I have just returned from the court case of Tom Robinson. He was undoubtedly sentenced to jail. I had always feared this outcome when I was invited to defend the negro. At that time, I took up the case, in hope of at least bring justice to light and at the same time, with a slight possibility, help Tom Robinson escape the death sentence.

I tried, but it was all in vain. There was no court case at all. Tom Robinson has been judged in the secret courts of men's heart, and not in the high courts of justice. It was a settled case right from the very start with a defined sentence laid out in every mind of the jury.

Unfairness started long before this case, and it shall continue for several more decades. I can now feel the hatred and pain of the negro, wanting to strike back and take revenge. I always know that the time to pay the debt towards the negros would come someday, but I sincerely hope that it would not be in the lifetime of my children.

My family name has been long tarnished, with my decision to defend a black. I had chosen this route, in hope that I had not taken a wrong route. I understood the risks, but I knew, that if I hadn't taken up this case, I would never be able to face myself in the mirror.

I hope that this case would soon fall into the back of the minds of the Maycomb residents.