The Judicial System In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Ever since the collapse of Jim Crow, mass incarceration of men of color has been the tool used to achieve Jim Crow’s same objective, as in the “era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt.” Instead, the criminal justice system is used to “label people of color as criminals,” which in today’s society it is “legal to discriminate against criminals in nearly all the ways that it was once legal to discriminate against African Americans.” These acts of discrimination include but are not limited to, “employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, and denial of public

This research essay discusses racial disparities in the sentencing policies and process, which is one of the major factors contributing to the current overrepresentation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American and Latino communities. This is also evident from the fact that Blacks are almost 7 times more likely to be incarcerated than are Whites (Kartz, 2000). The argument presented in the essay is that how the laws that have been established for sentencing tend to target the people of color more and therefore their chances of ending up on prison are higher than the whites. The essay further goes on to talk about the judges and the prosecutors who due to different factors, tend to make their decisions

Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance to the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essential essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.

The United States has been dealing with the issue of racism ever since Columbus landed on Plymouth Rock. The Indians were the first to endure harsh racism in this country. Pilgrims moving west ran them off their land wiping out many tribes and destroying many resources in their path. However, when many think of racism today, the issue of blacks and whites is the first to come to mind. African Americans have come a long way in today’s society as compared to the society their ancestors had to overcome. But just as far as we have come, there is still a long way we must go. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, clearly depicts racism and what it was like in the nineteen-thirties through the trial of Tom Robinson and the only white man that supports him, Atticus Finch. The whole town of Mycomb becomes overwhelmed by a crime that a poor, “white trash” young woman named Mayella Ewell, accuses Tom Robinson, a black field laborer, of committing. This is very similar to the case of the Scottsboro Boys where nine black men were also wrongfully accused of a crime only because of the color of their skin. The fictional story, To Kill A Mockingbird, seems to depict actual events that happened throughout the nineteen-thirties in the south, during a time when whites dominated the legal system and blacks had no rights.

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice.” This quote means that the harshest of the laws can bring the biggest injustice to citizens. In To Kill A Mockingbird society looks down on African Americans and defending African Americans is just like someone killing someone in this type of society. The problem is how African Americans got treated so differently and poorly in the all-white court system and in everyday life. Also, how people defending an African American got treated much differently than whites. (COUNTERCLAIM HERE) Harper Lee illustrates the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird by developing tolerant characters.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is centered on the moral values and ideas of the people in Maycomb and how they react to things that go against their normal beliefs. All of the characters have their own senses of what is right or wrong, good or bad, etc. Aunt Alexandra's moral values are expressed throughout the book, especially in her feelings through her brother's case, but in public are confined to the indifferent and self-aware values of the county. While Aunt Alexandra has her set of displayed ideas and values shaped by the people in Maycomb, there are some hints to a hidden sense of justice in her throughout the story that gives her a sense of compassion for those discriminated in her world.

Kelly Welch of Villanova University introduces black stereotypes in her abstract to Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling. “The stereotyping of Blacks as criminals is so pervasive throughout society that “criminal predator” is used as a euphemism for “young Black male.” This common stereotype has erroneously served as a subtle rationale for the unofficial policy and practice of racial profiling by criminal justice practitioners (Welch).” Welch briefly presents the idea of black stereotyping which is a parallel to Tom Robinson’s case fought by Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. Tom Robinson is at disadvantage due to his race and the criminal stereotypes that were attached to blacks. Related to black stereotyping, the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird- the 1930’s, presented many racial issues in the eyes of

Amidst a warm summer afternoon under the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. along with several hundred-thousand people rallied for justice and equality. Dr. King spoke words which ushered faith into the hearts of millions of people who doubted the possibility of equality in the world: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, an African-American man, Tom Robinson, is wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, in a small, prejudiced community in Alabama. The county lawyer who defends Tom, Atticus Finch, is a well-respected man throughout the community, who fights for Tom to the fullest extent. Although Tom is ultimately convicted, the case is a milestone, because an African-American gains support, however small, within an otherwise hostile white community. While Dr. King’s words resonated with millions over a half-century ago, the fact remains that the arc of morality does not bend towards justice on its own, but rather tasks men such as Atticus Finch who displays empathy, courage, and fairness towards all.

“African- Americans are 21 percent more likely than whites to receive mandatory minimum sentences and 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison [or death penalty] than white men” (Quigley 2010). The writer Harper Lee demonstrates how this is in fact true through her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book she tells a story of prejudice and injustice in a small southern town in the 1930’s through the eyes of child, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. It talks about how racial injustice is against the black people in 1930’s Maycomb, Alabama showing the readers how much racism has changed through the years since then; and also how powerful of an impact it had on the people in the town. Including those, who were and weren’t discriminated in their town.

Harper lee demonstrates Maycombs racial inequity through Tom Robinson's trial and the characterisation of Atticus. "I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit’em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird”. (10.119) The unjust tainting of the justice system unfairly plagued against Tom Robinson’s trial. Harper lee explores how the skin colour of a person in Maycomb 1930s had the power to immensely disadvantage someone from being innocent to guilty. Even Atticus, Maycombs well respected exceptional lawyer, couldn’t successfully serve Tom Robinson Justice. Atticus suffered much criticism for wanting to help a black man have a chance at justice which violat...

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a constant theme that runs through the book is one that highlights the need for action. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930’s Alabama, is faced with challenging “a white man’s word against a black man’s” (Lee 187). Unfortunately for Atticus Finch, during this time and in cases such as this one, the “white man always wins” (Lee 187). Atticus wanted to believe that “in [The United State’s] courts, all men are created equal”; however, the defendant, Tom Robinson’s case went into “the essence of a man’s conscience”, and in Atticus’ conscience, he kne...

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.

Tom Robinson and his role as an African-American male in a society governed by prejudice and Jim Crow laws. Finally, students will study the justice system itself while examining the Jim Crow laws and court system that left Tom Robinson a victim of what will be argued to be not only a prejudice of race, but a discrimination of race, gender, and socio-economic prejudice inextricably and horrifically entangled within the minds and laws of the early twentieth century American

In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical