Examples Of Courtroom Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Since the very beginning of America, racism has always been an issue that cannot be solved. Slavery was the start of it and even after it ended, society had still managed to find ways to be oppressive. The Jim Crow laws were created for states in the south, in which it strongly enforced segregation from the late 1890’s until the 1960’s. People of color were not allowed to share the same bathrooms as whites, use the same water fountain, or eat in the same restaurant. The Jim Crow laws especially gave a huge advantage to people that are white in the courtroom. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee believes that white privilege can overrule any evidence in the courtroom.

Harper Lee uses distinctive word choices and tone to demonstrate courtroom prejudice. In this scene, a white woman named Mayella is accusing a black man named Tom Robinson of

The Ewells are the least respected people in the community, but they still manage to be ranked above blacks. Atticus told Scout, “The Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day’s work in his recollection” (Lee 30). Their father Bob, is an alcoholic and abuses Mayella. There have been multiple instances where the judge had to keep them under control. Tom Robinson on the other hand, is a man with dignity and speaks to everyone properly, including the Ewells. The judge had a troubling time trying to sentence Tom because he had every evidence and characteristics of a person that would be proven innocent. He was calm when being questioned, as Mayella was panicking when being placed under the spotlight. Mayella and Bob’s stories were never consistent and made them look suspicious. Unfortunately, the judge sentenced Tom to death although he knew for sure that he convicted an innocent man. Justice was overshadowed by racism, and the judge’s hypocrisy was to blame for