“Mr. Finch, there’s just some kind of men you have to shoot before you can say hidy to ’em. Even then, they ain’t worth the bullet it takes to shoot ’em. Ewell ‘as one of ’em.”
– Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 29. Sheriff Heck Tate tells Atticus that Bob Ewell’s stabbing death is no loss to Maycomb. He is downplaying it to cover up Boo Radley’s role in the death.