Bigger escapes the massive manhunt for as long as possible, but is eventually captured after a dramatic shootout. The press and public determine his guilt and punishment before the trial even begins. Furious audiences assume he raped Mary before killing her and burned her body to hide evidence of the rape. The white authorities and white mob use Bigger's crime as an excuse to terrorize the entire South Side. Mary's friend Jan visits Bigger in prison and Bigger explains to Jan that Mary's murder was an accident. Jan told Bigger that she understands how terrified and ashamed he was of his violation of social restrictions that govern tense race relations. Jan recruits his friend Boris A. Max to defend Bigger for free. Jan and Boris A. Max talk to Bigger as a human, and Bigger begins to see the white population as differently as Bigger feels in their life.