This is an act which is long overdue. We are fortunate to have a man of the caliber as our State Senator, Arthur Orr. It is the right thing to do. Thi Scottsboro cases and the negative worldwide publicity they brought to Morgan County are the worst blemishs in the history of our home. Judge James Horton did the right thing by granting a new trial and in doing so sacrificed his political career and held himself and his family up to public ridicule and scorn. He was the one courageous character in this tragedy of errors who stood up for the rights for these defendants.. They were convicted in the court of public opinion but Judge Horton went by the law not popular opinion. The example he set in 1934 is enduring and should be a lesson for all of us that doing the right thing may not be the most popular thing to do and often we must sacrifice our personal desires to do it. God bless Judge Horton.

By the way Judge Horton was awarded the Profiles In Courage award by the John F. Kennedy Foundation for his courageous decision in the Scotsboro Cases.

Another well researched article.

John Mayes has a history of fighting racial oppression.

It is could to see the Republican party admit past wrongs so we can move forward.

Strange that the Scottsboro Boys had help from the Communist Party, the NAACP and now the Republican party.

Judge Horton was not the only person to stand up for what was right - shame no one else seems to be remembered.

It's amazing that it took until a few years ago for there to be any tribute at the Morgan Co. Courthouse. This tribute consists of a large photographic portrait and a quote, hidden away on the fifth floor of the courthouse. I commend the Morgan Co. Bar Association for doing this. However, the people of this county should have put something among all the other memorials and monuments on the courthouse grounds to commemorate Judge Horton's courage and to remind us of the human capacity for hatred and hysteria.

Ditto Rumple. Now more than ever we need the reminder that hate is stll alive and well in our community although it doesn't have to be that way. It thrives on fear and ignorance. We need an annual Judge James Horton Courage award in our county to encourage us to follow his example..

It is recognized by mental health experts that it is not healthy for a person to obsess about events of the past that cannot be changed...that "talking it out" over and over after the first time or two does no good...that it in fact only makes a person more agitated and less productive and mentally healthy. No good comes out of talking endlessly about racial injustices of the past, just as no good comes from a woman who obsesses about the fact that, 100 years ago, women couldn't vote, or that, until about 40 years ago, all hurricanes were named after women because, ha ha, they were both so "unpredictable." It does not improve black-white relations for us to continously dwell on the past...to obsess endlessly about things done, for the most part, by people no longer with us to people no longer with us. No, it's only benefit is to perpetuate white guilt and serve as an excuse for black lack of effort or lack of achievement.So many blacks love to wallow in the past. It provides an excuse for their on-going failure as a group to advance in our society, and it serves as a tool with which to continuously bludgeon whites. They're addicted to feelings of outrage and resentment and thus obsess about events and conditions of 50 years ago or more. I'm convinced most of them WISH it were still 1965 so they could have an excuse to riot. It's apparently much easier (and safer) to sit around and whine and complain about all of the so-called injustice or "institutional" racism that is supposedly holding them back than it is to apply themselves and be confronted with the possibility of failing on their own merits or lack thereof.