At this time racial discrimination was very common in the south. Many African Americans were accused and prosecuted for crimes they did not commit. Even if evidence said otherwise, the majority of the white population in the south would have rather seen a black man pay for a crime rather than a white man regardless of who committed it. Tom Robinson was subjected to this type of discrimination when he was accused of molesting a white woman by the name of Mayella Ewell in Maycomb County.
When the town sheriff Heck Tate gave his testimony Atticus asked him "Did you call a doctor?" Heck T…
