This book traces the dramatic and controversial criminal case histories of the Black-American Scottsboro Boys, the Mexican-American 38th Street Gang (Sleepy Lagoon Murder/Zoot Suit Riots), and the Japanese-American Internment where decisions were made by authorities driven by fear, prejudice and hatred. Celebrated are those heroes - judges and lawyers - whose principles and courage reversed the course of judicial history and the errant results in these cases that victimized those imprisoned. In a culture influenced by its regional socioeconomic values, or where its media of fear and hysteria manipulated its values, harsh and unjust legal results punished those needing the greatest protections from the U.S.Constitution. Only a few rare and select persons rose to the defense of the damned.