Essay On The Scottsboro Trial And Tom Robinson's Trial

Bob testified accusing Tom of rape, but there was a lot of evidence in the sheriff's testimony to prove that Bob was lying in his testimony, like how the sheriff said that when he heard about Bob's daughter. Bob was expected and sounded happy about it. This evidence shows that Tom is the mockingbird. His innocence is starting to be destroyed, not just by Bob but the jury, and all the white people that are just stereotyping Tom because of his color. In this next quote, this is more in depth on the town of Maycomb and how they stereotype blacks.

Finch mainly talks about if the roles were switched as a ‘black man in a white man 's world’ white men are mainly chosen because of their complexion and believed white men hold more power. Even though Tom Robinson was innocent he still was wrongly accused, then apon going to prison Tom Robinson was later shot 17 times. One would think if he was breaking rules 1 bullet would take care of things, but 17 shots is clearly a act on hate and racism. Another quote that helps determine how Lee used Robinson to expose the truth about the justice system is, "Tom Robinson 's a colored man, Jem. No jury in this part of the world 's going to say 'We think you 're guilty, but not very ' on a charge like that.

¨He hit me again and again...¨(Lee, 241) Those words of Mayella Ewell helped put Tom Robinson, an innocent man, in jail. Mayella Ewell is a member of the Ewells, the “scum” of Maycomb County, who live in the town dump and depend on food stamps and illegal trapping to survive. Mayella is a liar who won’t admit her wrongs and is willing to put someone who did nothing wrong in jail just so she won 't get in trouble with her father. She also lies to cover up a secret she has, so the people in Maycomb will not know the truth about her. Because of this, she is on the lowest level of Kohlberg 's Stages of Moral Development.

Another example of racism would be Tom Robinson and his whole court case; despite all the clear evidence that Atticus, a lawyer, provided, the jury, which is made up of all white prejudice men, were in favor of Mr. Ewell, a nasty white man, instead of Tom, who was not only black but crippled. Regardless of the fact that the jury was well aware of the fact that the Ewell family is known for being nasty, lying, no-gooders, An example of this is when Atticus states his views on the Ewell family as, “the disgrace of Maycomb.” The fact that they were white, is what aided them in winning the case. Causing the jury to send a blind eye to the fact that Mayella and possibly the rest of her siblings are being abused and manipulated. Thus, resulting in Tom’s arrest for a crime he didn 't commit. The saddening thing is, that the whole scenario started because Mayella attempted to seduce Tom, and her father found out.

This is because Danforth’s rule throughout these trials were that if someone was accused of witchcraft, even if they were innocent they had to confess or they were sentenced to death. An example of this is when John Procter is accused he had to confess or he would have been hanged and when he confessed it was not enough for Danforth. Danforth wanted Proctor to sign a confession “Come then, sign your testimony” (cite). He says this even though Procter has made it obvious that he is confessing to a crime he did not commit. Danforth does not care about this though he only wants Procter to confess to secure his own reputation and so his authority does not go into question.

When Mayella Ewell, a poor white woman, accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of rape, Atticus takes up the trial and will represent Tom Robinson in court to help prove his innocence. The trial goes on and on and many witnesses are called to the stand but, in the end Tom Robinson loses. He is found guilty and sentenced to the electric chair. The theme of “race” is brought up a lot in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, and that’s the theme to focus on. Race has been a controversial issue going back four centuries, and this novel portrays race in an unfamiliar way to others, but very familiar to Lee.

The conflict perspective describes a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources . Since the title of the book is “To Kill a Mockingbird” Mockingbirds are used to represent innocent creatures that are mistreated or “Killed”, which relates back to the main theme of the book which is the destruction of innocence. the author gives some examples of mockingbirds such as Tom Robinson. Though he was blantly innocent, since Tom was a negro man accused of raping a white woman he loses. A substantial amount of evidence and witnesses proved that he did not commit the crime, however he was still found guilty.

They are what is considered "poor white trash". The only lower class in the town were the African American people living in the town. This ties in to racial discrimination that leads to unfair society because tom Robinson is a black man that is accused of raping Mayella Ewell even though evidence contradicts he ever committed the crime. He was found guilty due to the fact he is a black man and it’s his word against a white man’s word this is an unfair society because the people of Maycomb county had to side with the Ewells even though Tom Robinson is innocent because the Ewells are white. Furthermore, this ties in with the quote that jack said “The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinsons word over the Ewells” (Lee.

Tom Robinson was a black man who got accused of raping a white girl. The only reason he got accused no white man did because he was a different color than everyone who was against him. Also, the whole jurors were white while he was the only black man in the courtroom. “...The evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral, that all Negroes men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associate with minds of their caliber.” Every negro did not have the same rights as a white man. The whites had a higher advantage, and everyone always took the side of the white man no matter what the situation is.

Simpson was guilty (Gregory 1). Americans were completely spilt based on race and it is because the meaning of the trial varied between the races. To white Americans this was a double homicide were two murders must be brought to justice to black Americans this was this conspiracy for the character assassination of O.J. Simpson and way to bring down someone who was symbol of black success in America. When the jurors were a majority black they ruled not guilty and when the jurors were a majority black they convicted Simpson(Enomoto).