The Reformatory begins with a gross miscarriage of justice. Although Lyle McCormack causes the scuffle that provokes Robbie Stephens to kick him, Robbie is the only one who suffers the consequences. Robbie’s incarceration, along with the pain and trauma he suffers in the Reformatory, indicts the American criminal justice system as an institution that dehumanizes the very people on the margins of society whom it should be serving.

As wealthy white landowners, the McCormacks wield considerable influence over the agencies that maintain peace and order in Gracetown. Lyle’s actions are never taken into account during Robbie’s trial, and the fact that it falls upon both Robbie and Gloria to speak truth to power underlines their glaring misrepresentation in a court of law. In an ideal justice system, Robbie would have had access to legal services to present his case before a judge and jury. Gloria notices, however, that there is never an attempt to represent Robbie except through his own incomplete account of the events. There is also never a jury to hear his case and debate the merits and faults of the arguments. Robbie simply goes before a judge and is sentenced without consideration. When Harry T. Moore and John Dorsey speak to the judge later on, the unsympathetic judge believes that he was more merciful than he ought to have been.