Do you think Tom Robinson’s testimony helps or hurts his chances with the jury?
His testimony helps his case and at the same instance, it hurts his chance with the jury
Tom Robinson's testimony helps his case because he explains that he has very good intentions and wouldn't hurt anyone. This gives his case credibility because he gives a decent explanation as to what happened; his testimony also shows him to be a nice guy who has compassion for others
Lastly, when Tom Robinson takes the stand, he has to guide his useless left arm onto the Bible in order to be sworn in. However, when doing this, his hand slips off and when he tries to put it back, it slips out again, these shows the Judge that he is innocent, and shouldn't be charged with this accusation.
However,His kindness is what damages his chances of an acquittal. When asked about his relationship and attitude toward her and why he would continually help her (Mayella),Tom makes the mistake of saying,
I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em(Lee, 201)
This makes the person that was cross examining him to immediately capitalizes on this mistake by emphasizing his answer because his relationship with Mayella in a segregated Southern town was against the norms of that time and expressing vividly that he feel pity for her makes the Jury think that Tom puts himself above Mayella.
the white jury believes that Tom thinks he is better than a white person they might punish him partly to put him back in his place
