The jaw of every human in Maycomb County dropped as Judge Taylor said “guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty...” (240). It is apparent that Tom Robinson is innocent; however, society’s racist norms impacted the verdict far more than the facts. Actually, during the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it was commonplace during the 1930’s in Alabama to always take the word of a white man over that of a black man. Although Atticus proves beyond a doubt that Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell, the jury convicts him despite the overwhelming evidence pointing at Bob Ewell as the perpetrator. Injustice in Tom Robinson’s case can blamed on Bob Ewell, the racist jury, and society itself. Bob Ewell’s racist beliefs and ignorance were an important part of Tom Robinson’s unfair treatment. It is unacceptable to be racist in the first place, but Bob Ewell took it to another level by falsely accusing Tom Robinson of raping his …show more content…
As you can expect from a court during the 1930s in Alabama, the jury was a group of old, white, most likely racist, men. A jury in a court case is supposed to be completely unbiased. This jury is especially biased because they didn’t even look at Tom Robinson as they entered the courtroom. This is a sign of disrespect to most people because the person that may be putting someone to death should be able to at least look at them. Atticus even said that "If you had been on that jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man” (295). Throughout the book, Jem has acted like a typical 13 year old boy, he is curious and energetic, but these qualities don’t describe someone on a jury. Atticus is making a statement about the racism in this time because if a group of thirteen-year-old boys can do a better job than grown men, the jury must be very biased. The jury’s beliefs aren’t entirely their fault because this racism is embedded in the culture of Maycomb