Tom Robinson Letter To The Jury Analysis

Court Case Essay 16-21 By: Taylar Stueven Atticus put up a fight during the Tom Robinson case. Giving great arguments and counter arguments to prove that Tom Robinson isn’t guilty, also Atticus had a really well thought out closing argument. If I were Atticus during the trial I would have changed up his closing statement, otherwise everything else I would have kept the same and if I were a juror I wouldn’t have decided that Tom was guilty. Atticus had a really well thought out closing argument. He puts Tom Robinson’s life in their hands and lets them know that you are the one making the decision.

THE INTRODUCTION Good morning, my name is Braden Hoheisel, and it is my pleasure to represent the State of Maycomb and to serve as prosecutor in this life-changing case. On August 26, 1936 Mr. Gilmer harassed and disrespected Tom Robison in his court trial. He made false statements about stuff not related to the case and called Tom names. At the conclusion of this case, we hope that after you have heard all the evidence that you will choose the verdict of guilty on this case and the charges of harassment and lying.

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.

I watched from the balcony with my sister as I excitedly but softly mumbled “We’ve got him” [Page 178] Bob Ewell was the one to beat up Mayella Ewell, not

Tom Robinson, a negro man accused of raping nineteen-year-old Mayella Ewell, was convicted guilty this Saturday. He was convicted by Robert E. Lee Ewell, Mayella’s father. The young man will be sentenced to the electric chair, with no bail. Tate was the first one to the witness stand. He claimed that Bob Ewell called him to his house the night of the Twenty-First.

The town of Maycomb, Alabama recently experienced a controversial and historical trial on the case of Tom Robinson, an African American man, being accused of raping and assaulting 19 year old Mayella Ewell. Many people from all over packed into the Maycomb courthouse to see the verdict of this case. Tom Robinson was defended by Mr. Atticus Finch, while Mr. Wilmer Gilmer was Miss Ewell’s attorney for this case. Mr. Finch provided strong evidence that Mr. Robinson did not perpetrate this crime. However, Mr. Robinson was unanimously proven guilty and sentenced to the electric chair to be killed as a punishment for this said crime.

In his closing argument Atticus Finch made a statement about how most white people at that time saw black people,“... the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber”. No matter how truthful or respectable Tom Robinson was on the stand and in his day-to-day life, no one would ever believe that he did not rape Miss. Mayella Ewell.

“In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins.” In the historical fiction, To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee writes about a small town known as Maycomb, Alabama in the late 1930’s. The novel revolves upon the case of Mayella and Tom and the effects of racial discriminations during the trial. In the story, Mayella, a nineteen year old, constantly undergoes abuse from her drunken father, Mr. Bob Ewell.

“Mr. Ewell’s face grew scarlet. He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson”(196). Following Ewell was his daughter. Mrs. Mayella Ewell’s testimony relayed the above information along with the details of the crime. However, when Finch questioned Ewell, Finch began to find uncertainties in Ewell’s account.

During the jury voting, Jem could not believe his 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” (278). Watching Atticus try cases for years, he knows in court that justice prevails. He thought for sure that Tom was free, the evidence was crystal clear. He could not see what reasosn the jury had for a guilty verdict, but when the verdict came out as guilty, he was mad because he knew it was a racist verdict from the jury.

At the end, “Judge Taylor was polling the jury” (282), which concludes that Robinson is “‘Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty’” (282). Not one person, it seems, admits that Robinson is most likely innocent. His race decides for them, because they understand no other way to think than in a racist manner. Because nearly every white person in Maycomb, jury or otherwise, speaks freely about their belief that Robinson is guilty, these men couldn’t or wouldn’t go against the flow and vote according to their true opinion of the plausibility of his innocence. Some time later, after talk about Tom Robinson’s court case has calmed down, Scout talks to Jem about something that she witnessed at school earlier that day.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Courage "Courage is when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee 's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel. "The only thing we 've got is a black man 's word against the Ewells '.

After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

The jury had return from making their decision. It took forever for them to make a decision, which means that they thought really hard about their verdict and that they might find Tom not guilty. As the paper was handed to Judge Taylor the word that come to play put me in complete shock. “Guilty…guilty…guilty…guilty…” was all I heard the jurors’ say. I could not believe what I heard; Tom Robinson was found guilty of raping and beating 19 year old Mayella Ewell.

In the case that Atticus was defending, Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused for raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. When speaking to Atticus about the court case, Jem states that there should have been more evidence before deciding whether Tom Robinson was innocent or guilty. He said, “I mean before a man is sentenced to death for murder, say there should be one or two eyewitnesses. Someone should be able to say, ‘Yes, I was there and saw him pull the trigger’” (251).