The first source of exculpatory evidence for Tom Robbinson's was his physical inability to commit the crime. When he first stands he is described by Scout in these words: "He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve 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" (pg. 211). In short, Tom was an obvious cripple. Mr. Tate, the sheriff describes one of her injuries as bruises circling her neck, which with logic applied is an obvious clue to Tom's innocence (pg. 192). If Tom had both hands then he would be able to keep Mayella from escaping and choke her, but with only …show more content…
The witness testimonies were contradicting and likely improvised and inaccurate, as demonstrated by Mayella Ewell when she gave her testimony, but obviously loses her place in her narrative. Scout mentions that when Atticus truly begins to grill Mayella as a witness these events occur:" Mayella was silent. She seemed to be trying to get something clear to herself," and then "She glanced at Mr. Glimer." While she may have simply been trying to clear up her memory of the events, the glance towards her lawyer suggests that she is looking for guidance to her story, because she doesn't know what to say. When you are building a web of lies it is important to not trip up and Mayella had to pause to establish her story and be sure she was not contradicting her lawyer's plan. A few moments later she tries again, but she cannot keep her story straight. Atticus asks her, "Do you remember him beating you about the face?" and she replies, "No, I don't recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me." This shows that Mayella's testimony was a memorized thread, rather than honest recollections of the events that took place. When Atticus responds with, "Was your last sentence your answer?" she still cannot get her narrative in order, because she is lying. Therefore she responds, "Huh? Yes, he hit - I just don't remember, I just don't remember ... it all happened so quick." (pg. 210) Answering such is an evasion