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. The jury was an all-white jury, in a highly racist community. They wouldn’t have given Tom a fair trial, regardless of the facts given. Atticus explained to Jem that “‘Those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason’” (Lee 295). “‘There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried. …show more content…
“‘I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system-that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality.’” (Lee 274). Atticus, Tom Robinson’s defendant in the case, says in his closing statement that “‘two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, has been flatly contradicted by the defendant’” (Lee 271). The final piece of evidence proving that the jury is guilty of jury misconduct is when Reverend Sykes says “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee 279). Tom Robinson’s jury is guilty of juror misconduct, because of their unwillingness to listen to the facts of the case. Tom Robinson lost his life because of these twelve men's laziness. I hope that you members of the jury will be more willing to understand and listen to the case, than the jury for Tom