Atticus Finch Trial

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Have you ever been in a situation where you had to decide what was the right choice based on your beliefs? Even if it didn’t go with what other people were telling you to do? Atticus Finch, a character in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, did just that. Atticus is a lawyer in Macomb County, Alabama in the 1930s. Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Defending a black person on trial was against all beliefs in the 1930s, because the whites believed that they were less of a person compared to them. No one would ever defend a black person. Except for Atticus. Some may say that Atticus made the wrong decision to defend Tom in a trial because it put his family in danger. But …show more content…
During the testimony of Mayella Ewell, Mayella couldn't make up her mind of what happened that day. No doubt that she was nervous. However, when Atticus was questioning her she kept on crying. Mayella said that she had a black eye on her right eye. Which then makes you think that you have to be left handed to punch someone with your left hand. Atticus then askes Tom to stand up. Scout then described Tom by telling us how tall he is and his personal features such as, "His left had was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side"(Lee 248). By Scout saying this, it shows that Tom could not have beaten Mayella and choked her at the same time because he only has one hand to work with. In addition, a person that testified in Mayella's defense was Heck Tate. Heck, Tate is a Sherriff in Maycomb county, Alabama at this time. Heck, Tate is a well-known sheriff around that town. And, because of that, he was the first person Robert Ewell went to when he "found" Mayella that night. Heck take was testifying for Mayella Ewell's defense. In his testimony he states "'...She had a black eye comin.' 'which eye?' … ' her left'" (Lee 225). BY the author including that conversation between Heck Tate and Atticus she helped prove that Tom could not have "raped" Mayella Ewell. In conclusion, those are some reasons why Tom did not rape Mayella