Did Lucy, Bert, and Irene do the right thing when they found Tiny Junior's souvenirs?

Did Lucy, Bert, and Irene do the right thing when they found Tiny Junior's souvenirs? Would you have done the same?

I am going to say yes, these females did the right thing - morally.

The scene reminded me VERY much of To Kill a Mockingbird when the sheriff is talking to Atticus after Boo Radley saved the lives of Atticus's two children. The sheriff has to beat around the proverbial bush to get Atticus to realize what has happened, but Bob Ewell's death makes Maycomb County a safer place for a lot of people. Tiny Junior, like Boo Radley, saw the world as only good or bad, and Tiny's actions also made the little North Carolina town a safer place for many people.

I agree - I think these young women did the right thing and I believe I would have done the same. If they "outed" Tiny Junior, his memory would be tainted and tarnished forever. There is no question, Tiny Junior's actions' rid the town of unsavory and extremely dangerous men. And the depth of his character was revealed when he ran into the burning building and died trying to help others.

I agree. The “legal” thing to do isn’t always the “right” thing to do when the outcome would only cause harm to someone (or their family) and not benefit anyone else.

I also thought the part about Tiny Junior was similar to Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lucy, Bert, and Irene did what they felt was morally right in their decision to cover up the clues they found in Tiny Junior's room. There were no leads to the disappearance of the three missing men so they were not interfering in a crime scene and no good would have come by telling authorities that Tiny Junior was the murderer. They were protecting the good and helpful image that he maintained his whole life in their community as well as him being the hero of walking into a burning building to find Drake Cunningham.

Absolutely. While revealing the items would have officially closed the case, what other good would have come out it - the remains of the three had been found, there were no suspects who would have been wrongfully charged, and Tiny Junior was gone. Not only would the disclosure have tainted the memory of all the selfless good that Tiny Junior did for the community but it would have brought more sorrow to those who loved Tiny Junior, particularly Flossie. The community, after the war and deaths, needed to heal, not be further torn apart.

I feel they did the right thing. Tiny Junior was dead so their was no one to punish. The truth would have hurt his mother Flossie who was already mourning the loss of her son. The bodies had been recovered and the community needed to heal and come together, not split further apart.

I think they did the right thing. It would have destroyed his mother and changed nothing.

I agree with all the previous posts. I’m glad they chose to protect Tiny, his memory and his family.

Yes, absolutely! Even if Tiny Junior had not died a hero, he should have been protected. He delivered justice to those who would probably never received it from the law.

I believe Lucy, Bert, and Irene did the right thing. Tiny Junior was a very nice individual. Agree that it would have destroyed his mother. Trula Freed knew.

What else could they have done? I would expect no different from close knit community members who love each other and realize that anything any different would have brought unnecessary pain on the surviving mom.
No surprises with this action.

Absolutely - the town thought very highly of Tiny and his mother was proud of him -- there was no reason to change the memory people had of him.

Since Tiny was killed before they found the items, it would have only hurt his family and shocked the community. What I wonder is how comfortably these character would live with their knowledge, and what closure were the families of the victims denied?

Nothing would be gained by telling the community that Tiny Junior had murdered the three "bad guys". I agree with Irene, Bert and Lu's decision to save Tiny's reputation and his mother's memories of him as beloved member of her family and their town. That being said, it bothers me that the story wasn't finished. The families of the murdered men deserved some closure, especially that of "Frankie Tender".

I agree with all of the above comments. Nothing would have been gained by it.

Yes, there was nothing to be gained by destroying Tiny Juniors reputation.