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Summary: An Unjust Justice System

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An Unjust Justice System
Equality in the courtroom seems like a concept that should be guaranteed in our justice system. After all, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection of law. However, equality rarely makes an appearance in modern day court cases. Some have begun to feel that the justice system is corrupt, while others feel that the justice system is flawless and should be respected. The ongoing debate regarding equality in the justice system has been fueled by shocking outcomes of recent trials and acts of police brutality. Although some still believe it has no flaws, -equality has yet to be achieved in the justice system as supported by statistics, literature, and recent trials show that equality has yet to be achieved in …show more content…

Atticus Finch, his lawyer, proves that Tom could not have raped Mayella Ewell, but her father did it. Atticus clearly conveyed to the jury that Mr. Ewell was the reason for the bruises on Mayella Ewell. As Scout Finch recollects: “Mr. Ewell wrote on the back of the envelope...The jury sat watching him…”You’re left handed Mr. Ewell, said Judge Taylor. Mr. Ewell turned angrily to the judge and said he didn’t see what his being left handed had to do with it...Atticus was trying to show, it seemed to me, that Mr. Ewell could have beaten up Mayella” (Lee, 237-238). Not only was Bob Ewell left handed, but Tom Robinson, the suspect, had a destroyed left hand, meaning he could not have been the reason Mayella had bruises. “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side”, as Scout conveys to readers (Lee, 248). The evidence compiled by Atticus’ handwriting test with both Ewell and Robinson, and the fact that one of Robinson’s hands was destroyed, proved that the mark on Mayella could not have possibly gotten there by Tom. While Atticus clearly proves to the jury that Tom Robinson was a guilty man, the people of the jury disagreed. As Scout recollects: “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…’ I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them.” (page

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During both cases, Atticus and Mr. Davis both try to persuade the jury members using logos. Mayella had bruises and marks from being hit with a left hand. Due to all the facts Atticus gave, there is a clear and valid reason that it could have been Mr. Ewell. Mayella was beaten badly by someone exclusively with his left hand. During the trial Atticus asked both Mr. Ewell and Tom to sign a piece of paper.

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He instills fear in Mayella, therefore she feels obligated to lie during the court trial, blaming Tom Robinson for raping and choking her, causing the bruises along her neck and face. Mayella stutters when being interrogated by Atticus, almost revealing a sliver of truth when she says, “No I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me” (Lee 248). This proves to Atticus and those viewing the trial that Mayella is indeed untruthful and nervous to deliver answers with her father overseeing her. Because she was present for the court trial, Scout Finch learns that Bob Ewell is guilty, especially after Atticus reveals that Bob is left handed.

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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.

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Lee’s character, Atticus Finch, argues against the jury by uncovering the lies of the Ewells, trying to evoke the jury to see the Ewells as the real criminals in this case. By using pathos, Atticus Finch attempts to switch the narrative and begins by stating that Tom Robinson is the real victim of Mayella’s crime, and wanting to forget her crimes, she tries to convict Tom Robinson. Atticus continues criminalizing Mayella by pointing out her crime of tempting Tom Robinson. Atticus emphasizes that Mayella broke an unspoken rule in their society by kissing a black man. Finch then continues by explaining that while the facts of what occurred are still undetermined, what is confirmed is that Bob Ewell is left-handed and was there when the crime

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This paper provides a critical response analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the author, Deborah Rhode’s, position in her article, Access To Justice. Accordingly, this exploration yields an evaluation through consideration of key questions and concepts with correlations to various week three materials pertaining to punitive justice, hence, the passage selection choice for this analysis is “Defining the Goal: Access for Whom? For What? How Much? And Who Should Decide?”, which emphasizes the socioeconomic issue of inequality of justice through assertions that a disparate proportion of the United States population lacks access to adequate representation (Rhode, 2004, pp.

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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.

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The narrator states, referring to Tom Robinson, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (188). This shows that it would have been nearly impossible for Tom to effectively hurt her on the right side of her body. When Bob Ewell was testifying, Atticus asked him to write his name. This proved that Bob Ewell was left-handed, making it easier for him to have beaten Mayella rather than Tom. Regardless of all of the facts that contradicted the Ewells’ testimonies, Tom Robinson was still found guilty.

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One reason Tom Robinson is innocent is because the evidence supports his case. Mr. Tate says, “It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of the face,” talking about which side Mayella was beat up on (Lee 225). This would mean that a left handed person would have beat her up and Atticus proves that

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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...

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During the trial, Atticus reveals that since Mayella was hit on the right side of her face, the one who abused her must have been left-handed. Later, Scout describes an observation she makes about Tom and says, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him” (Lee 211). This observation that Scout describes adds more evidence to Atticus’s claim that Tom Robinson was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Scout’s observation also compares Tom to a mockingbird because he is physically disabled, which fits the description Miss Maudie gives of a mockingbird in the book.

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Tom Robinson is an innocent and smart person. In the novel, Tom Robinson is being accused of rape and abuse. It is obvious and it is proved later on in the novel that Tom Robinson could not have been responsible for Mayella Ewell’s case of rape, since he only has one working arm. Another piece of evidence is when Mr. Ewell states, “‘It was her right eye, Mr.Finch . I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face...’”

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While trying to convince the judge that the person who punched Mayella is left-handed, Atticus makes Mr. Ewell write his name on the paper and proves that he is left-handed. "You're left-handed, Mr. Ewell'' (Lee 185). Tom could not possibly be the left-handed assailant who struck Mayella on the right side of her face. Atticus further suggests that it was Bob, Mayella's father, who beat her, and that, in fact, no rape occurred. So Atticus proves that Tom’s left hand is injured and could not possibly injure her, however Mayella’s dad is left handed.

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Ewell would lie about the occurrence between Mayella and Tom. One of the first reasons Mr. Ewell would lie is he is the one who hurt his daughter. In the novel Atticus was trying to prove to the jury that it is possible that Mr. Ewell beat up his daughter. Scout says to herself, “… Atticus was trying to show, it seemed to me, that Mr. Ewell could have beaten up Mayella.”(Lee

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After the supposed crime, Mr. Ewell and Sheriff Tate, the sheriff, said that Mayella had many bruises on the right side of her body, indicating the person hurting her must have been left-handed. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, later revealed that Tom's “left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (Lee 211). Due to his left arm's impairment, he could not have possibly hit Mayella and left her with all those bruises and wounds, which indicated that another person had abused her. If Tom was not the one who had maltreated her, who would be able to, Mr. Ewell, who had been embarrassed and ashamed of his daughter's behavior, had assaulted her and assigned blame to Tom. If Mayella had told the truth about what happened, she would have received a much more severe beating at home and possibly even death or exile at the hands of her father.

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