What Are The Facts About The Tom Robinson Trial

Considering all the facts given during the trial, I believe Tom Robinson to be innocent. During the trial, four key people gave testimonies and underwent cross examination. Mr.Heck Tate, Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, and Bob Ewell’s testimonies give significant evidence that Tom Robinson not only did not rape Mayella Ewell, but he is incapable of committing such a physically taxing crime. On the other hand, Bob Ewell, “Mayella’s father, is capable and possibly had a history of abusing her. Tom Robinson is not guilty, because no medical evidence of rape that was ever tested found, Tom Robinson’s crippled arm would have made it impossible to hit Mayella in her right eye, and an insinuation of Bob Ewell’s abuse towards Mayella and dominant left

Heck Tate was the first of the witnesses to step up and give their testimony. He described to Atticus Finch about how after see Mayella bruised and beaten on the floor, the first thing he did was to take her to identify Tom Robinson. Following this, no doctor had come to check on Mayella, despite her serious injuries and multiple wounds. On page 190 of To Kill a Mockingbird, it reads “Did you call a doctor, Sheriff? Did anybody call a doctor. Asked Atticus. No sir, said Mr. Tate.” Later, during the text, Bob Ewell confirmed this and says that they have never called a doctor in his life and it wasn’t time to start now. This peaked Atticus’s interest, because even though she had just been raped, had been choked, and had a blackened eye, they didn’t seek medical attention. Since Mayella never consulted a doctor, it was never confirmed that she was actually raped. It also makes it seem as though the Ewell family has something to

With that information, and the short temper that he exhibited during his testimony, and the hints towards his history of drinking, it wouldn’t be far fetched to believe that he was capable of beating Mayella. In Mayella testimony on page 208, when Atticus asked if Mayella loved her father she was confused by the question. After some clarification Mayella said “He does tollable, ‘cept when- … Except when nothing.” This hesitation left room for question about how Bob treated Mayella when no one was watching. Later in the text, during Tom Robinson’s testimony, he states “ She said she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don’t count,” This further confirmed that Bob Ewell has been mistreating Mayella and insinuated that he was assaulting her. This knowledge coupled with Bob Ewell’s known drinking habits suggests that he is capable of giving Mayella the injuries that he claimed came from Tom