What is the public's opinion to the case of the boy supposedly killing his father?

The play was based upon a case in which Rose sat on the jury, but it did not occur during 1957, nor, are we informed the true and accurate details of that case. Historically, we can look at the play in the context of its original film release date, 1957. The United States was in a politically transitional time. The Civil Rights Movement was well underway with the Brown vs. Board of Education decision passed in 1954 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1956. Many of the themes of racial and social inequity being played out in the drama were being played out on the national scene.