TKAM Point of View- Trial

As I sat in my chair, I wondered who would believe that Mr. Tom Robinson actually raped Mayella Ewell. If the fact that Mayella's beatings were all on her left side and that Tom didn't have a left hand wasn't enough, Atticus put up a big fight. I knew that Tom was innocent but I also knew my reputation was on the line. If I had said that Tom was innocent, I knew that many people would be ashamed of me. If I said that he was guilty, my reputation would not have been affected but my pride would. This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made; for me it was between pride and reputation but for Tom my decision meant live or death.

"Guilty... guilty... guilty.. guilty..." each vote read by Judge Taylor sent another pain of guilt into my stomach. Even though I knew my vote would mean nothing, to Tom, it would mean the world. To this day, I regret my decision and I wonder if I was the one who stood up for Tom in the jury, if I could have saved him from the fate that he met. Since that day, I realized that black and white are just a color and no one should be judged on a color.