Tom Robinson Discrimination

Racial bias, defined as “unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group” by Dictionary.com in which the social groups are different races, has been a problem for a long time, and it still exsts today. People cannot ignore the truth that is being shoved in our faces on the media. There are multiple examples of racial bias in the criminal justice system. If you don't believe this, here are some statistics by the Huffington Post: In a California study, the ACLU found blacks three times more likely to be stopped than whites, African Americans are arrested for drug offenses at rates 2 to 11 times higher than whites stated in a May 2009 report by Human Rights Watch, the U.S. Sentencing Commission in March 2010 stated that, in the

not have one focal point, which gave me an idea that she was lying. When Tom was giving

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their heart out for us.” (Lee 10) In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Atticus, Calpurnia, and Tom Robinson are the three mockingbirds.

Many people view Tom Robinson as a black man who took advantage of an innocent white girl. Mayella Ewell, the girl who accused Tom Robinson of raping her, explains what she wants people to think what happened between Tom and her, “I went in the house to get him the nickel and I turned around an’ ‘fore I knew it he was on me. He got me round the neck, cussin’ me an’ sayin’ dirt” (Lee 180). Furthermore, Mayella’s father Bob Ewell, when asked about Tom Robinson and his daughter Mayella says, “Well, Mayella was raisin’ this holy racket so I dropped m’load and run as fast as I could but I run into th’ fence, but when I get disentangled I run up to th’ window and I seen, I seen that n-word yonder ruttin’ on my

Tom Robinson’s trial for miscegenistic rape and his ultimate death paralleling in importance Tracy Deen and Nonnie Andersons interracial affair. The Ewells knows that they are the lowest of the among. The whites in Maycomb they have no money, education, and breeding. Bob and Mayella would like to better their station in life. Bob is unwilling to to put forth the effort necessary to change. She suffer from abuse at the hands from her drinking father. Mayella kisses Tom Robinson because of an emotional need to feel loved. She receives beatings and is raped by her father. Mayella

When looking at illegal actions and activities, also known as crimes, people of all color commit them. Whether people commit lesser or more excessive crimes, the action will be committed by a multitude of races. People of all colors are able to achieve the standards that have been set by society. When looking at the statistics, the evidence shows that people of color, especially African Americans tend to get harder and more solemn charges for the crimes that they have committed. What people might not notice is that there is a racial bias in the judicial system. That bias is changing the outcome of indictments. With all of the change going on in the United States of America, one untouched subject is the racial bias in the judicial system. If a change does not occur now, then when will there ever be a change? There is a racial bias in the judicial system, and a change needs to occur now.

Can racial bias have an effect on the verdict of being guilty or innocent? The American judicial courtroom has been comprised of the nation’s many greatest racial discriminatory cases over the past century, but the most racially upstanding case, when referring to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird includes The Scottsboro Trials. Both stories uprise in the 1930s, displaying a white supremacist mindset, which two cases fall into the conviction of rape. The Scottsboro case started on a train to northern Alabama to southern Tennessee, when nine African American boys, ranging in ages from 13-19, allegedly raped two “innocent” Caucasian women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Racial discrimination uprises in American judicial system when shown in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Trials through the racial prejudice within the jury in the courtroom, easy accessibility to target African Americans, biased accusations, as well as the social pressure to serve in one’s defense.

“The system is not fair. Institutional racism is alive and well in the juvenile justice system as it is in the criminal justice system, due to racial disparity and bias in the court room” (Jones, Bridgett). This is a statement that plagues many people involved in the justice systems. There are huge racial disparities throughout the world. Post-Slavery: the early development of the Race/Crime Connection, Profiling: Racializing possible cause, and differential bias involvement as well as institutional racism. We can work on having better policies and procedures driven into police practices and we need to make sure people of color are not excluded from juries to stop most of the disparity.

In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.

It is no surprise that most of America’s black, hispanic and other minority populations do not trust the criminal justice system. There is little debate on the fact that the system is racially biased. The facts are undeniable.

In one lecture we talked about explanations that could account for racial disparities, the first being that African-Americans and Hispanics could have commit more serious crimes, second being economic discrimination like not being able to pay bail, and third being direct discrimination by court officials like judges (Loes, 2016). On one slide of the lecture that day there was a quote from a judge that showed some unconscious bias and racial discrimination. Again I think this is something that shows some slight racism in the criminal justice system. Another thing not mentioned in the article was research relating to discrimination in the criminal justice system, as talked about in a lecture from the 1930’s to the 1960’s research did show racial discrimination (Loes, 2016). Another thing that would show some racial discrimination would be the history surrounding policing and how the first police officers we known as slave patrols (Barlow & Barlow,

As Anita Hill once stated, “We have a history of gender and racial bias in our court that continues to undermine the system. Excluding individuals based on race is antagonistic to the pursuit of justice.” RACISM- Another word for ignorance; another way of saying nature should have had only one type of flower or one species of animal. Racism is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all the colors. Racism is another word for fear- fear of the unknown. For many of us, those of diverse races and creeds are the great unknown. The simple question that begs asking is: why? What role does race truly play in the criminal justice system and is the system truly as colorblind as many individuals believe it to be? With this country’s shameful history of slavery, the Jim Crow Laws, and numerous other racially biased injustices, it seems likely race does, play a role in the countless facets in the United States (U.S) criminal justice system. Our system is clearly, not, color blind. Although a handful of naïve people remain oblivious to the racism ubiquitously occurring, negative attitudes toward people of color are, even now, prevalent in our courts. Not only is racism found in the corners of our streets, but also, it is found where we work, in schools our children attend, and, most significantly, in our justice system. It is about time for people to start examining the causes and begin looking for resolutions to this severe predicament. We – As America, have the ability to

Undoubtedly, Tom Robinson was one of the most important characters in the novel since he was an innocent man found guilty of raping a white woman. Tom was a victim of prejudice because he was unjustly convicted of a crime he did not commit based solely on the fact that he was a black man. He did not receive a fair chance of winning the case since the outcome was in favour of the woman that charged him with rape, Mayella Ewell. His defence attorney, Atticus Finch, was aware of this and so he exposed the state of mind many people in Maycomb have about black people to the jury: "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

Mayella Ewell tries to seduce Tom Robinson, but Tom is a loyal married man and he refuses her, so as revenge, Mayella and Bob accuse him of rape, the case is taken to court and Tom Robinson is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, even though Atticus gave a very compelling argument.

Very few things can compare to the anger, to the pain of being falsely accused of crime you haven’t perpetrated because of a physical reason or the way you present yourself. Some also believe that just because a select few are a certain way the entire population is as well, which leads to false accusations. We see various reasons for false accusations today in the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee, based on race, in the article “Richard Jewell, 44, Hero of Atlanta Attack, Dies” by Kevin Sack, based on presentation, and in the article “Civil Disobedience” by David Thoreau, based on power, or lack there of.