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Examples Of Unjust Legal System In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill A Mockingbird Essay
Throughout the course of history, there has always been racial conflict within the United
States. Even after slavery had ended, racial tension remained. This conflict was mainly due to the fact that there were so many unequal institutions present. One of these would be the unjust legal system. African Americans in the 1900’s were never awarded a fair court trial. The main reason for this was due to the selection of the “jury of peers.” Unfortunately the jury selected did not include any African Americans and it only consisted of white people. This was unjust because African Americans were already assumed to be guilty based solely on the color of their skin. During …show more content…

A very substantial one being, deciding the verdict of Emmett Till's trial. Emmett was without a doubt murdered, and there was clear evidence that two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam had committed the crime. Surprisingly these men were found not guilty, even though the jury was shown clear evidence that proved their guilt. One might wonder how an illogical conviction is even possible. During this time period juries were composed of all white men which meant that the African American race was not represented. Black men and women who testified in front of an all white jury historically stood no chance, which is why uniform juries are proof of how the legal system is unequal, and black individuals are discriminated …show more content…

However, they were not the only two that demonstrate how blacks all alike were discriminated against. Harper Lee wrote the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, where a fictional court case took place after Tom Robinson, a black man, was falsely accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. After standing up and proving he could not have beat her and raped her because his left arm was was a foot shorter than his right, he was still convicted because the jury was composed of all white men. After being named guilty, Tom was sent to prison, and later shot by guards after trying to escape his unjust

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