The first court case
This novel contains two separate thematic pictures of injustice. The first is when Berry is accused of stealing a large sum of money, and he is framed, because the money is deposited in his account by the thief. This represents the way racial prejudice affects justice, because all the people would say they took due process, but since their assumptions were racist, they were unwilling to consider Berry innocent until proven guilty.
The second court case
This one is also symbolic, but it's a little more complicated. Joe participated in his addictions (although there is a chance that he genuinely did not know enough about alcoholism to avoid it), so when his girlfriend tried to leave him, he killed her in a drunken panic attack. That means that in court, he is guilty, but that doesn't mean his guilt wasn't exacerbated by difficulty and circumstance. At the time of the incident, he was extremely hopeless and he made a hateful decision in a moment of panic, but think of the trauma he faced throughout his life. That's not an excuse, but it is a serious issue. That's why this case represents the complicated nature of moral justice, because we are often the victim of circumstance, but we still are legally guilty of our mistakes.
Skaggs's story
The ending is a little bit like Greek tragedy, because Skagg's comes like Hermes of the gods, to take the truth to the courts, so Berry can be freed. Skaggs's story is a symbolic image of the book itself, and its core attempt—to bring truth and awareness where blind prejudice has muddied the waters. Skaggs's opinion is that Maurice deserves to go down for his willful decision to let everyone believe Berry was guilty when he learned that Berry was innocent.
Colonel Saunders
There is a minor character named Colonel Saunders who represents the old ways of the deep South, where racism (especially at the time) was still rampant. Instead of being appalled by the heinous nature of Maurice's behavior, he is simply heartbroken that a white man has been made to feel ashamed of himself. This opinion is a symbol of true moral degradation, where the powerful man, the Colonel, is more concerned with perception than with true justice.
The motif of horror
When Fannie realizes that her children are going down wayward paths, there is nothing she can do to stop it, just like the family is powerless to fix the injustice of the system which convicts Berry for a crime he didn't commit. Joe becomes extremely paranoid, panicked, and emotionally dismantled by alcoholism (which is what alcoholism is known for) until his sanity is questionable. If these aren't pictures of horror, then nothing is. The inclusion of horror is symbolic, but it is also the reality of the situation for many people. It symbolizes the true horror and pain of daily life for disenfranchised people groups.
