Tom Robinson

All Americans should receive fair trial; however, before the civil rights movement of 1960s this was not always the case. Prior to the civil rights movement the treatment of blacks vs. whites was not as equal as said to be. Legal systems favored the “superior” race, as did other citizens in everyday life. Freedom was not reached until post-Civil Rights Movement. Therefore, the legal system was not fair until after 1960.

The Jim Crow Laws were racist rules for the blacks to obey, put into place by white citizens; this is one example of why the legal system was unfair. In no way were the Jim Crow Laws fair treatments for those of black descent, but the consequence(s) for not following were much worst. In the Plessy vs. Ferguson document, “Both the Jim Crow Laws and etiquette emphasize the simple rule that all blacks were and must behave as if they were inferior to whites.” This quote shows that African Americans were patently not treated as equals. How could one expect fair trial when African American’s could not even be treated as equal on an average day? In addition to this In To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinsons’ court case was not near equitable, mainly because he was an African American against white people. An innocent man lost not only his freedom, but his life because the jury was too afraid to rule against the “superior race.” Tom Robinson was ruled guilty for a crime he did not commit simply because he was black and Bob Ewell was white. Harper Lee writes, “This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 203) This explains that no matter the circumstance an African Americans chance of winning a trial versus a white man was slim to none during this time period. White and black interaction was down to the bare minimum. “Jim Crow laws, which allowed states to legally impose punishment for those who crossed the racial barrier” (text 2) The white race had full control over African Americans, “separate but equal” was considered fair treatment, although it was not.

Although many people knew the legal system was not fair, nobody wanted to fight it. People noticed that what was happening was wrong, but did not want to ignite a problem, even if that meant saving a life. No matter what the trial was about if a white man or woman claims that a black man committed a crime (such as rape) more often than not the white citizen will win. Neither the judge nor the jury bring into consideration what the African American person has to say. Lee writes, “She was white, her word mattered more than a Negro’s.” (Text 4) This quote explains that even if they are false statements, white person’s words are thought to be truer than an African Americans. For example Walter Lett was nearly executed on May 11, 1934 for a crime he did not committee. Even though he did not get executed he still died in jail, just not immediately. Walter Lett and Tom Robinson both died do to white people making up false trials. Since the legal system then was so unfair two innocent men lost their life. Shields writes, “The verdict, however, didn’t sit well with some of the leading citizens of Monroeville.” (Text 4) People know what was going on was not fair but withdrew