The movie To Kill a Mockingbird did not justly represent the United States legal system. Although a wonderful novel, explaining the complex nature of prejudice and racism in the 1930's and 40's, Harper Lee was lacking in the legal development of the novel. The injustice begins with a man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson, African American, was charged with raping and abusing a white woman, a crime he did not commit. A lawyer named Atticus took on the case believing that all men are created equal, but he soon cam to realize that beautiful statement from our Constitution was just not prevalent in those "simpler" times. While reading the novel, I picked up on a few steps that were missing in the legal procedures. Among these, Tom Robinson was not offered bail, which is money or property used to secure the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody. Also, the prosecuting attorney did not make a closing argument, which would have allowed the prosecuting attorney to present all of his evidence and ask the jury to make a decision in his clients favor. Lastly, Tom did not receive a safe place to be held before the trial. Harper Lee is and amazing author, but she obviously did not have crucial legal skills that should have been represented in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Through the pages of history, you can find "surety." Surety is a person who takes on responsibility for another, or is something that gives assurance against loss, damage, or default. You can still hear that term in modern courts, where bail is known as a surety bond. In the case of Tom Robinson, no one was his surety. As I read through and watched him be charged an incarcerated, I realized that he was held with out bond. In the United States, it is believed that you are innocent until you are proven guilty, which should have been enough to grant Tom the right of bond.
