Why Is Tom Robinson Trial Unfair

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, against all odds, chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s white daughter. During the 1930s, when the story took place, Tom’s hometown Maycomb was very racist and segregated. Negroes were considered inferior to all white people, making it difficult for Atticus to support Mr. Robinson against the “superior”Mr. Ewell.

The outcome of Tom Robinson’s trial was most certainly unfair and based on the racism in Maycomb. There was a plethora of evidence that he was not guilty in any way. There were marks of two hands’ fingers around Mayella Ewell’s neck, bruises that were mostly concentrated on the right side of her face (meaning that the attacker would be left handed as Bob Ewell was, and Tom had a crippled left arm), and the changing stories told by the each of the Ewells. As Atticus, the man defending Tom, makes his closing statement, he remarks on all of the evidence against the Ewells, and states that if Thomas Jefferson was correct, all men are equal; so, Tom Robinson should be parallel to Robert E. Lee Ewell, especially in the court. When the verdict is

It is obvious to any person who has read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, that the legitimacy of Tom Robinson’s trial is questionable. Tom is tried against a bias jury, with no intentions for considering his innocence. And he was given a death sentence that was unrelenting. The trial demanded a jury without bias or hate towards Tom, but for men like Tom Robinson their innocence was irrelevant to their future. Life is full of prejudice and discriminations, but it shouldn’t happen in the determination of someone 's

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was a novel filled with many racial controversies, prejudices, and racism. All of which took place during the 1960s in Maycomb County, Alabama. Regardless of the many racists there were a handful of people that could care less about the colour of someone’s skin. One person who fits in with this small handful of people is the Maycomb judge, Mr. John Taylor. Judge Taylor looked like the stereotypical judge from that time period, “amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced, he was a man who ran his court with an alarming informality,” (Lee, 165).

According to the book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, I believe Tom Robinson is innocent. The crime that Tom Robinson is getting charged for is that he had raped Mayella Ewell. There are many reasons of why I believe Tom Robinson is not guilty. For instance, Tom Robinson’s left arm was not strong enough nor working, so he didn’t have the strength to do what Mr. Ewell and Mayella said he did.

Most of black people of Maycomb in the 1930swere terrorized of committing some crime because they could be lynched for a crime they did not commit or do. One example of the book in chapter 18 was the start of the trial of Tom Robinson who was accused of rape and was in fear of being lynched for a crime he did not do. The main meaning of to Kill a Mocking Bird is to show how black people were being thought of as non-human simply because of their skin color.

In the South of the United States in the 1930´s, the justice system was very unfair towards colored people. Colored people that were sent to court could not receive a fair trial because of the prejudice and racism from the jury. This happened all the time, especially in Maycomb Alabama. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a colored man named Tom Robinson was convicted of assaulting a white woman just because of the color of his skin. Tom Robinson should have been found not guilty for many reasons.

In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, it is shown that when people view justice through the eyes of society, true justice no longer exists. Despite all of Atticus’ effort to prove Tom’s innocence, he is declared guilty and sent to prison. During his trial, it eventually becomes apparent that Tom is innocent, but the entire trial was never actually about who the real convict was because, to society, it all came down to White v. Black. Atticus recognized this, and sadly found that even hoping for the innocent Tom Robinson to go free was a lost cause. He had known, from the beginning, what side society had chosen: race over true justice.

Many people during the time period the novel took place were prejudice. Bob Ewell was angry that Atticus defended Tom Robinson. Stephanie Crawford explains that, “It made one down and about two more to go.” (323). Knowing that Tom Robinson died, Bob Ewell will come after Atticus and his family next, for revenge, for Atticus defending Tom Robinson. There was a lot of racial tension back in the time period the novel To Kill a Mockingbird took place. While Reverend Sykes and Jem talk, waiting for the judge to come back and say the verdict. Jem believes they've won the case, but Reverend Sykes doesn't want to get his hopes up. Reverend Sykes says, “I ain't ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man” (279). Reverend Sykes knows, no matter how much evidence a colored person has, they'll always end up being guilty. Today, in this time period, there is more equality. During the time period the novel To Kill a Mockingbird took place, there was a lot of racism and prejudice. Atticus had logical reasons as to why Tom Robinson was not guilty. He's showing that no matter what race you are, we all are equal and deserve the same rights. After the trial, and the verdict was said, Jem talks about how unfair the trial was. Atticus says in reply, “Tom

Due to the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird, the outcome of Tom Robinson's trial is likely to be Tom ruled guilty. One piece of evidence to support a guilty verdict is the fact that Tom Robinson is black and the Ewells are white. In the 1930's, if a black man was accused of raping a white woman, a guilty verdict and the death penalty was the most common outcome. Earlier on in the story, Atticus states that they had already lost due to the color of Tom's skin. This is also due to the fact that they are having this trail in a heavily segregated south in the 1930's. Lastly, the separation of classes due to the Great Depression being in effect causes Tom to be set below the majority of Maycomb because of Tom's wealth, or lack thereof. Tom

Don King once said, “Hypocrisy is the mother of all evil and racial prejudice is still her favorite child”. Hypocrisy if the root to many things such as,injustice,racism and prejudice these at first seem innocent but increases into a wildfire of hate,evil,and nefarious deeds.The citizens of Maycomb county would take a white man’s word to their grave as with a black man’s word is considered filth. These citizens only care for themselves as a “superior” race, then sympathizing to the others around them. In To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinson is put on trial,as he knows that at whatever cost he will be considered guilty just by the color of his skin. Although many people at the time thought of this as fair judgment.The citizens will soon learn

A hero may not be seen with a cape, but one who has the qualities such as persistence and justice seeking. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, to be considered a hero , the qualities of seeking justice and persistence are needed because these traits help with the well being of others in the world. Atticus Finch shows these qualities when he fights for Tom Robinson and passes his morals to his children. Furthermore, Martin Luther King Jr. highlights these qualities when he stands up for others despite the risks.

In my opinion, the Tom Robinson trial was a complete waste of time, and is very biased. Mayella Ewell saw that Tom was different from her, and saw an opportunity. Although Maycomb citizens frowned upon the Ewell family, Mayella knew that the people in her town would go against Tom due to his race. In the trial, Toy 's lawyer, Atticus, calmly questions his witnesses, then cross-examines. He shows the courtroom that Mayella 's father, Bob, is a known aggressive alcoholic. Bob also happens to be left-hand dominant, which is the hand that his daughter was hit with. Also, Tom 's arm is broken, how could he have possibly overpowered Mayella if she was fighting back like she claimed? Then, Mr. Gilmer questions his witness and cross-examines. He didn 't do so as calmly as Atticus, in fact, he questioned Tom in his cross-examination very rudely. On the other hand, he questioned his witness, Mayella, gently and spared her feelings. This trial was never about justice, it 's about race. It was just a distraction, Tom was a dead man since the

Being born in America in 1933 has shown to impact Susan Sontag, a liberal author and human rights advocate, when she stated, “I do not think white America is committed to granting equality to the American Negro... this is a passionately racist country; it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future,” on Quotestoknow.com. Susan Sontag, born in the great depression, has set the scene for To Kill A Mockingbird in an extremely powerful way. The citizens in To Kill A Mockingbird experience prejudice in many different ways.

There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life” (Lee 295) - Atticus Finch. To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel set in the 1930’s in Maycomb County when racism was more often seen than today. A town with a racist society filled with many white racist individuals. Several characters are affected due to racism such as Scout being influenced and affected by society, Tom Robinson losing his freedom and being accused and Atticus ruining his reputation and losing his case. Even though racism played a big role in To Kill A Mockingbird these individuals made a change