The Jury (Ch21-25)

In this section, we hear that the jury takes a long time to deliberate. I found this quite odd and profound for a few reasons; the main reason is the fact that Tom Robinson is black and I believe that the normal outcome or this would be a quick guilty verdict. The children came back expecting the jury to have finished deliberation. This was not what happened. Jem was confident, however I was not. Although Atticus is one of the best lawyers in Maycomb and white, the prejudice and ignorance of Maycomb and this era was too much for a innocent verdict. We learn that Tom Robinson is convicted of r*pe and was transferred to a prison further away. Rape is a high offence in Alabama and Tom would get the electric chair if he did not get pardoned. 

I find the electric chair a high price to pay for r*pe, especially for an INNOCENT man. Tom Robinson tried to escape which I did not expect. I think this was a foolish move as now he is dead anyways. I think he was scared and upset that the U.S. legal system failed him due to its ignorance and prejudice of the era. 

The U.S. Legal system is nowhere near perfect, even today. Our legal system has improved over time but there is still room for improvement in my eyes. Bob Ewell is one person I harshly dislike in this book. He is rather rude, ignorant, and prejudiced. He doesn’t seem to care about anyone (especially Tom) besides himself and possibly his daughter. I find this man to be very selfish. Atticus, of course, is nothing like this. Atticus isn’t biased nor prejudiced. Atticus is one of the only real men I have seen in this book so far. Boo Radley may be another of the real men and I hope to see more of Boo in the remainder of the story.