Tiffany Santiago and Alexie Gorman

6th period

Closing Argument Script

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, imagine a single father, raising his eight children in

extreme poverty. He relies on relief checks, but even those arent enough to keep his family from

eating squirrel or rabbit for dinner or wearing shoes made out of old tires. Imagine a man so

isolated from society, he is driven to alcoholism, his addiction eating him up on the inside,

causing him to spend what little money they have just to put his withdrawal at bay. It is no doubt

that someone in that situation would ultimately fall into a state of depression, leading him to do

things that he isnt proud of just to feel something. That man is Robert Ewell. Better known as

Bob, Ewell is on trial for rape and assault in the first degree, but your honors, we would like

you to start to think of him with a new lense. Bob Ewell is no perpetrator of rape. According to

Alabama law, rape in the first degree is defined as sexual intercourse with a member of the

opposite sex who cannot consent due to being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated, who

has been swayed by means of forcible compulsion, or who is less than twelve years of age, the

accused party being sixteen years or older (Section 13A-6-60). Sexual intercourse is defined as

penetration, however slight, and emission or proof of ejaculation is not necessary (Section 13A-

6-60). There has not been a single bit of medical evidence that points to Bob Ewell penetrating

Mayella in any orifice, and there is also no evidence to point to Mr. Ewells semen staying in her

system. Because of this, how can one say that Bob had sexual intercourse with Mayella Ewell to

begin with? No rape kit or any medical evaluation was done, thus the prosecution has no solid

evidence against the defendant. In his testimony, Tom Robinson mentions that What her Papa

do to her dont count, but judging by Mayellas injuries, one can assume that what he does isnt
rape. Mayella has marks around her neck and a black eye forming on her right eye. Her injuries

are recent, but why would Mr. Ewell punch Mayella in the eye or try to choke her if his

intentions were to restrain her enough to be able to rape her? Going off of logical reasoning, he

wouldnt aim for those areas. Based off of the lack of evidence for Mr. Ewell raping Mayella and

the fact that her injuries do not line up with Mr. Ewells accused intentions, it is safe to say that

Bob Ewell is no rapist. Without the occurrence of first degree rape, the defendant is also not

guilty of first degree assault, as his actions do not meet the criteria of that crime.

Section 13A-6-20 states that one example of first degree assault being committed is the

attempted commission of rape in the first degree or any other felony clearly dangerous to human

life, or of immediate flight therefrom, he or she causes a serious physical injury to another

person. It is clear that Mr. Ewell did not commit first degree rape, making him ineligible to be

guilty of that part of first degree assault. That same section also describes first degree assault as

With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he or she causes serious physical

injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument (Section 13A-6-

20).There is no evidence determining that Robert had any access to a weapon that would cause

serious harm towards Mayellas physical health. No proof was presented that Bob Ewell even

owns a motor vehicle, and given Mayellas injuries, it seems fair to rule out the possibility of Mr.

Ewell using a car or other vessel to assault Mayella. Bob is Mayellas father, and although he

might not be the most ideal family man, he definitely doesnt show discontent for Mayellas life

and he has not put her in a grave risk of death in any way. This rules out the possibility of Bob

assaulting Mayella in the first degree by causing her serious physical injury by putting her in a

position where she was at risk of dying. Finally, Mr. Ewell has not shown any desire to seriously

or permanently disfigure Mayella. He has not shown intent to destroy, amputate, or permanently
disable any part of her body or organ of it, eliminating the idea of him causing serious physical

harm to her by attempting to permanently injure her body. I also ask, your honors, were

Mayellas injuries enough to qualify as serious? As previously stated, she had marks on her

neck and a black eye starting to form. These injuries are definitely not enough to permanently

disfigure or disable her. At the most, Mayella will have some bruising, and her injuries will be

healed in a short amount of time. In addition, the prosecution cannot prove that it was Bob who

caused these injuries. While it is true that the most likely cause of her black eye was someone

left-handed, according to Scientific American, anywhere from five to thirty percent of the

population is left-handed. Bob definitely is not the only left-handed man in Maycomb. It is a

well-known fact that the Ewells are not the most likable people out there, so the possibility of

someone else attacking Mayella is high.

All in all, it cannot be proven that Bob Ewell is guilty of assault in the first degree or rape

in the first degree. The prosecution has not produced any evidence to show that Bob Ewell

engaged in sexual intercourse or penetration with his daughter Mayella or that he seriously

injured her with intent to in any way. As it should be in a court of law, a person on trial is

innocent until proven guilty, and Mr. Ewell has definitely not been proven to be the perpetrator

of either crime.

Source for Scientific American left-handedness statistic:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-more-people-right/