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Courts in the criminal justice system
The criminal court system
The prosecutor's role
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Courts in the criminal justice system
The criminal court system
The prosecutor's role
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Opening Statement for Mayella Ewell Mayella Ewell lied under oath and committed perjury because she was ashamed of kissing a black man and she was scared of her father. Mayella lied under oath by saying she gave Tom Robinson a nickel to break up a dresser for her and then he raped her. What really happened was that she invited him inside and she tried to kiss him. Here is the evidence that shows that Mayella was not telling the truth. “So he come in the yard an’ I went in the house to get him the nickel on ‘fore I knew it he was on me” (Lee 241).
This act of hers has left Tom in jail, and his children and wife alone. We hope you listen carefully and thoughtfully to seek the truth of Mayella Ewell's crime. Now, jury members, I will go over the evidence while the county reviews it. Mayella Ewell was under oath on August 21st, over the case of Tom Robinson when she lied. She is said to have called Tom over to bust her chiffarobe, when he had gotten on top of her, then attacked and taken advantage of her.
The American Revolution happened to be a very expensive war for America. In order to supply for her military, congress found it necessary to accept loans from France. Following the Revolutionary War, America faced a debt of roughly $80 million to both foreign nations and American citizens. This debt damaged the economy by devaluing money issued by the Continental Congress. Wanting to find quick solutions to these timorous problems as quickly as possible, George Washington granted Alexander Hamilton the task of resolving the issues by writing policies regarding America’s interaction with foreign nations and finance management.
Recently, a negro named Tom Robinson has been jailed for supposedly raping a white woman, whose name is Mayella Violet Ewell. This is certainly biased since the family of Mayella did not provide any fact or evidence, rather only one witness who could have easily lied. Therefore, Tom Robinson could have been falsely accused of doing something a man like himself wouldn’t do. There are several reasons that suggest that Tom Robinson is innocent.
In Maycomb, during the years of the 1930’s, accusations like that were extremely common. It is rare to see a black man’s attorney genuinely try to plead not guilty, most of them force the defendant to plead guilty and go to jail. Atticus willingly created a testimony with evidence that showed that Mayella’s bruises came from her abusive and alcoholic father. Although the verdict was guilty, the whole town viewed Mr. Ewell as an abusive man with no morals. Because of this, he wanted to gain retribution on anyone who was involved in exposing his wrongdoings to the whole town by following them and unexpectedly striking on
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
Dear Members of the Jury, I am writing you this letter to tell to you that Tom Robinson should be proven not guilty. This case would have never happened if the truth would have been told and it wasn’t a case between black and white. There are many ways that Robinson is not guilty. One of these reasons that Tom Robinson is not guilty is that if you listened to the Sheriff 's testimony he stumbled frequently and when he said something and then Atticus would say something different he would agree with Atticus. Tom Robinson is a very polite man with great manners, which you could take into consideration that he wouldn’t dare hurt this woman in this kind of manner.
Throughout life, people experience impossible situations, situations so unthinkable no one should have to be put through them. During these darkest hours, the same people seek refuge; some look for it in faith, fellowship, or a hero. In 1933, Adolf Hitler threw European Jews into turmoil (Staff, History.com). The supreme leader of Germany started the most tragic, memorable, and shocking chain of events the world has ever seen.
When Mayella, and Bob Ewell, lie to the jury, they do it to make themselves look good. They went out of their way to make an official case about the scenario. Therefore it put Tom Robinson’s own life on trial for something he did not commit. Bob, got to do The only reason Mayella, and what they did, was because of the racial discrimination during that time. Everything that took place in the courtroom shows the loss of childhood innocence and extreme racial prejudice.
The testimonies reveal how deep-rooted the racism within Maycomb runs, as it is present even in court rulings and how casually present it is. The court is taking place, and the order of prosecutor’s witnesses who are: Mr. Heck Tate, the sheriff; Mr. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father; and Mayella Ewell, the one who is accusing Tom Robinson of raping her. When it’s Mr. Ewell’s turn to speak, he does so with many racial slurs and slang embedded in his accusations. When relaying what he saw to the jury, he points at Tom and yells “―I seen that black n*gger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!” Mr. Ewell, who, although, has never been a part of a court case or viewed one, doesn’t truly care, or notice, that so far into the formal case, not one person has used racial slang to talk about Tom, and uses the term n*gger quite casually.
Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.
The Ewells could have been lying because most likely Mayella tempted Tom. Back then if you were involved with a colored person you were disgraced by the whole town. Mayella could have been trying to cover this up and get Tom arrested so he wouldn't be able to tell anyone. The jury convicted Tom Robinson because he was colored and back then white people believed they had to stick together against the colored people. This shows that based on the evidence Tom Robinson was only convicted because of his skin color.
The saddening thing is, that the whole scenario started because Mayella attempted to seduce Tom, and her father found out. Filled with rage, Mr. Ewell beat his daughter, he found it unacceptable that his daughter fancied a black man. Then, he claimed that Tom raped his daughter to cover everything up. There are even cases such as Tom’s happening to this day, such as the case of Miguel Angel Peña Rodriguez Vs. Colorado. The jury was corrupted by bias thoughts which resulted in an unfair trial.
First, she had to make up a story about Tom Robinson because she had kissed a black man, which was frowned upon for a white woman to do. “She was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society in unspeakable: she kissed a black man”(272). Mayella is also used as an example when she convinces the jury to convict an innocent black man because of Southern Womanhood. “That n***** took advantage of me, an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanna do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards, stinkin’ cowards, the lot of you”(251).
No matter the colour of the defendant’s skin, a white woman should not hold him accountable for an undeserved charge as a result of guilt and shame. Atticus appeals for racial equality, by accentuating that Mayella Ewell is guilty of a compassionate moment with a black man, and that it is not an excuse for a rape charge. This closing argument has been recognised as one of the 20th centuries most impressive messages in emphasising racial justice and a move for an integrated