Tom and the African-American Mistake

Thomas had just reconnected on MySpace with a black student he knew from high school, Jason. Jason and Tom were never friends, but they knew each other and had mutual friends for awhile. Tom never understood why they had not become pals in school. After all, they shared many of the same classes together and had known each other since Mrs. Blower’s fifth grade class. Throughout high school, Tom regarded Jason as an athlete and a scholar.

Jason was just finishing his PhD in Chemistry, and Tom was a new attorney in Las Vegas, when Tom found Jason online and instant-messaged him. Tom occasionally met students from high school, which often presented profound revelations. Tom would soon have another huge revelation with Jason.

The two chatted over a few months, talking about other students they knew. Tom was impressed that Jason had gone so far in school, and Jason was likewise impressed that Tom had finished law school and passed the Nevada bar exam.

All of a sudden, Jason stated, “You know, I was very mad at you all through high school.”

“What? Why?” Tom’s mouth fell agape as he read the words on his computer monitor.

“Something you said in fifth grade.”

“Something I said in fifth grade? What are you talking about?”

Jason hesitated, and then typed, “We were walking home from school with some friends and you said you did not like black people and that they should have separate places to live.”

Tom, usually quick to respond in contentious situations, was shocked at this declaration, and froze. He reread it a few times. Tom never walked home from school with Jason or anyone else. He rode bicycles home with his brothers and he lived in the opposite direction from school from Jason.

“I never said anything like that. I know I made ridiculous comments on occasion in school, but I could not have said something that outrageous. Even if I did harbor such beliefs, which I never have, I certainly would not have spoken them in front of someone that would have been offended by them. Could you be thinking of someone else?”

Jason did not reply for a moment. He was remembering. “Yes, it was someone else—I guess it was someone who looked like you.”

Tom then thought. After fifth grade, he and Jason had gone to two different schools before going to high school together. It was possible that Jason thought the Tom he saw in high school was the same kid that had made such a despicable remark three to four years before. They both grew up a bit between fifth grade and high school, and perhaps there were a few kids that resembled Tom.

“You mean that, for all of these years, since ninth grade, you have disliked me based on mistaken identity?” Thomas wrote.

“I think so. Come to think of it, I think I know who I mistook you for.”

“My gosh, I’m glad this got straightened out now. Better late than never. It is too bad I never approached you in high school and got to know you better. We could have cleared the air of this mistake long ago.”

Jason then said, “Yes, maybe I should have talked to you about it sooner too, but I thought you were the same guy and didn’t want to start anything.”

Thomas later thought about this revelation. Sometimes it is not wise to let something fester. Certainly, mistakes can be made and horrible judgments can result that could prevent two people from being fast friends. Thomas made the mistake of not being more sociable in high school and engaging students that seemed aloof around him. Jason made the mistake of not confronting someone that he believed insulted him to his face.

Since that conversation, Thomas and Jason have maintained sporadic but friendly contact. They live in separate States, but Thomas is very happy that yet another student from his high school days is doing well in life. This story confirmed one of the main ideas attorneys must bear in mind when examining eyewitnesses, “Eyewitness testimony is unreliable. Memory is fallible.”

However, too many innocent people were, and are, convicted on little more than such testimony. This story from Thomas’s childhood will someday work its way into a closing argument to help save someone from wrongful conviction.