MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A bipartisan group of Alabama lawmakers has prepared legislation to clear the nine black Scottsboro Boys, who were convicted of raping two white women in 1931.
Republican state Sen. Arthur Orr of Decatur says a resolution would exonerate the nine and a bill would give the state parole board the authority to issue pardons.
The founder of the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center, Sheila Washington, said Monday she has been working toward that goal since the museum opened in an old Scottsboro church in 2010. She said the announcement by the legislators gives her hope that an injustice will be corrected.
Only one of the Scottsboro Boys, Clarence Norris, was formally pardoned while he was still alive.
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