Patterson v. Alabama

Haywood Patterson, was one of seven African Americans convicted for the rape of a white women in a southern town. Haywood Patterson was convicted 2 times in 3 different trials.

A movement was made to quash the indictment due to the exclusion of blacks from the jury. The United States Constitution states that you must be tried by a jury of your peers. This case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The conviction was overturned.

The evidence showed that blacks had been systematically excluded from the jury. Exclusion from a jury based on race is a violation of the constitution. Even though the constitution states that you must be tried by a jury of your peers it was not followed 100 percent until after the Patterson v. Alabama case.

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by Joseph Santos