The Alabama Senate has approved legislation to allow posthumous pardons for the Scottsboro Boys.
The Senate voted 29-0 Thursday for the legislation sponsored by Republican Sen. Arthur Orr of Decatur. The bill now goes to the House for what Orr predicts will be a similar vote.
The Scottsboro Boys were nine young black men accused of raping two white women aboard a train in north Alabama in 1931. One of the women later recanted her story. One of the Scottsboro Boys got a pardon before dying, but the other eight didn't. Orr said the Legislature can't change history, but it can change state law to allow the parole board to issue posthumous pardons.
The bill passed on the same day an exhibit on the Scottsboro Boys is opening in Decatur.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
