Good afternoon, my name is Torri Piekarski, and it's my pleasure to represent Maycomb County and to serve as a prosecutor in this case. The trial began Mayella Ewell lied under oath to the judge that Tom Robison had raped her. Mayella Ewell committed this crime because she knows that if she tells the truth, then her father would violently act upon her. So, she lied about telling the whole truth and nothing about the truth, so her dad wouldn’t do anything to her about telling the truth. They would just keep everything on the low down together.
Mayella Ewell, the prosecutor, blamed Tom Robinson, the defendant, of rape on the night of November 21, 1935 at Mayella’s home in Maycomb, Alabama. The trial brought up included Tom Robinson, Mayella and Robert Ewell, Heck Tate, and Atticus Finch. Heck Tate and Robert Ewell were the witnesses for Mayella’s side and Atticus was the lawyer to Tom Robinson. This was such an important trial, whether the event actually happened or not, because Tom is a black man and Mayella is a white woman. The evidence provided shows that Tom most likely did not rape or beat Mayella, but her father was the one who could have beat her.
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.
On Monday, August 26th, 1935, Tom Robinson of Maycomb County was found guilty of beating and raping a young white woman; Robinson was found guilty of raping and sentenced to death by an electric chair. This abrupt verdict was decided after a full day at the Maycomb County courthouse. Mr. Finch, the local defense lawyer, was appointed to defend Mr. Robinson. The testimonies provided by Miss Mayella Ewell and Mr. Bob Ewell influenced the jury's decision and the guilty verdict for Mr. Robinson.
Then Bob Ewell showed up, Tom was scared and ran, not knowing what else to do because it is bad for a black man to be alone with a white woman. Mayella Ewell took the easy way out by choosing to accuse Tom Robinson of something he had not done so that she could cover up what she had done, kissing a black man without his consent. At the end of the case, I hope you use the evidence given and the facts to return to a quilty case on the charge of perjury. Members of the jury, the County will review the evidence against Mayella Ewell, who took the easy way out and lied during court, which ended up costing Tom Robinson’s life. During the trial, “Mr. Gilmer waited for Mayella to collect herself: she had twisted her handkerchief into a sweaty rope; when she opened it to wipe her face it was a mass of creases from her hot hands” (Lee 205).
The evidence points out that whoever assaulted Mayella had to do so with their right hand as she was hit on the right side of her face. Tom Robinson could not have assaulted her as his left arm was basically useless after a saw mill accident. Tom Robinson did not rape Mayella Ewell! Atticus is a fantastic lawyer and he did an outstanding job with this case. He made almost everyone believe that Tom was innocent.
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.
Tom Robinson’s trial in August 26, 1935 was an event that everybody in Maycomb knew about. Mr. Ewell accuses Tom of raping his daughter Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch, the defendant’s lawyer asked Mr. Ewell to write his name on a piece of paper to indicate whether he is right or left handed. Mr. Ewell does as instructed and reveals that he is left handed, it was said that there were hand marks on Mayella’s neck from a left handed person. The victim is now called up to speak and she swears to the oath.
Some may say that it was Tom's fault for his situation, but that is not the case. Tom Robinson is not at fault for his own situation because his arguments and evidence during the trial do not match Mayella’s
Tom Robinson’s trial began with Heck Tate as the prosecution's first witness. Tate, a venerable man, did not act like a truant - he answered all of the questions to the best of his ability. On the other hand, Bob Ewell, a thin man with crepey skin, displayed a level of impertinence with his obstreperous philippics against Tom Robinson punctuating his testimony. Judge Taylor and Atticus, however, proved him to be an asinine liar, and Bob Ewell ended his testimony with an impotent tirade about how being left-handed had nothing to do with the case. Mayella Ewell was the next witness, and her testimony proved that beneath the veneer, she was the loneliest person in Maycomb.
However, it is also important to consider that not every single person in the community thinks this way, there are still a few who do not hold his skin color against him. There was no evidence that proved Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell. Contrary to belief, there was more evidence that proved him more innocent than guilty. In court, after Atticus had finished questioning Tom, he gave his final statement to the jury and said “... But there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left hand...
First, Tom Robinson should have been found not guilty because he was right handed. Mayella the victim, was punched in the face on the night of the crime. On page 235, Mr. Heck Tate stated that Mayella had a black eye on her right eye
On top of this, the court and jury are biased enough to even overlook evidence that proves Tom’s innocence. According to Mr. Heck Tate, he found Mayella “bunged up on [the right] side of her face,” which would had been his left, while looking at her (Lee 225). The importance of this is, Tom Robinson would had not been able to punch Mayella on the right side of her face. This is because of the fact that he was “crippled… [and] his left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right… [and] ended in a small shriveled hand,” thus proving that he would be unable to punch Mayella on the right side of her face, as that required the dominance, and power, of someone who actually had a left hand (Lee 248). Therefore, proving that Tom had no part in harming Mayella.
Tom Robinson speaks more about his interactions with Mayella during his trial, who falsely accused him of rape. He shares his view of the social pressure that Mayella might be facing in the case. Understanding that pressure unveils the biases that he experienced during the trial. Apart from the pressure from the society as a burden on Mayella, but also the pressure from her father as well. Tom Robinson’s sympathy shows this when starting, “I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more on the rest of 'em—" (Lee, 201).
Opening Statement for The Jury Good morning, I am Erin Thesing, the prosecutor in this case. Tom Robinson was sentenced to prison for the rape of Mayella Ewell. However, while on the stand, the witnesses told three different versions of the story. This should have at least given the jury a reasonable doubt. However, the jury was lazy and decided to just go with the easiest decision for them.
