John Scopes

Released
Date of birth:03. 08. 1900
Date of death:21. 10. 1970
Age:70† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1920s
State:Tennessee
Support
John Scopes

Biography

John Thomas Scopes was a 24-year-old high-school teacher and football coach in Dayton, Tennessee when he was indicted on May 25, 1925 for violating the state's Butler Act, which banned the teaching of human evolution in public schools. The trial — orchestrated by the ACLU as a test case and known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" — was held July 10-21, 1925 in Dayton. Clarence Darrow led the defense; William Jennings Bryan led the prosecution and famously took the stand to defend a literal reading of Genesis. Scopes was convicted and fined $100 by the trial judge. The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed in 1927 on the technical ground that the fine should have been imposed by the jury, leaving the Butler Act on the books (until its 1967 repeal) but vacating Scopes's conviction.

Case

Rhea County Courthouse / no incarceration
Charges: Tennessee Butler Act of 1925 — teaching the theory of evolution in a public school.
Arrested: May 25, 1925
Sentenced: Jul 21, 1925
Sentence: $100 fine imposed by Judge John T. Raulston. Conviction reversed by the Tennessee Supreme Court on January 17, 1927 on a procedural ground (the fine should have been imposed by the jury, not the judge). No incarceration. Verdict as recorded: Yes — Rhea County jury verdict (vacated on appeal 1927) Charges as recorded: Tennessee Butler Act of 1925 — teaching the theory of evolution in a public school. Test case organized by the ACLU.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Tennessee