The Flexibility of the Rule of Law: How Interracial Rape is Used as an Enforcer of White Supremacy Open Access

Rosenau, Emma (Spring 2023)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/08612p810?locale=en%5D
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Abstract

The Rule of Law is the legal principle that all laws are meant to be equally enforced and independently adjudicated. With America’s racist past and present, however, justice in cases of rape is meted out unfairly, and repercussions are a matter of life and death. This thesis will argue that court systems established during enslavement are inherently racist, and thus it is often impossible for justice to be provided in cases of interracial rape. Rape was used as a way of leveraging power over enslaved individuals. Since emancipation, the court systems have continued to unfairly rule on these cases. Regardless of evidence, Black men can be found guilty of rape and sentenced to death, whereas white men who rape women of color are disproportionately protected from such punishments in the court of law. Without fair administrations of laws, the promise of a truly democratic America cannot be realized. 

Table of Contents

Introduction - 1

Chapter 1: The Scottsboro Boys - 10

Chapter 2: The Central Park Five - 36

Chapter 3: Oklahoma City Police Officer and the Stanford Rape Case - 60

Conclusion - 72 

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