Dickens uses the courtroom scene to vilify the British legal system, with the Old Bailey embodying the uncompromising harshness of the law. Charles Darnay's case in particular highlights the bloody nature of criminal sentences: If found guilty, he will be drawn, half hanged, eviscerated while still alive, beheaded, and cut into pieces.
While such a sentence is gruesome in itself, more disturbing is the avid interest the courtroom spectators take in Darnay's fate. The man who describes the sentence to Jerry speaks "with a relish"and the "eager faces"of the crowd stare at Darnay with an "Ogreish"fascination. Dickens points out that such an interest in a condemned man is "not the sort that elevated humanity."
As Dickens shows repeatedly throughout the novel, crowds can bring out the basest natures of people. Interestingly, the one thing capable of elevating the sensitivities of the crowd is the sight of Lucie Manette's concern and pity for the prisoner.
