Rapist Acquitted

I did a blackout poem for my artistic representation of a rape case that was given the wrong verdict. I feel a blackout poem is a very powerful way of allowing words that are meaningful in an article or news clipping to paint a picture in your mind of the time period.

The article I chose was about a rape case in North Carolina that took place in 1951. Frank Newsome, a white man, raped an underage black girl 5 times and was acquitted for his crimes. The all white jury determined he did not commit the crimes even though there was a mountain of evidence against him. The judge was outraged by the jury's verdict and ordered Newsome be arrested on a rape warrant.

The judge claimed the reason Newsome got acquitted was because a black girl was harmed rather than a white girl. The judge said that this verdict was a disgrace to the entire white race. At the time, rape was punishable by death in North Carolina. Sadly, there are still rape cases that are treated without proper justice.