citing procedural errors, directly attacked the discriminatory application of the death penalty. It was the first case in which statistical evidence was used to substantiate systematic discrimination against blacks in capital cases.

General

Imprint:	University of Virginia Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Constitutionalism and Democracy
Release date:	May 1995
First published:	June 1995
Authors:	Eric W Rise
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	256
ISBN-13:	978-0-8139-1567-8
Categories:	Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > General Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945 Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Ethnic studies > Multicultural studies > General Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Human rights > General Books > History > American history > General Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Postwar, from 1945
LSN:	0-8139-1567-8
Barcode:	9780813915678

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!