Much of Intruder in the Dust is concerned with race and justice. Race is a key motivating factor of the plot, as Crawford kills his brother but believes that he can have another man condemned for murder on his behalf due to the inherent racial prejudice in the society. He believes white people will readily accept that a Black man committed murder, and that a mob will lynch Lucas before any real justice can be carried out. Crawford makes a gamble based on his actual experiences of the way in which “justice” has been enacted in the past, specifically, the way in which actual justice is denied to African American people. Crawford is very nearly vindicated because, were it not for the intervention of Charles and others, Lucas would have been killed by the mob. As per Crawford’s prediction, the mob forms as if through muscle memory, seeking to impose violence on an African American man in the name of extralegal “justice.” Justice in the novel is predicated on race, whether it is weaponized against Black people or denied to them.

This misinterpretation of justice unsettles Charles, and he speaks to Gavin about his unease. His uncle is a lawyer, a man who is not only well versed in the technical intricacies of the justice system but also in the practical application of the law.