Why does Miss Maudie compare watching the trial to a Roman carnival?

Miss Maudie says this in Chapter
16.

I think that she is comparing the trial to the
gladiatorial contests that Romans used to watch.  I think that she is saying that the
people of Maycomb are like the Romans were.  I think that what she is thinking is that
both the Romans and the people of Maycomb are getting entertainment by watching other
people fighting for their lives.  She thinks that it is disgusting to do that sort of
thing for fun.

I'm not convinced she's right, though.  The
Romans watched other people that they didn't even know dying.  The people in Maycomb
actually care what happens -- most of the whites probably think it will be a good thing
if Tom Robinson is killed.  They think it will preserve their way of life.  So I don't
think they're just watching for fun the way the Romans did.