Atticus discusses the case and the jurors with Jem and Scout in chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Jem is very disappointed and confused as to how and why a jury could have convicted Tom Robinson based on everything that was proven or disproven during the trial. When Jem says that the jury did not take a long time deliberating, Atticus disagrees by saying that he was surprised they took so long. Atticus expected the verdict to be a conviction, but he did not expect that the jury would debate about it for six or seven hours. This is when he says, ". . . this may be the shadow of a beginning" (222). This means that there may be hope that people in Maycomb are starting to believe in reason and justice rather than tradition and prejudice.
Then, Atticus tells his children that there was one juror who held out for Tom's acquittal for a long time. In fact, that juror was one of the Cunninghams. The fact that a Cunningham would fight so long and hard for Tom's acquittal shows that someone had heard the truth in Tom's defense, and also had the gumption to uphold it during the deliberation. Jem is surprised that a Cunningham would have done that because the night before the trial most of the family had shown up at the jail to lynch Tom. Atticus explains that this one Cunningham must have gained respect for Tom during the trial based on what he had heard. If there had been just one more juror who sided with that one Cunningham, they would have had a hung jury and an acquittal. This is good news that means changes may be on the horizon for Maycomb, but it is also sad because Tom was so close to gaining his freedom.
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