English Assignment 20B:
MAYCOMB JURY REACHES VERDICT ON ROBINSON CASE
Mr Thomas (Tom) Robinson, a 25-year-old Negro, has been accused of raping Ms Mayella
Violet Ewell, daughter of Mr Robert (Bob) Ewell. The case took place today in Maycomb
County courthouse before Judge Taylor and the jury. People from both the white and
coloured community flocked to watch lawyer Mr Atticus Finch defend a black man against
prosecutor Mr. Gilmer. The verdict was announced later that evening.
The first two witnesses:
Mr Heck Tate, sheriff of Maycomb County, was the first of four witnesses summoned to the
stand by Mr Gilmer. Mr Tate stated that Mr Ewell called him on the night of November 21st,
and told him that his daughter Ms Ewell was raped. He says Ms Ewell was found on the floor,
horribly bruised and beaten, who told him that Tom Robinson had raped her. Mr Finch
cross-examines the witness, who admits that the doctor was not called and that her bruises
were concentrated on the right side of her face. Mr. Tate leaves the stand and Mr Ewell is
called.
Mr Ewell stated that he was gathering kindling when heard screams from his house, and
upon investigation furiously claimed under oath that he saw Tom Robinson raping Ms Ewell.
The forceful accusation elicited angry murmurs from the coloured community. Judge Taylor
banged his gravel. While the temperature outside the courtroom was at its maximum, it was
nothing compared to the intensity within it.
According to Mr Ewell, Mr Robinson had fled once he had arrived, and after checking on
Mayella, he raced for the sheriff. Mr Ewell was questioned as to why he had not called a
doctor, the reason being because it was expensive and there was no need.
Mr Finch requested that the witness write his name. Mr Ewell is evidently left-handed. Tom
Robinson’s left hand is 12 inches shorter than his right, which was made known to everyone
present when Mr Robinson was asked to stand later on. He had caught his left arm in a
cotton gin when he was a boy, and now his left arm hangs useless. This indicates that a left-
handed man such as Mr Ewell would be more likely to injure the right side of one’s face than
Mr Robinson.
Two sides of the story:
The trial continues and both Ms Ewell and Mr Robinson were called to the stand. Both told
completely different stories of what happened on the day of the incident. Ms Mayella
claimed that she had invited Mr Robinson into the fence for the first time to chop up a
chifforobe for her. But according to Mr Robinson, he had broken up the chifforobe for her
“last spring, way over a year ago”. The crime took place on the 21st of November, in the
Ewell’s home. Mr Bob Ewell and his children live behind the town garbage dump, in a tin-
roofed cabin which used to occupy Negros. Ms Ewell says that her mother has been dead
for a long time, and as the eldest child is responsible for her herself and her seven siblings.
MAYCOMB JURY REACHES VERDICT ON ROBINSON CASE
Mr Thomas (Tom) Robinson, a 25-year-old Negro, has been accused of raping Ms Mayella
Violet Ewell, daughter of Mr Robert (Bob) Ewell. The case took place today in Maycomb
County courthouse before Judge Taylor and the jury. People from both the white and
coloured community flocked to watch lawyer Mr Atticus Finch defend a black man against
prosecutor Mr. Gilmer. The verdict was announced later that evening.
The first two witnesses:
Mr Heck Tate, sheriff of Maycomb County, was the first of four witnesses summoned to the
stand by Mr Gilmer. Mr Tate stated that Mr Ewell called him on the night of November 21st,
and told him that his daughter Ms Ewell was raped. He says Ms Ewell was found on the floor,
horribly bruised and beaten, who told him that Tom Robinson had raped her. Mr Finch
cross-examines the witness, who admits that the doctor was not called and that her bruises
were concentrated on the right side of her face. Mr. Tate leaves the stand and Mr Ewell is
called.
Mr Ewell stated that he was gathering kindling when heard screams from his house, and
upon investigation furiously claimed under oath that he saw Tom Robinson raping Ms Ewell.
The forceful accusation elicited angry murmurs from the coloured community. Judge Taylor
banged his gravel. While the temperature outside the courtroom was at its maximum, it was
nothing compared to the intensity within it.
According to Mr Ewell, Mr Robinson had fled once he had arrived, and after checking on
Mayella, he raced for the sheriff. Mr Ewell was questioned as to why he had not called a
doctor, the reason being because it was expensive and there was no need.
Mr Finch requested that the witness write his name. Mr Ewell is evidently left-handed. Tom
Robinson’s left hand is 12 inches shorter than his right, which was made known to everyone
present when Mr Robinson was asked to stand later on. He had caught his left arm in a
cotton gin when he was a boy, and now his left arm hangs useless. This indicates that a left-
handed man such as Mr Ewell would be more likely to injure the right side of one’s face than
Mr Robinson.
Two sides of the story:
The trial continues and both Ms Ewell and Mr Robinson were called to the stand. Both told
completely different stories of what happened on the day of the incident. Ms Mayella
claimed that she had invited Mr Robinson into the fence for the first time to chop up a
chifforobe for her. But according to Mr Robinson, he had broken up the chifforobe for her
“last spring, way over a year ago”. The crime took place on the 21st of November, in the
Ewell’s home. Mr Bob Ewell and his children live behind the town garbage dump, in a tin-
roofed cabin which used to occupy Negros. Ms Ewell says that her mother has been dead
for a long time, and as the eldest child is responsible for her herself and her seven siblings.
