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Explain What Happens In A Criminal Trial To Kill A Mockingbird

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A) What happens in the trial to the characters involved (ie the witnesses, judges, lawyers)? To Kill a Mockingbird is entered around the trial of alleged rape of Mayella Ewell by Tom Robinson. Atticus Finch is Tom Robinson’s defence lawyer. In the trial, he aimed to truly and justly defend Tom despite the town’s prejudices towards the case. During the course of the trial, four witnesses are questioned: Tom Robinson, Heck Tate, Mayella Ewell and her father Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson is scared during the course of the trial because he knows that his skin colour will render a verdict of guilty. Even though he knows he’s innocent, he provides all relevant information to the court. He trusts Atticus to defend him. Heck Tate is confident during the …show more content…

During the course of a criminal trial, adversaries are tasked with convincing the judge or jury to believe their perspective on the case. Justice is pursued, but not always achieved. Justice in a criminal trial is achieved when the innocent is found innocent and the guilty is found guilty. The adversarial system tasks the judge with choosing the most persuasive argument. This is not justice, but a process of persuasion and wit. D) How important do you think the ‘fact’ of a criminal trial – the performance of prosecuting someone for an egregious violation of international law – is to the idea of transitional justice? Criminal trials act as a process for punishment. Even though in itself they do not directly deliver transitional justice, they act as a vehicle A primary purpose of transitional justice is to seek recognition for victims, as well as the promotion of peace and reconciliation. Criminal trials are concerned with interests of the defendant, they do not allow victims to share their stories. Victims are not given a formal or active role in all criminal trials. Testimonies from victims are subject to examination. This does not provide an adequate process for transitional

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In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we are told of the trial of Tom Robinson from the perspective of the main character, Scout. Scout lived in Maycomb County with her brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus. Tom Robinson went to trial against the Ewell family, being accused for allegedly raping Mayella Ewell, and Atticus is appointed by Judge Taylor to defend him during the trial. The Ewell family were well known throughout Maycomb County, they lived in a small, secluded junkyard and were poor. To see whether Tom Robinson is guilty of the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, his trial consists of the testimonies from Sheriff Tate, Bob and Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson himself, as well as Atticus’s closing argument.

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When it comes to the complex issues of prejudice and death, the attribution of blame can become exponentially more difficult. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, a fictional town in southern USA during the Great Depression and follows the trial, conviction and eventual death of Tom Robinson, an African-American man, for a crime he presumably did not commit. The text largely presents Mayella Ewell as responsible for Tom’s death and although this is true to some extent, there are clearly several other factors at play. The lies and deception of Mayella Ewell clearly help the events to conspire that culminate in Tom’s passing. That being said, the true cause of these events is rooted in the prejudices and warped social structures

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One of the main characters involved in the trial is Tom Robinson. He is the man being accused of rape by the Ewell family. During his development in this part of the book, his innocence and goodness is shown, especially during his testimony. He says, “I works pretty steady for him all year round” (190). This shows that he respects the Ewell’s and is willing to help out when needed.

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In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the story is set in the 1900’s, Maycomb, Alabama. During this time there was racism in the south and segregation which separated the whites and blacks from everything. There was also the Great Depression, the whole country was poor and people living in the country had to trade and do other jobs for people to either pay them off or to buy something from them. The trial in this book is about Mayella and Bob Ewell, two white people, claiming and arguing that Tom Robinson, a black person, raped Mayella Ewell. This trial is really important because at that time in the south, white people took advantage of black people and their kindness and thought they would take that or shut up just because they were black.

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A couple of townsfolk were talking about Atticus taking the trial in front of Jem and Scout. One told the others that Atticus had been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, but another doesn’t care that Atticus didn’t have a choice, with his mindset being that “Atticus aims to defend him. That’s what I don’t like about it” (Lee 163). Therefore, Atticus’s integrity was challenged. It’d been much easier if he just refused to defend Tom Robinson, or not give it his all.

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Atticus uses his credibility as a renowned lawyer in Maycomb County and his confidence in Tom Robinson 's to prove the jury of Tom 's innocence. He also uses the simplicity in differentiating between black and white to show the simplicity of figuring out who is lying in this case, and who is not. He then goes on to say "The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is."

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Because the jury did not favor black men, Tom Robinson did not receive a fair trial, although Atticus made a great case. Segregation directly disobeys the fourteenth amendment, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” Maycomb Alabama is where the story, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. Tom Robinson’s trial out come was not based on factual evidence. Mayella was lying to the jury, while Tom was completely innocent.

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