News Story on Carlos Riley

A primary theme of "To Kill a Mockingbird" is morality and the fight for justice.  No matter what the circumstances, we should never allow bias and prejudice to get in the way of truth and evidence. In the conclusion of this story we do not see this, as Tom Robinson was still found guilty for pretty much just being African American (which is proof that the South was racist at the time).  Despite his proof of Tom Robinson's innocence, Atticus is still unable to win the trial due to racism in the jury and beyond.

Earlier in 2015 a case came to trial here in Durham, NC.  It stemmed from a 2012 traffic stop between Durham Police Officer Kelly Stewart and defendant Carlos Riley.  There was a struggle, and Carlos Riley was charged with shooting officer Stewart despite overwhelming evidence proving that officer Stewart was the only one who had touched the gun, and therefore shot himself by accident.  Although Mr. Riley was charged with other crimes, this was more of an attempt to add additional charges against him which could potentially make his prison sentence many years longer.  Many in the community felt that these additional charges were being pressed due to a racial bias against the defendant.  

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/durham-news/article31318919.html

http://abc11.com/news/jury-clears-carlos-riley-in-durham-cop-shooting-trial/929959/

http://www.wral.com/defense-claims-racism-in-durham-officer-s-shooting-trial/14815374/

http://www.wral.com/man-cleared-in-durham-police-officer-s-shooting/14831229/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/08/cop_shot_himself_and_blamed_a_black_driver_police_officer_kelly_stewart.html

http://www.workers.org/articles/2015/08/22/jury-rejects-cops-story-decides-in-favor-of-carlos-riley/


Just like in "To Kill A Mockingbird", defense attorney Alex Charns presented evidence proving that the defendant could not have physically done what they were accused of.  In the case of Carlos Riley, there were no burn marks on either hand, proving that he could not have had his hand on the gun at any time during the struggle.  For Atticus Finch, he proved that Tom Robinson could not have struck the victim on the right hand side of her face, because his left arm got permanently damaged in a cotton gin, and the other person who could've done it was left handed.

The difference between Atticus Finch and Alex Charns was that Charns actually won the case of Carlos Riley. Atticus, however, did not win. He still did the right thing in a very challenging situation, but in the end racism of the public made him lose the case. Although we came a long way in the past 60+ years, it's unfortunate that racism still exists in our society today.