The Inequality of the Justice System

Justice is an ideal, and it can be understood as the quest that every organized
society has to maintain peace and promote welfare of their members. In order to
fulfill this, a community needs to have tools and mechanisms to uphold good and
punish evil. However, there is a thin line between right and wrong, and people
working inside the judicial system cannot always be unbiased, as they are
influenced by many other factors -prejudice, religious beliefs, personal judgment-
thus, a society cannot always do justice. Therefore, the fighting between these
forces is a constant disturbance among those who are entitled to enforce the law.

In both "To Kill a Mockingbird" as well as in "The Green Mile" injustices are
committed due to racism and social inequality. The main characters of the two
novels facw a struggle against the society they are living in and what others are
expecting from them. Atticus -as a lawyer- and Paul -as a prison warden- can feel
the impotence of having an innocent man convicted in front of their eyes without
much to do to save him.

Paul Edgecomb is an officer in charge E block at Cold Mountain prison, where

death row inmates are awaiting for their end. He is an impartial person with a
strong faith in the judicial system who believes that his job is extremely important
as it is where terrible criminals have their final opportunity to feel remorse. Besides,
he treats them with dignity and respect because he thinks they are already paying
for their crimes with their lives. -As for the rest of us, we would have scoffed at the
idea that we functioned most usefully not as the guards of the condemned but as
their psychiatrists (p.74)-. Paul realizes from the beginning that Coffey is
innocent -He looked like he could have snapped the chains that held him as easily
as you might snap the ribbons on a Christmas present, but when you looked in his
face, you knew he wasn't going to do anything like that.(p.11)- and as the story
progresses he reinforce this idea with proofs -"But if Coffey opened his lunch and
fed the sausages to the dog, howd he tie the news-paper back up again with the
butchers twine? [] this man cant even tie a simple granny knot" (p.348)-. But, in
spite of being absolutely sure about Coffeys innocence, he cannot do much
because they are living in a time when black people are not even considered
human beings, as it is made clear in the conversation he had with the reporter Burt
Hammersmith - "[...]But we have to remember that your negro will bite if he gets
the chance, just like a mongrel dog will"(p.206)-. Besides, John comforts him and
tell him that he does not want to live anymore -Because I want to go boss.[] Im
rightly tired of the pain I hear and feel, boss. (p.491)-. His conscious troubled him
but his hands are tied -Who among us could stop it? Who among us would stop it?
(p.464)-. After what happened to Del and John, he losses all the faith and the
desire to keep on his job - "I couldn't do this job much longer. Depression or no
depression, I couldn't watch many more men walk through my office to their
deaths." (p.65)-. Finally, the burden of not having done anything to help John
materializes in a extremely long life in which he experiences all the pain John went
through- "We each owe a death, there are no exceptions, I know that , but
sometimes, oh God, the Green Mile is so long."(p.536)-.

Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb who works in criminal law. He is a man with a

strong sense of fairness who tries to live his life under a strict moral code and who
also tries to teach this to his children [...]Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you
can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.(p.119). In addition, he
shows a deep feeling of empathy towards others, especially for those who are
socially excluded You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view [] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it(p.39).
His views on justice lead him to become Tom Robinsons defender, and even
though he is well aware that the case is a losing battle and that he will expose his
family to the rage of the community, he takes it -[]For a number of reasons."
Said Atticus, -the main one is, if I didnt I couldnt hold my head up in town, I
couldnt represent this county in the legislature, I couldnt even tell you or Jem not
to do something again. (p.100)-. As he foreshadows, Tom is found guilty, but he
does not give up as he still believes there is hope No son, its not right. []Were
not through yet. Therell be an appeal, you can count on that.[](p.284-285)-.
When Tom is finally killed in prison, he gets frustrated, because this time, there
was nothing he could do to protect him -Oh yes, the guards called to him to stop.
They fired a few shots in the air, then to kill []. Seventeen bullet holes in him.
They didnt have to shoot him that much. (p.315)-. This feeling of impotence is
such a heavy load for him that he ends up loathing his job-[]the beginning of my
father's profound distaste for the practice of criminal law.(p.5)-.

In order to become a well organized society, control crime rates and live peacefully
we need to have a judicial system. However, as this system is ruled by human
beings is not always a well-oiled machine. Although we had evolved and solved
some issues from the past, the cards seem to be always stacked against the less
fortunate. Social inequalities are still a major obstacle in our quest to be a fair
world. In this regard, it is extremely important that the whole community must be
involved in the process and it does not only have to be related to the law
enforcement agents.