To Convict or Acquit One of the biggest ethical dilemmas for the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird is whether to decide to convict or acquit Tom Robinson. It is a hard decision to make since each character must evaluate what is most important in determining his innocence or guilt. There are mostly three different understandings: Race/Societal Norms, Law/Evidence, or both viewpoints. Which one are you? Most people in this book, like the jury and townspeople, judge Tom for being black. This is understandable considering in this time period, white people were thought to be more superior than black people. This would be considered a societal norm. Consequently, since Tom was black and the accuser, Mayella, was white, they believed Mayella