How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"One of the men they killed was white. The other was black. I didn't mention any of this to you. And do you know why? I'll tell you why—because the pursuit of justice knows no color! The pursuit of justice admits only that which is fair, and honest, and true." (103.20)
Wouldn't it be awesome if race didn't matter in the trial? Unfortunately, justice isn't the name of the game in Eudora; it's just a figurehead that everyone pretends they want. Jonah only mentions race as a way of addressing the elephant in the room.
Quote #5
Since the night we had convinced Phineas to arrest the White Raiders, I'd known that if this trial ever came about, winning three guilty verdicts would be close to impossible. But this was the first time I had ever considered that it might be completely impossible. (112.1)
He could say that again. Ben isn't fighting in a fair system that allows for impartiality. From the time the case begins, it's clear that the Judge is on the defendant's side and doesn't care much about what's right or true.
Quote #6
He did the honest, moral, upright thing—and that's not always easy to do. He arrested these men and charged them, and he saw that they were brought to trial. He may have changed his mind since then about some things, but the fact remains that Chief Eversman knew instinctively that these men had to be stopped. (121.7)
In his summation, Ben points out that the chief of police stood up for what's right, but that his decision to do so was unusual. And since that night, he's done nothing but help the other side. Perhaps the reason justice is so hard to come by in Eudora is because no one cares about doing what's right.