Tuesday July 10, 12:30am

I…..I um, I just can’t believe what happened!  How could they……?  They…they said he was guilty!  So, we went back to the court house after supper and the jury was still out.  I was a bit surprised by this but I thought that there must be some really racially intolerant people on the jury that needed a lot of convincing.  I just can’t believe that it was the other way around; there were only a few that actually saw Tom as a person!  They chose to side with that good-for-nothing pig Bob Ewell rather than acquit a coloured man.  I just don’t understand how these people think! I’m just so mad right now, but Atticus just took it in stride and calmly walked out of the courtroom. How can he do that!  An innocent man was just sentenced to death and no one seems to care!  It just ain’t right!  Atticus seems to think that it was always destined to turn out this way and our only hope is the appeal but that still doesn’t change the fact that THIS ISN’T RIGHT!  There is something wrong with the world.  You know something?  I think that Mr. Ramon might be onto something.  If we all treated the Negro’s no different from the whites then maybe we could find some justice in this world.  I don’t know what to do, how could there be such horrible and intolerant people in the world?  I’m going to go to bed, maybe when I wake up this will all be a bad dream but I know it won’t be.  It’s just so…so horrible.

The "guilty" verdict is delivered

Monday July 9, 5:30pm

Hey it’s Jem again.  Wow, such an insane day today.  So remember this guy Tom that Atticus is defending?  Well, his trial was today and Scout, Dill and I went to the court house to watch.  Tom’s being accused of raping this girl Mayella Ewell.  The Ewells are a really strange family, their dirt poor and live in this broken down house next to the dump.  I guess every town has a family like them, especially in this depression were in.  We’re doing alright but the Ewells have always been poor and likely always will be.  So we head into town and that’s when we started to realize just how big a deal this is.  People who live out in the woods that we never see were coming to watch.  This one fellow, Mr. Ramon, is quite a site; all he does is sit there with the Negro’s getting drunk – he’s even got a black wife and these mixed children.  I’m all for treating the Negro’s decently but this guy’s kind of taking it to the extreme.  Anyways, we get into the court house but the entire viewing floor is full – thank you very much Scout!  She can be such a nuisance sometimes, we used to be so much closer but then she started turning into a “proper young lady.”  We ended up being invited to sit in the coloured balcony by the reverend at the local Negro church, which actually played to our advantage because Atticus would have a hard time seeing us and I don’t think he’d take too kindly to Scout hearing about rape.  So the first witness was the sheriff, followed by Mayella’s father Bob – an arrogant jerk with no respect for anyone – and then by Mayella herself.  Atticus managed to form this really strong argument about Mayella being all bunged up on the right side of her face, meaning that it was likely done by a left-handed person.  Now get this, not only does Tom have a crippled left arm but Mayella’s father is, in fact, left handed.  Isn’t it obvious who beat her up?!  Then Tome gets up and tells his side of the story, which was wholly unnecessary at this point because Atticus had already convinced everyone that it must have been Bob that hit Mayella, not Tom.  So eventually we were caught by Atticus and he sent us home to eat, but since we’d already heard everything he promised we could come back to hear the verdict (the jury had left to deliberate – as if they need to!).  Cal, our housekeeper, chewed us out all the way home but it doesn’t matter to me – we’ve won and there’s no doubt about it.  As soon as Scout’s done eating dinner we’ll head back to hear the verdict, not that we need to!  I wish that girl would stop slowing me down, she needs to grow up a bit.  With all the evidence in favour of Tom, the jury’s probably already come back and acquitted him –   Good, Scouts finally done so we can head back, I’ll make sure to post the verdict afterwards!

Sunday July 8, 1934



In Front of the Jail Sunday Night

Hey, my name is Jem Finch and I’m about to tell you about what has to be one of the scariest moments of my life.  It’s about one week into my summer holidays and up to now they have been pretty darn good.  My friend Dill came down to Alabama to visit for the summer (actually he more ran away) so it started off just like normal.  After tonight however, everything has changed.  So were just sitting there eating supper yesterday and we get this knock on the door.  I was finished so I got up to answer it; it was the sheriff.  At this point I’m wondering what I could’ve done to get the sheriff on me – a policeman at the door is never a good sign, right?  Anyways, that’s when I notice the crowd of men behind him and he goes and asks me if Atticus – my father – is home.  So I call Atticus and slide back into the house, but of course I’m not going to go too far from the door; after all, that kind of mob surely means that something big is up.  Sure enough, once I’m outa sight the sheriff starts going on about how “…the venues been changed…” and how they’re “movin’ him to the county jail.”  I guess they’re talking about this guy Tom Robinson.  He’s a Negro that Atticus is defending in court later tomorrow.  All of a sudden the crowd starts getting aggressive, starts questioning Atticus’ decision to defend Tom, telling him that he’s a fool.  Now, I’m not going to just let them tear him apart out there so I call to Atticus that the phones ringing and that seems to give the crowd a little start.  Crisis averted, although I really started to get scared near the end there despite Atticus’ assurance that the Klan’s gone and the folks of Maycomb wouldn’t try to start anything.  So then tonight Atticus is like “I’m going out for a while” and you just know something’s up, especially when he takes the car just downtown when he always walks.  Again, I’m starting to get a really bad feeling about this so I figure I’ll just nip downtown for a while and see what he’s up too.  Just as I’m about to leave my sister bursts into the room, sees what I’m doing and is like “I’m coming too!”  She can be so whiny sometimes but I didn’t really have much choice, she was threatening to throw a fit if I left her.  Soon after, two became three when she in insisted Dill accompany us.  Anyways, we get downtown and there’s Atticus reading the newspaper in front of the jail.  So he looks okay and I figure we can go home now, but just then these 4 cars pull up and this group of men confronts him.  Scout decides to go running out to him – what in God’s name is she thinking?  I try to stop her but somehow she thinks she can help him, and what do you know she actually gets the mob to break up.  She’s off her rocker but somehow it worked – I still can’t believe it.  So we start walking to the car and Atticus is talking to me.  Now, first of all I’m thinking that I’m in for it for sneaking out but no, Atticus seems to understand.  Second, I hate to admit it but I was really scared by this point – I mean two confrontations with a mob in two days is never a good omen, right?  The one today really looked like they meant business too – if Scout hadn’t intervened there could have been some serious trouble.  But no, Atticus seems perfectly confident in his situation; he spent the entire walk reassuring me that it’s all going to be okay.  I don’t know if I believe him though. I mean, Atticus is all we have; I couldn’t bear to lose him.  So I’m not sure now, Atticus seems fine but recent events have really got me worried.  I’m really starting to get scared.