Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Was Tom Robinsons Trial Fair

Good Essays
460 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Was Tom Robinsons Trial Fair
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee African American Tom Robinson in 1930's society was accused or raping Mayella Ewell. This trial was a complete and utter failure, the jury was full of prejudice people. Only one person testified that he saw the act and that was by unreliable Bob Ewell Mayella's father and proof that Tom was innocent yet he was still found guilty. “His left arm was fully 12 inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him. ”Scout” breathed jem. 'scout, look! Reverend, he's crippled!'”(pg186) This quote shows his innocence because Mayella testified that Tom had punched her with his left fist to her right eye, but he clearly couldn't have: because his whole arm was crippled! Tom Robinson said in his testimony, “She reached up and kissed me on the side of my face. She says she never kissed a grown man before and she might as well kissed a nigger. She says 'kiss me back nigger.' I say miss Mayella lemme outa here and I tried to run but she got her back to the door and I'd had to push her. I didn't wanta harm her Mr. Finch and I say lemme pass, but just when I say it Mr. Ewell yonder hollered though the window.” This shows that Tom wanted to leave Ewell's house but Mayella did not allow Tom to do so. It also shows that tom had no intention of doing anything sexual nor wrong with Mayella. In addition it exhibits Mayella as a deceitful person. Which should furthermore Tom Robinson's innocence. In the story Tom Robinson explains the events that happened on the day of the supposed rape with the most details he can, and there were no holes in his story that might suggest he is lying, and if he were lying it would make him a really good one. And we all know only the wise can make such lies were there is no flaw in them: and not to be rude but Tom was not all that wise. For he did not have much of an education. He was a hard working honest family man. All in all Tom Robinson was still found guilty when he was clearly innocent of the accusation of raping Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson's verdict was a total let down. The verdict was given on the fact that he was an African American being trialed in a court with a prejudice jury. This just shows how deeply flawed the judicial system was.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson was innocent of raping Mayella Ewell. In the story it talks about how Mayella got punched in the eye with the left hand but Tom couldn’t have done it because his left hand is crippled. Reverend Sykes said, “He got it caught in the cotton gin, caught it i Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s cotton gin when he was a boy...like to bled to death...tore all the muscles loose from his bones-”(186). This explains what happened to Tom’s hand and that he couldn’t have punched Mayella with his left hand because he could not use it. Furthermore, when Tom was telling his side of the story he said that Mayella kissed him and that he tried to get away because he knew that it wasn’t right for her do that. Tom explains what happens when Mr. Ewell sees them,…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why did they falsely accused Tom Robinson the Ewells falsely accused him because Mayella tempted him and kissed him, so when her dad found out he said “we need to get rid…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tom Robinson was a civilized man who was trying to get home from work one day,and Mayella Ewell ruined that for him. In the unfair case of Tom Robinson he was accused of raping a girl he never found interest in.The case had a ruling set before it even started,because he was a black man. There was so much evidence that Mayella wasn't raped by Tom Robinson,some of the evidence were Tom's physical handicap from a cotton gin as well as his left arm being twelve inches shorter than his right and was not able to use his left arm.His color works againt him,the jury decides to believe mayella instead of Tom. Therefore, he was convicted and sent to jail.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I walked into the court room, and looked at the jury, they were all white, I knew that it would have to be a miracle to get the jury to come back with the verdict that Tom Robinson was innocent. But I had a plan. If the trial goes well, I will appeal against the verdict, and then the court case will go to another place, where the jury won't be so biased against black people.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson's Trial

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A theme in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” could be that you should never judge a person by their color. The way people were judge affected Tom Robinson’s trial because all colored people were treated differently than white people back in the day. Reverend Sykes explained to Jem; “I ain't ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). Tom was not going to be charged with the crime. This is because everything that was said on his half proved that he was innocent but judges never choose a colored man over a white man. Further, Tom Robinson was not able to win the trial because he is a colored man. The judge got the piece of paper and says “ ‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…’ “(Lee 282). The color of Tom’s skin changed…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapters 17-19 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the court case, Ewell v. Robinson, examines the accusation of rape by Tom Robinson, an African-American male. According to Tom Robinson, he walked by Mayella Ewell’s house every day and she always asked him to help her. Tom claimed that in the spring Mayell a asked him to chop up the chiffarobe contrary to Mayella and Bob’s testimony. Mayella asked Tom to come inside and help fix a door but he goes in to her house and the door appears to be unbroken. According to Mayella, Tom snuck up behind her, hit, and pushed her down then raped her. However, Tom…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is made very clear during the trial that it was not Tom Robinson who raped Mayella Ewell, but instead her own father. She blamed Robinson because she was evidently coersed by Bob Ewell. In Tom’s testimony he spoke of Mayella’s actions before Bob Ewell came in, “She says she never kissed a man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don’t count” (page 260). When Bob saw Mayella and Tom together being the mean drunk he is he beat and raped Mayella. In anger, he knew someone would have to pay for what he saw going on between Tom and Mayella. It was not hard to convince people in a town like Maycomb that Tom was guilty. He was black, he had a criminal record known to the citizens of Maycomb since it was such a small town, and he lived in the same neighborhood as the Ewells. People had most likely seen Tom entering the Ewell home because on more than one occasion, Mayella asked Tom to come in and help do some work around the house. “She’d call me in, suh. Seemed like every time I passed yonder she’d have some little somethin’ for me to do” (page 56). Mayella was coursed by her own father to accuse Tom because Tom was such an easy target to cover up her father’s actions.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tom Robinson case in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows unfairness and inequality in colored people compared to whites. Tom Robinson is a black man who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Evidence clearly shows that Tom did not commit rape, but the jury still found him guilty according to his skin color. Tom now has to face his life in misery, knowing that he didn’t do anything wrong. The Declaration of Independence and Tom’s inspiring lawyer, Atticus Finch, both say that “all men are created equal”. Based on this classic American novel, not everyone gets an equitable trial and is treated fairly. The Tom Robinson trial was evident of injustice and inequity. Harper Lee's story proves that not everyone is treated equally, especially in court.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch was a well-respected man and known for sticking with his beliefs. In the novel, Atticus agreed to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Tom’s trial began in the summer during the early 1930s, of Maycomb, Alabama. At the trial itself, Atticus provided clear evidence that the victim, Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob, are lying. Despite the evidence proving Tom’s innocence, the all-white jury convicts him. Since Atticus is a good natured man, he would defend Tom Robinson without hesitation.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “To Kill a Mockingbird” a black hardworking man named Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white women named Mayella Ewell. The truth of this matter is Tom Robinson, is Mayella threw herself at Tom. Mayella was a lonely women whose father abused her. She wanted to have intimacy with Tom Robinson, which “brings shame to her family”. When her father finds out Mayella tried to throw…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black people are victims of injustice, just like Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a victim of injustice because even though he is innocent, he is found guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. The jury agrees and decides to make the black man guilty of the rape. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty.’ I peeked at Jem, his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (Lee 214). Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but it was not enough to win the trial. The jury may have chosen the Ewells to win because Tom Robinson was a negro. Tom Robinson was shot and killed in jail, while trying to escape because he should not have been there in the first…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tom Robinson’s trial was definitely the most dramatic, yet the most realistic part in this piece of writing. In the trial, Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Tom claimed that he did not do it, but many people did not believe him. Tom was a young black male, and Mayella was a young white female. Because of his skin…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tom Robinson-Stereotype

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Evidence: In To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinson was falsely accused of raping a white woman. Tom Robinson was defended by Atticus Finch, who was also white. There was a lot of evidence that Atticus produces that proved Tom Robinson did not commit the crime. Perhaps the most persuasive evidence was that, according to the sheriff's testimony, Mayella's bruises were on the right side of her face, which means she was most likely punched with a left hand. Tom Robinson's left arm is useless due to an old accident, whereas Mr. Ewell leads with his left. Unfortunately, the jury had decided that Tom Robinson was guilty well before the trial started because he was black.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Innocence of Tom Robinson

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tom is an innocent man. Chopping wood and doing whatever he could for Mayella Ewell was Tom Robinson's only crime. Just like Boo Radley, he never harmed a soul. He risked his own safety by helping Mayella, and he did it because someone needed him. It was like a mockingbird being shot down when Robinson was accused of raping Mayella. To the people of Maycomb County, Tom Robinson is just a "sorry negro", who committed an unthinkable crime. Tom represents the black race in American society at that time and was a victim of racism.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Mayella Ewell is a powerful character. Even though she was never educated she was very smart and she knew how to get her way. Her main goal was to get away from her abusive father, Bob Ewell. Bob was a racist man who thought any white was better than a negro, even if they live behind the garbage in an abandoned, run-down, negro cabin, like himself. Mayella, a white female, kissed Tom Robinson, a black male. Mayella accuse Tom of rape and took him to court. While in court, Atticus, Tom’s lawyer, shamed Bob of beating Mayella instead of Tom. Although Tom was innocent and everyone knew it, the jury put the black man in prison. After the case, Bob goes after Atticus by attacking his children, Scout and Jem.With the help…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays