Guilt Or Innocence In Monster, By Walter Dean Myers

In Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, the reader learns from Steve Harmon’s experiences that sometimes guilt or innocence of a person might not be determined by solid evidence but by onlooker’s opinions and interpretation of the crime. There is not a large amount of scientific evidence in the case against Steve Harmon, so the jury must rely on Steve’s background information, their opinions of guilt and innocence, and the testimonies of the witnesses who are mostly criminals. From Steve’s trial, the reader learns that a persons guilt or innocence is often determined by their status in life, even by coincidence. In a journal one of Steves entries he ponders, “What did I do? Anybody can walk into a drugstore and look around. Is that what I’m