T.J is best friends with Stacey. T.J does not deserve to be taken to jail and possibly be hanged. He broke into the store unwillingly. The Simms brothers take the gun and give it to him in the store, and the Simms brothers don’t get in trouble.

    The Simms brothers force him to enter the store. T.J does not want to break into the store and steal the gun, but the Simms brothers tell him to or they would hurt him. They tell him to crawl into an open window and unlock the door from the inside.

    Once they are inside the Simms brothers take the gun and give it to T.J. T.J took it but he does not want to take it. He wanted the gun but it was no right to break in and take it. T.J is not the real one who took the gun. He is just the one that ended up with it after the Simms brothers gave it to him. After he got beaten by the Simms brothers he went to Cassie and said, “I’m in trouble.”(P.244)

    At the end the Simms brothers do not get in trouble. T.J is the only one that gets taken to jail and probably be hanged. During the robbery T.J was also the only one without a mask on. Mrs. Barnett and her husband walked in to the store and saw T.J without a mask she said to them, “You Niggers done killed Jim Lee! You don killed him!” (p.247) The Simms brothers had a mask on so they were not recognized and not caught. T.J was also black so even if the Simms brothers were caught they would probably not get in as much trouble as T.J does. That is probably because he comes from a poor family and is black.

    T.J does not deserve to be taken to jail and possibly be hanged because he broke into the store unwillingly. The gun was taken by the Simms brothers and given to T.J. In the end the T.J brothers do not get in trouble. This is why T.J does not deserve the punishment that was given to him.