"I’d do what I done – again," said Joad. "I killed a guy in a fight. We was drunk at a dance. He got a knife in me, an’ I killed him with a shovel that was layin’ there. Knocked his head plumb to squash."

– John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 4. Here we learn new details about the homicide that put Tom Joad in prison. It turns out that he killed in self-defense. While not a cold blooded murderer, Tom is nevertheless no innocent and has no regret over what he did.