Injustice Caused by Racism in To Kill A Mockingbird: Report of Legal Hearing

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s garden’s, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why its a sin to kill a mockingbird.” this is a quote said by Ms. Mauddie in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The novel to kill a mockingbird is about a young girl named scout who is raised by her father Atticus finch and lives with her brother Jem and housekeeper Calpurnia. Atticus raises his children to have a sense of empathy, justice, and compassion to those around them and these traits are tested when Atticus must defend a black man accused of rape. The defendant Tom Robinson works for Bob Ewell and was accused of rape by his daughter Mayalla Ewell. These allegations are false and have no evidence to back them up however Tom Robinson is still found guilty and is sentenced to death. In the novel, Ms. Muadie, Scouts neighbor and a family friend to the Finch’s, uses the above quote to demonstrate to Scout why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird is a metaphor for anyone or anything that is innocent and defenseless. This metaphor is used in the case of Tom Robinson and his conviction that was anything but fair. The novel to kill a mockingbird was written in similarity to the Scottsboro boys trials in scottsboro alabama in the 1930’s. The Scottsboro Boys were a group of nine black boys ranging from ages 12-19 on a freight train from Georgia to Memphis. For most of these boys, boarding this train was in hopes of finding new work and improving their current life circumstances. Little did they know that the racism of the citizens in Scottsboro Alabama would not only stop them from achieving these goals but make their already terrible situations far worse. At a stop in Scottsboro, two women named Victoria Price and Ruby Bates accused the 9 boys of raping them and a trial was held in Scottsboro to predict the fate of the boys. Similarly to Tom Robinson, their was no evidence to back their claims, and the boys were found guilty and sentenced to death. Tom Robinson and the Scottsboro boys were both victims of the corrupt and racist judicial system withim the southern us state of alabama. This injustice caused by racism in to kill a mockingbird and the scottsboro boys trials can be seen through the jury, the testimony of Victoria Price, Ruby Bates, and Mayella Ewell, and the racial bias ingrained in the U.S. state of Alabama.

Jury:

In our modern-day judicial system, the defendant is normally innocent until proven guilty. However, in the case of the Scottsboro boys, their cases were judged with a racial bias that prevented the jury from judging the case as they would under standard protocol. 12 days after the boys arrest they went straight to trial which just lasted a total of 4 days. The lawyers assigned to defend the boys didnt have nearly enough time to prepare a case with only a two days notice. The entirely white jury didnt give the case a second thought and swiftly judged the 9 boys as guilty. In Alabama at the time, rape was considered punishable by death so, of the 9 boys, the eight eldest were to be killed in the electric chair on July 10, 1931. One year later in 1932, it became clear to the U.S. supreme court that the scottsboro boys were stripped of their 14th amendment rights, which clearly states that it is forbidden to deny any person, ‘life, liberty or property, without due process of law’ the boys were given a second trial, this time in Decatur Alabama under judge James E Horton. Unlike their first trial, one of their accusers, Ruby Bates, admitted to falsifying her story and came forward clearly stating that there was no evidence to back up her previous claim. Even with Ruby’s testimony and obvious evidence, the new all white jury refuted the claims and the convicted, Haywood Patterson yet again was recommended the death penalty. In the midst of all the trials, Haywood Patterson, the oldest of the Scottsboro boys, was found saying, “The courtroom was one big smiling white face.”

Atticus Finch was actually aware that he was going to lose Tom Robinson’s trial, but still gave it his all for the sake of justice. “…When you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”

Throughout the book scout is told by atticus to try and see things from the other person’s perspective, “You never really know a person until you consider things from his point of view–until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (empathy) this empathetic way of thinking is only seen in the Finch family throughout the novel and is extremely lacking in the people of alabama.

Testimony of girls:

Mayella Ewell, Ruby Bates, and Victoria Price all had one thing in common. They were not cruel, racist, bloodthirsty women with the intent of putting innocent black men in prison. Victoria and ruby did not board the freight train to Memphis in hopes of finding 9 black men to falsely accuse of rape, and Mayella Ewell did not stand in front of a jury constructing lies about Tom Robinson because she hated him. They all were simply put into situations that left them with no other option. In to kill a mockingbird, Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of rape with full knowledge that she does not have any evidence to back up her claim. While on the stand Mayella Ewell is seen with bruises on the right side of her face implying that Tom Robinson would have attacked her with his left hand. “Bob Ewell, the jury sees, is left-handed—and a left-handed man would be more likely to leave bruises on the right side of a girl’s face.” Tom Robinson’s left arm is proved to be defective being that it was destroyed in a cotton gin when he was just a kid. Atticus makes it clear to the jury that it was Bob Ewell who attacked and possibly raped his own daughter Mayella Ewell. This is clear proof of Tom’s innocence but this fact is ignored since it would put the odds in favor of the black man. Despite the fact that Mayella wrongly accused an innocent man of rape, Tom Robinson was not the only victim. Mayella Ewell was a victim in her own right. Within her family she was ignored, unloved, and abused by her father. In the months leading up to her trial against Tom Robinson she would continually get Tom Robinson to do things around the house in an effort to seduce him. When Tom Robinson refused, she was embarrassed and devastated. As soon as her father Bob Ewell found out about her near affair with their black worker, he attacked Mayella, leaving her with bruises on the right side of her face. Similarly to Mayella Ewell, Ruby Batea and Victorua price had their own intentions for fabricated rape allegations. Victoria Price and Ruby Bates grew up during a time where employment options were slim. They both grew up in broken homes and as a result reverted to prostitution. Boarding the freight train to Memphis was in hopes of pursuing immoral work across state lines. On an unexpected stop in Scottsboro, Victoria Price convinced her friend Ruby Bates to accuse nine black boys of rape to remove any signs of illegal activity from either one of them. Their plan was, of course, successful and eight of the nine boys were convicted and recommended the death sentence. In a later trial for haywood Patterson, Ruby Bates actually came forward and admitted to falsifying her story. Mayella Ewell, Ruby Bates, and victoria Price were all very simple women placed in extremely unfortunate circumstances. Although one could argue that falsely accusing black men was not their only option to get out of whatever affairs they were involved in, they chose to go down that path because of how easy society made it for them. They knew that the jury would listen to their opinion over anything else the black defendants had to say. They knew that accusing a black man (or men) of rape would remove any trace of suspicion from them and transfer it to the defendant. All of this was made clear to them due to the fact that racism was an everyday occurrence in their lives. If racism hadn’t been so mainstreamed and normalized in southern America, Mayella Ewell, ruby bates, and victoria price might not have even tried to frame Tom Robinson and the nine Scottsboro Boys.