Tom Robinson Trial Essay

Tom Robinson, a black man, is falsely accused of rape and it costs him his life because of the color of his skin. The story is set in 1933 in Maycomb, Alabama, where there was no slavery but still no equal rights to colored people of that time. The story starts off with a family of one son, a daughter, and a single father who is a lawyer. Atticus Finch, the father of this family, is appointed to defend a colored man in his town for raping a white woman. While everyone else in Maycomb is quick to believe that this is true, Atticus, the lawyer, continues to represent him despite other people's opinions. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the situation of Tom Robinson is a result of the community’s actions, as evidenced by Tom not having

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... Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken oath with the only good hand he possesses- his right hand”. This goes to show that even after both Heck Tate and Mayella’s father, Bob, confirmed she was beaten on the right side, it would make more sense that the assaulter would have been mainly using his left hand because of her injuries. Atticus made it very known that Tom does not have a functioning left hand and can only use his right as his left was crippled in a mill when he was younger. Even with the jury knowing that he could not physically beat Mayella, they still accused him of being

They won’t bother you anymore”. Atticus was waiting for them to show up, knowing this would happen because of how the town is. Even with Atticus sitting there waiting, they were willing to fight Atticus to get to Tom. The people of Maycomb may put up with the colored folks, but they still look down on them and think of them as dirty. While people in the town of Maycomb, where no one thought for themselves and didn't want to change, there were still a select few that didn't judge Tom and believed the accusations just because of the color of his skin. There were still a limited few who wanted Tom to be free because they knew he was never truly guilty. Scout Finch was one person who was willing to make it known that she did not think Tom was guilty and didn’t judge him for his skin color, she openly stated “Well, neither of us was the Mayor of Birmingham, but I wished I was the Governor of Alabama for one day; I’d Let Tom Robinson go so quick the Missionary Society wouldn’t have time to catch its breath”.. While all the women in the town were quick to side with their husbands and jump to call him horrible and have no second thoughts about thinking he was wrongly accused, Atticus taught his children to look beyond what everyone else sees and see Tom as a person, not just what they hear about