How Did Tom Robinson Deserve The Trial

The United States prides itself on the principle of equality. In the Declaration of Independence, the very basis of the nation, it states "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Despite this promise, Maycomb county lacks the humanity and fairness that America promises. Not only do the whites of the county show obvious contempt for the blacks, but they are willing to go as far as to murder one, Tom Robinson, in cold blood, depriving him of the basic right promised by our great country. Tom deserves the appeal due to the biased jury, the insubstantial physical evidence given by Mayella, Mr. Ewell, and Heck Tate, and the

These men, due to their personal beliefs, decided to go against the rule of law and what they knew to be false evidence to convict a man purely because of his race. "Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed". Despite the questionable evidence against Tom, the jury had taken their prejudice and personal beliefs into the court, causing Tom to be at a disadvantage before the trial had even begun. They had deprived Tom of the basic right of equality within a court of law. "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying resentments right into a jury box." By seeing Tom through the lense of their own ignorance, resentments, prejudices, and opinions, Tom faced a trial in which he could not win, no matter how strongly the evidence proved his innocence. The inherent racism of Maycomb's society prevented the existence of a fair trial for any person whose skin was not

He told his side with no inconsistencies and confidence, as he knew that he was telling the truth. "One way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch: I applied his test- Tom denied it three times in one breath, but quietly, with no hinto of whining in his voice, and I found myself believing him". He used his words to convey what he knew to be the truth. He spoke like "a respectable Negro" and made sure he showed respect to the authorities in the court. When telling his story, Tom was able to paint an accurate picture of what had happened by giving a testimony that showed the honesty of the accused and the falsehood of the testimony of the defendant and her