Brutality and racism have been a constant problem since the dawn of America. The theme of powerful white men accusing innocent black people is a recurring tragedy. However, these stories remain in the shadow of powerful racist bullies who cover their tracks with planted evidence. Gilbert King's nonfiction book Devil in the Grove tells the reader about the life of Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights activist, and details the proceedings of the Groveland Boys; four innocent black youths who were tortured and accused of rape. Although this book identifies and shows racism in the post-Civil War South through the mid-1950s, it actually explores how competition and greed for money between white and black men prompted an entire portion of the country to commit serious crimes and misconduct. , and how empowered white people constantly broke the will of black people to win in society's competition and make money in the process. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although Gilbert King's book appears to only describe how the Florida citrus trade was thriving in 1949 and how the barons grew rich using cheap labor; it actually analyzes how racism and cruel working conditions for black people were born from the barons' greed for money and social power. Their need for cheap labor and a lower class led them to need a strong official who could produce results and help the barons maximize their profits by terrorizing blacks into work. To maintain civil order and profits, these barons therefore turned to Sheriff Willis McCall; a fierce man who dictated the lives of black men in Lake County with deadly tenacity. The former USDA officer “had [close ties to]…Citrus Barons,” who profited from a lucrative business that relied on an almost entirely black workforce (King 78). He would help terrorize black men who dared to work off the Citrus Barons' lands by using the sheriff's office to intimidate workers into returning them to their "cut-rate jobs", all in violation of the law (82) . The barons had to intimidate the workers in this way so that the terrified men would be forced to work for poverty wages. This, in turn, would forcefully create an underclass of black workers and thus elevate the poorer citrus barons to a higher social status. Sheriff Willis V. McCall knew that as long as he helped the Citrus Barons make a profit, he would be able to keep his job. The Sheriff would thus concentrate almost all his efforts on questions related to the work of citrus producers (79). As the greedy barons obtained greater incomes and moved up the hierarchical ranks, they were incentivized to spend more and more on the sheriff's campaign, which would guarantee greater incomes in subsequent years and lead to greater social progress. The sheriff, previously poor and working on a farm, would also gain social wealth, as being sheriff would have elevated him from his poor social background and given him power. This lust for power meant that when barons complained about "bad harvest years," Willis McCall used violence to intimidate workers by "beating...pickers for vagrancy...in front of [their] wives and children" (79 ). Even though McCall was investigated several times, the barons, who cameto acquire a new status, wealth and political ease, helped to make the accusations disappear; the result of the new social bureaucracy that McCall had helped create for them. The sheriff's new friends had come with his elevated position, and he would do anything to maintain his position and them. Sheriff Willis McCall murdered and terrorized African Americans because he was lost in his position as sheriff, although the book might suggest that his crude crimes come from his deep-rooted racism. His competitive nature to maintain his position as acting sheriff of Lake County required him to be a strict segregationist and a brutal lawman. So when a 17-year-old white girl from Lake County was falsely accused of rape, McCall took the opportunity to arrest and apprehend four young black men. The four black men McCall chose to convict of this violent crime, which he knew would result in a death charge, were Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, Charles Greenlee, and Ernest Thomas. The same young men who had the nerve to imagine a future beyond working in the rich orange groves of McCall's politically well-off friends: the Citrus Barons. Shepherd and Irvin were returning veterans and their choice to refuse to work in white people's fields and live a "haughty nigger" lifestyle, led them to become victims of the alleged rape crime of Mrs. Norma Padgett ( 133). The duo's audacity to march “in their military uniforms…and ride around in a late-model Mercury” led them to anger the whites of Lake County (133). Such abhorrent neglect of the social order antagonized poorer whites who feared it would lead them to drown in lower social status; one under the blacks. So McCall, prompted by his competitive nature to keep his position as acting sheriff and his poor farming background, immediately charged them with rape allegations. He knew that the population of his county had a strong intolerance toward independent blacks; especially those that posed a threat to the social structure whereby even the poorest whites would not be at the bottom of the social hierarchy. As King wrote, “resentment was general, and…[the] resentment among the [Citrus Barons] “had been communicated to…sheriff (Willis McCall)” (133). Because the sheriff knew his position relied largely on political influence and the steady flow of campaign money donated by the Citrus Barons, McCall was quick to accuse the men. Prosperous black individuals became such a threat to the barons that greed prompted them to present their “resentment” to the sheriff; which led to Negros' conviction because McCall knew that discontent among the Citrus Barons would result in his expulsion as sheriff (133). The four men had made the grave mistake of envisioning a future that would guarantee them social mobility and elevate them in wealth and status, a dream that would cause less privileged whites to lose some of their status. Thus, to guarantee the social level of whites, McCall imprisoned them and accused them of rape. The Groveland Boys rape case had become a way for Sheriff Willis McCall to “clean up black troublemakers” (133). They were the example needed to keep Groveland segregated and dominated by whites, and their conviction would help secure more terms as McCall's acting sheriff. King writes that "McCall's murder of Shepherd and Irvin (and their prosecution)...guaranteed [the sheriff] three additional warrants" (357). The “excellent” work McCall did on the case in quickly obtainingthe confessions of all the convicts (who were forced by brutal beatings) also helped make his position known in a positive light to the people of Florida, as the people believed the sheriff did it. so fairly. This further allowed him to achieve critical “victories” during his competitive career as sheriff (233). Thus, the very nature of the sheriff and his desire to maintain and strengthen his career became the root of forced brutality in Lake County. This competition and greed that created Groveland's segregated and racist environment and led to the indictment of four innocent men. rape, also led to their prosecution and conviction. Although Gilbert King presents the state's attorney as a level-headed man seeking to preserve justice, the prosecutor, Jesse Hunter, was actually motivated to fight the case because he wanted to win. The prosecutor's competitiveness is exacerbated by the fact that he views the entire case as a game. This idea is first introduced to the reader when Hunter remarks that he "enjoyed defeating a real opponent (referring to to Thurgood Marshall (defendant's attorney)” (295). From Hunter's statement, it can be inferred that the lawyer had the clear intention of winning against his "adversary", and not of proving the guilt of the accused. These actions cause him to act to win against the lawyer instead of presenting facts to the jury to decide the convict's fate. To try to win against the accused, the lawyer therefore resorts to all kinds of methods; many of them are entirely inappropriate for a trial. Marshall, the defense attorney, had counted “more than twenty errors in the prosecution [handling of the case]” (335). The lewd behavior that Jesse Hunter displayed in court, such as "making a Masonic distress call to [jurors]," shows that the lawyer was sufficiently motivated by competition to act in violation of the law (327). The result of this behavior was a favorable outcome for the prosecutor and the systematic denial of a fair trial for black defendants. The playful structure of the legal proceedings is also seen in the way Hunter mocks the defense attorney by publicly criticizing that he would be willing to "[try] the defendants 'before an all-black jury'" ( 223). The way Hunter mocks the accused's case shows his desire to "defeat a worthy adversary" instead of trying to uphold the law (295). Hunter's disregard for following the law is another clear sign that he aimed to reaffirm his own career rather than present the facts to a jury. When testimony was presented to the attorney that disregarded Norma Padgett's rape story, he quickly "erased the witness's identity" in order to benefit the prosecution, an act punishable by law. law (225). The prosecutor was so busy proving his worth as a lawyer that, even after confiding to his friend that he thought "the attack was staged...and deliberate," he continued to prosecute and even requested the death sentence for the defendants. (239). Hunter's obsession with convicting boys as rapists and sentencing them to death was born from his desire to dominate the courts and have a good record. He believed he had a "sacred duty that required him...to win his last momentous case in Lake County [even] at the cost of Walter Irvin's life" (346). After the conviction was handed down, with the jury favoring the prosecution, Hunter was seen dejected when he realized the game was over. Once convicted, he succumbs to the guilt of systematically contempt of court to win against his competitors. He wrote letters to the current governor of Florida..