nothing... We know there is no justice under the American flag." The Pittsburgh Courier wrote that the trial would most likely end in acquittal, although the case was "as open and shut as a case can be." Following the indictment of the four men, Martin Luther King Jr., expressed praise for the FAMU student protesters. King explained that they gave "hope to all of us who struggle for human dignity and equal justice." On June 12, 1959, Betty Jean Owens testified on her own behalf in front of 400 witnesses. She retold the events of the attack to the jury in detail. She told the jury, “I was so scared, but there was nothing I could do with four men, a knife, and a gun ... I couldn’t do anything but what they said.” The defence attorneys worked diligently to prove that Owens had consented to the attack and argued that if a rape did occur that she would have sustained more serious injuries. The doctors that treated Owens told the jury that her injuries resulted in a five-day hospital stay and that she was in a terrible condition. When the prosecution rested its case, the defence attorneys claimed that the state had failed to do anything but prove sexual intercourse had occurred and called for a judgment of acquittal. Judge Walker denied the motion and the defence was set to return the next day to present their case. The defense attorney claimed that the boys were intoxicated and that their taped confessions were inadmissible. However, under cross-examination, David Beagles admitted that his confession was voluntary. The defence tried to present the men as reputable and incapable of committing such a heinous crime. In another attempt to sway the jury, they characterized Owens as a Jezebel, who therefore could not have been raped. The jury read the verdict out loud: “guilty with a recommendation for mercy.” The “recommendation for mercy” part of the sentence kept the four men from facing the electric chair. Judge Walker deferred sentencing for 15 days and sent the four men to Raiford prison, now Florida State Prison. On June 15, 1959, Judge Walker sentenced all four men to life in prison. Following the sentence, Owens told reporters, “I feel better now for the first time since it happened. For the first time, I feel safe.” Later years In 1965, David Beagles was paroled. Four years