what information is presented in the court that should help defend tj, is overlooked and as a result, tj is found guilty

At T. J.’s trial the shopkeeper’s wife testifies

that three “Negroes” broke into the shop and that R. W.

and Melvin Simms came to help her. T. J.’s lawyer, Mr.

Jamison, asks her to estimate the height of the men who

were beating her husband. He then points out that T. J.

is much shorter. When T. J. takes the stand, he testifies

that R. W. and Melvin were with him and that they

were wearing black stockings over their heads. It was

R. W. Simms, T. J. says, who hit the shopkeeper with

an axe. T. J. explains that when he tried to run, they

beat him up, too. Mr. Jamison establishes that R. W.

Simms owns a truck that was seen near the crime scene.

Despite the evidence, T. J. is convicted and receives the

death penalty.