Final answer:
Historically, the racial composition of jurors in a courtroom has been predominantly white, especially in the South, which often led to biased verdicts against defendants of minority groups.
Step-by-step explanation:
The composition of jurors in a courtroom setting, particularly concerning race, can have a significant impact on the outcome of a trial. In historical cases, such as the one described, the people in the courtroom aside from the defendants were predominantly white, especially in the context of the southern United States during the early to mid-20th century. This racial composition often led to a biased administration of justice, as evident by all-white juries that favored guilty verdicts irrespective of the evidence presented. The inclusion of a single black juror in the described case was a notable deviation from the norm at the time, indicating a slow shift towards diversifying juries, though the white majority still held significant influence over the verdicts, thus sustaining an environment of racial inequality within the legal system.