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What Is Tom Robinson Biased Jury

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts the tragic case of Tom Robinson, an innocent African American man, who was wrongly accused of a crime that never existed, a dream of a white woman who broke a moral code in the 1930s. For this crime of fantasy he was subject to the truth of an electric chair, although he never saw this chair, the result was the same, death. This brings us to our next question, how do we have the power to take a life? Will we ever have enough facts or an unbiased jury to carry out this ultimate punishment? The answer is no. There will always be a biased jury, or inconclusive evidence to support that a crime, like that of Tom Robinson’s, to kill a human being. We will be taking an in depth look at the faults of this …show more content…

By definition racism is: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” (Merriam and Webster) This problem is often times very relevant in our jury system, though if we send someone to prison, they have the right to a retrial and we can at least give them the rest of their lives back (and a lot of money in restitution). While as if we send someone to death, we can never give them their lives back. Recent studies show that in interracial murders, when there is a white defendant and a black victim, there were only 31 executions, whereas if there was a black defendant and a white victim, there was 291 executions carried out. This should be shocking to us because of the “fairness” of our judicial system. It would be interesting to find how many of those black defendants' trials would be found innocent if they had a retrial with an unbiased jury like we all should have the right to. Since 1973, over 140 “lucky” death row inmates were released from death row, how many more are innocent are still on today? Our judicial system should not rely on “luck” alone. Our judicial system isn't perfect, nor will it ever be, because we in ourselves aren't perfect, so we should not rely on an imperfect jury to punish another fellow man that can't be

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315 Words | 2 Pages

for a dull respondent than for a white prosecutor in a practically identical case. A study in California found that the people who killed whites were general 3 times more slanted to be sentenced to death than the people who killed blacks and more than 4 times more likely than the people who killed Latinos. Looks at exhibit that 96% of states where there have been surveys of race and capital punishment, there was an example of either race-of-casualty or race-of-litigant separation, or both. A respondent was a few times more prone to be sentenced to death if the homicide casualty was white. A January 2003 study discharged by the University of Maryland presumed that race and geology are central point in capital punishment choices.

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953 Words | 4 Pages

The jury came to the conclusion, with no evidence the offense happened, that Tom Robinson was guilty. Based on the grudges and resentments of those men, Tom Robinson was never going to receive a fair trial with the jury given. ANTICIPATE THE DEFENSE

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170 Words | 1 Pages

To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Mockingbirds do not cause harm or trouble; in fact their only purpose is to convince others with beautiful music. Tom Robinson’s death can easily be compared to that of a mockingbird; it did no good but also prevented no evil. Mr. Underwood chooses to write an article that basically every citizen of Maycomb can understand, and this proves to the reader the obvious connection between Tom Robinson and the symbol of a mockingbird. Mr. Underwood chooses to ignore the prominent racial barrier that separated Tom Robinson from justice, and chooses to focus on his disability instead.

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835 Words | 4 Pages

Gentlemen, in the 30 years that I have been practising law in Maycomb, I have never seen a case so complicated, and so simple at the same time. Complicated because of the circumstances; a white woman’s word versus a black man’s word. Simple because of the facts; clearly no one in this courtroom is guilty besides the defendant himself, Tom Robinson. There is undoubtedly more evidence confirming the fact that Tom Robinson is guilty rather than innocent.

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289 Words | 2 Pages

The outcome of Tom Robinson’s trial was most certainly unfair and based on the racism in Maycomb. There was a plethora of evidence that he was not guilty in any way. There were marks of two hands’ fingers around Mayella Ewell’s neck, bruises that were mostly concentrated on the right side of her face (meaning that the attacker would be left handed as Bob Ewell was, and Tom had a crippled left arm), and the changing stories told by the each of the Ewells. As Atticus, the man defending Tom, makes his closing statement, he remarks on all of the evidence against the Ewells, and states that if Thomas Jefferson was correct, all men are equal; so, Tom Robinson should be parallel to Robert E. Lee Ewell, especially in the court. When the verdict is

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916 Words | 4 Pages

Injustice in Tom Robinson’s case can blamed on Bob Ewell, the racist jury, and society itself. Bob Ewell’s racist beliefs and ignorance were an important part of Tom Robinson’s unfair treatment. It is unacceptable to be racist in the first place, but Bob Ewell took it to another level by falsely accusing Tom Robinson of raping his

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369 Words | 2 Pages

In my eyes, Mr. Gilmer does not do a great job of proving Tom’s guilt. My reasoning behind this is because of how Mr. Gilmer provides no real evidence to prove that Tom is guilty of raping Mayella. Instead, he relies upon the word of two white people against one Negro man. Clearly, the majority of the jury thought otherwise because they found Tom guilty. I believe that this might not only be because of the racism during that time period, but also because of the condescending way in which Mr. Gilmer spoke to Tom.

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832 Words | 4 Pages

Despite the unwavering dedication of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the absence of evidence, and a moving courtroom speech, Tom Robinson is convicted of a crime that he did not commit. This jury ruling causes both those who advocated Robinson’s conviction and those who were convinced of his innocence to question their notions of justice and fairness. As if a false conviction was not enough, Tom is eventually killed, and the sense of justice and fairness seem to be completely violated. Write an argumentative essay on “To Kill a Mockingbird” in which you establish what Lee is trying to convey regarding these two concepts that are so important to civil society. Questions that you might want to consider include: If justice and

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215 Words | 1 Pages

Recently I have read the novel , To Kill a Mockingbird. It revolves around a girl nicknamed Scout , a boy named Jem , their father Atticus and their town , Maycomb. So when Atticus , a lawyer , takes a case defending a black man against rape charges the seemingly perfect town of Maycomb true colors are revealed and uncovering the town’s hatred for African Americans. Can a person’s hatred for other people/parts of society can stop them from making the right choice .

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575 Words | 3 Pages

The levelers of court have a sense of power that gives citizens a feeling of intimidation. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, gives us the feeling of unfairness and how people are treated by the way they look. In court people are treated unfairly and not all men are created equal. Throughout time there have been cases where people were accused of crime because of how they look. In the 1930s the case with the Scottsboro Boys was a case some say was unfair.

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336 Words | 2 Pages

I, member of the jury, am choosing to vote Tom Robinson not guilty on the account of rapeing Mayella Ewell. All evidence that arose during the trial proves his innocence in the case. Nevertheless, I have to make a decision based on my moral values, not the societal norms of Maycomb County. During the trial, the witness testimonies were continually contradicted.

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84 Words | 1 Pages

Mr. Gilmer would have said it’s the jury duty to convict Tom Robinson for what he has done. That Mayella will never know peace until Tom is hung for his crimes. That with Tom running free no women would be safe. He would want to play up the stereotypes of savage black man that can’t be trusted with white women, because that would hit home with the men on the jury. This tact Mr. Glimer hopes to distract them from the lack of facts.

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944 Words | 4 Pages

The moment Atticus is appointed to be the defender of Tom Robinson, he knows that if he really takes on this role of a defender, Maycomb’s society is going to ostracize him. Defending a black male who is accused of having raped a white woman is not only Alabama in the 1930s a capital offense in Alabama in the 1930s, but lands him in difficulties as he and his kids have to face hostility in Maycomb. A classmate tells Scout that “my folks say your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hand from the water-tank!” (Lee 87). She discovers what Maycomb’s population thinks of her father.

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914 Words | 4 Pages

“ According to the National Association of Social Workers Web site, racism is “the ideology or practice through demonstrated power or perceived superiority of one group over others by reasons of race, color, ethnicity, or cultural heritage....” The definition further goes on to note that “racism is manifested at the individual, group, and institutional level.” (Blank, 2013) Despite how much time has passed by, racism continues to be a huge issue today. We see it every day, some have even been confronted by racial discrimination, or racial slurs even. We see how the system could be for example: how blacks continue to get more severe punishments or blacks have higher the chance to get criminally sentenced than whites.

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1992 Words | 8 Pages

Racism is an ever growing issue in the world, and something we can’t hide behind. According to dictionary.com the defintion of racism is: “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” Race was created socially by how people perceive ideas and faces people are not used to yet. It is the “hatred” of one person to another individual, solely based on that person's belief that the person is inferior because of their language, birthplace and skin colour. Racism is an issue that has lasted throughout history, providing justification for a group’s dominance over another.

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