Gentlemen, today we gather here to examine a case that should not even be brought to court. There is little to none evidence showing that, the defendant, Tom Robinson, has committed the crime he is accused of. I trust that all you gentlemen here, I trust your value and wisdom, and I trust all of you will make the most reasonable decision based on all the facts and evidence.  

First of all, there is no medical evidence stating that the defendant has done such crime to Miss Mayella. Therefore, the case should not even be brought to the court. Also, the sheriff and Mr. Ewell both have given the evidence that the person who beated up Miss Mayella was clearly a person who is left-handed. However, the defendant clearly is not able to use his left arm, as the defendant has said before, “I got caught in the cotton gin when I was 12 years old. All my muscle were tore loose” (TKM 1:20:07-1:20:14). Moreover, the sheriff has given the statement that there were bruise all over Miss Mayella’s neck, which means the person who did it must be able to use both hands. Therefore, based on the fact that Tom cannot even use his left arm, the accusation is lack of evidence. Gentlemen, I believe that all of you here see the lack of evidence in this accusation, and I urge you to make the correct decision by evaluating the facts.

Our society believes that a white woman kissing a young and healthy black man is a sin. Miss Mayella could not help to kiss Tom Robinson, but she does realize that it is a sin to kiss him. Therefore, she is accusing him of something that has never happened to save her own reputation. If the bias towards the negroes do not exist in the society, this case would not have been brought to the court. Gentlemen, I urge you to also consider carefully of the defendant’s statements. As wise men like us, we do not believe in the bias that all the negroes are criminals. In a fair court like this, I trust that all of you would abandon the thoughts of racism, and look at what actually happened.

I understand that Mr. Ewell is extremely angry because someone has taken advantage of his daughter. We all want to defend our families, so let us not forget that the defendant also has a family. His wife and his father are heartbroken when Tom is wrongly accused, and they are extremely helpless. We should see the family of the negroes as important as our own. Imagine that someone in your family is wrongly accused, how heartbroken and angry would you be. Also, please consider how helpless they are because of the color of their skin. So, gentlemen, you should be extremely careful with the decision you make because wrongly accusation might ruin a family completely.

I also feel pity for Miss Mayella that she feels the needs to defend herself by accusing a kind-hearted man. Let us look at the separation in this room, the separation between us and the negroes. This is not how a prosperous community should be. I understand that we are all in financial difficulties under the great depression, so this is time we all bond together as a community, to make our Maycomb county a better place for all of us to live in. Accusing Tom of what he has never done is not the way to make the community safer for others. We should never make assumptions of people based on their skin color. We must trust each other based on the evidence.

Finally, I assure you that based on all the provided evidence, Tom Robinson is not a rapist, he is just a kind-hearted man who has done nothing wrong. And now, the decision is in all you wise gentlemen’s hands, I trust that you would make the most reasonable conclusion. 

Work Cited

To Kill a Mockingbird. Dir. Robert Mulligan. Universal International Pictures, 1962. Digital Campus. Web. 13 September 2017.