When a natural disaster hits an area, people react by helping each other and repairing infrastructure. When technology starts to integrate into people’s lives while other technology withdraws, society reacts by adapting to technological progress. When conflicts arise and advancement is required, stagnancy is not the solution. Change is constantly needed as the general population’s ideologies transform. In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, Bryan, a young attorney attending Harvard Law School, takes an internship in Alabama that requires him to work first hand with inmates on death row. With Bryan’s pursuit of justice and mercy for the wrongly accused, numerous intellectual decisions must be made to achieve change in the American Justice System. …show more content…
These steps integrate education, leadership, and risk. Both parallels and contrasts exist when comparing my personal steps taken towards change to Bryan’s. Starting with the fundamentals, anyone who wants to initiate change must hold some form of education that sprouts these certain ideas. After completing a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Bryan eventually ended up in Law school. Apart from his expectations, he was not taught much about mercy and justice, but Bryan still held on to his inner belief.
Through an unexpected opportunity, Bryan used whatever he learned from classes and personal studies to ultimately fight for the justice of wrongly convicted citizens. Alabama was a new place for him, consisting of different faces, ideas, and environment. Throughout his journey, he met with multiple convicts on death row, mostly consisting of African Americans. Although devastating, Bryan knew that through consulting with the convicts’ families, change can be brought upon unjust conviction and incarceration. These convicts were being given life and even death sentences for crimes that they did not commit. “I was uncertain what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew it would have something to do with the lives of the poor, America’s history of racial inequality, and the struggle to be equitable and fair with one another”. Similarly, my own passion is to influence the system of medicine and how medical interventions take part in people’s lives. I am pursuing a career in the medical field to not only study medicine and diagnostics, but to provide holistic and effective techniques to overcome various …show more content…
health issues. I do not believe that treating symptoms is curing the cause of the disease or condition. While symptoms are extremely important in finding the underlying cause, many physicians and medical school programs today may tend to advocate treating just the symptoms, resulting in temporary relief. This results in the administration of multiple pills and/or medications that are clearly too heavy for the body to handle, possibly causing numerous side effects. Medical issues should be looked at in a different way than providing relief, rather should spark the question: Why is this condition taking place and how do we treat the cause of these symptoms? Today, drugs are being administered as if every human being is the same. Just categorizing weight, age, and gender is not enough. Medicine should be tailored for every human being uniquely, for the DNA of one can never be identical to another. Overall, both Bryan and I seem to be on the same page when seeking to create change even when the education that exists does not outright support our inner belief. Furthermore, change can be achieved by standing up to wrong that is not seen by others. Bryan did not let Judge Robert Key Lee, the courts, or the citizens of Monroe County sway his stance on Walter McMillian’s innocence. There was always an essence of struggle and determination to save the life of Walter and many other incarcerated citizens. When change is needed, determination and sacrifice go hand in hand. McMillian told Bryan, “You shouldn’t hold nothing back on my case…I expect you to fight all comers to get me out of here. Take ‘em all down, if necessary.” Bryan replied, “Stand up to giants, slay wild beasts, wrestle alligators…” He stood up to the giants of the courts, slayed the beasts of segregation and racism, and wrestled the injustice of the local law enforcement. After attempting multiple appeals for Walter, Bryan knew that their attempt of convincement was essentially based on quick assumptions, racism, and altered evidence. Like Albert Einstein said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. There is obvious wrong here, but some citizens of Monroe County plainly do not want to be involved with the issue. Likewise, when I realize that one of my peers or good friends make a mistake –be it academic, social, or physical– I feel that it is my moral responsibility to help or correct the problems in that situation in the appropriate manner. This relates to the quote, “Do what is right, not what is easy” –Unknown. The easy way out of problems can never bring the change that is needed to resolve the issue. I also believe that emotional or social barriers cannot be the source of suppression on any social or academic stature, meaning one cannot let negative notions stop academic or personal progress. I try to not let obstacles like these block the way for potential improvement, nor did Bryan. He saw the wrong in the courts and the local law enforcement, and did not let them come in his way of saving an innocent life. Bryan and I take these steps to stand up against corruption, and break down the barriers to achieve change. In contrast, Bryan tends to take more risks in his steps towards his goals.
Certain actions that Bryan takes differ to what I would have done. For example, “I was immediately thrown into litigation with pressing deadlines and didn’t have time to find a place to live—and my $14,000 annual salary didn’t leave me with much money for rent…” Bryan seemed to put much sacrifice into his personal life, and did not attest to much troubles with practicalities. Although tough times were ahead, Bryan tried to not let finances prevent him from following his inner passion for justice and mercy. On the contrary, I usually do not endanger my personal health and wellbeing for a certain goal, unless it is a very critical situation. I have a practical way of thinking, and try to reach my goals to create change in the most healthful way possible. Neither of these methods towards change is perfect or incorrect, but depend on the given
circumstances. In essence, impacting society requires change, and change requires effort. Both similarities and differences are present amongst the steps Bryan Stevenson and I take to form change for the goodness of future societal ideas. Change requires the application of leadership, education, and risk for an effective outcome. Although working to free victims of injustice and inequality is quite different than changing the way medicine is administered in healthcare, both of us take steps towards the betterment of mankind. Above all, the drive Bryan and I have seems to be growing from a certain optimism that every leader must have in order to ultimately visualize a brighter future.
Steve Bogira, a prizewinning writer, spent a year observing Chicago's Cook County Criminal Courthouse. The author focuses on two main issues, the death penalty and innocent defendants who are getting convicted by the pressure of plea bargains, which will be the focus of this review. The book tells many different stories that are told by defendants, prosecutors, a judge, clerks, and jurors; all the people who are being affected and contributing to the miscarriage of justice in today’s courtrooms.
The non-fiction text I decided to read that led me to my topic of Capital Punishment is titled, Just Mercy by attorney-at-law Bryan Stevenson, and it provides stories of a lawyer who wanted to bring justice to the court system by helping men, women and children, sentenced to death row by helping them obtain their freedom. The book first begins with a back story of the Mr. Stevenson. Bryan Stevenson is a graduate from the law soon of Harvard. His interest in Death Row cases grew when the law office he was interning for sent him to talk to a man, Walter McMillian, who was sentenced to death row after wrongfully being accused of a murder he did not commit and was framed for. Mr. Bryan helped him, and Walter was eventually released about six years in death row. In the book, Mr. Stevenson goes through many cases that he has taken upon, some failures and some great success. The people Bryan helped were mostly minorities who faced racial bias at the time of their trial. He represented not only men, but also children. There’s stories about how a woman whose baby was born dead was sentenced to prison
In the excerpt reading from Locking Up Our Own, the author, James Forman Jr., spoke about the issue our society has faced recently with mass incarceration of African-American males. He also talks about his own past experience with the situation through being a public defender. He had previously worked under Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and decided that he wanted to defend low-income individuals who were charged with crimes in Washington, D.C. Forman detailed a few specific cases he had working with young, African-American males and retold his reactions to some of the convictions.
In light of the most recent election results I find myself worrying about the countless social and economic injustices that will perpetuate to occur in our country. I dwell on our history, of how our social welfare system created and continues to reinforce discrimination, privilege and oppression. How did we end up like this and where is that “American dream” promised to those within our boarders? Literary works $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin and Luke Shaefer, Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill, and Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy: A story of justice and redemption, seek to describe how social injustices and economic issues manifest
Capital punishment and bias in sentencing is among many issue minorities faced for many years in the better part of the nineteen hundreds. Now it continues to spill into the twenty first century due to the erroneous issues our criminal justice system has caused many people to suffer. In the book Just Mercy authored by Bryan Stevenson, Stevenson explains many cases of injustice. Stevenson goes into details of numerous cases of wrongfully accused people, thirteen and fourteen year olds being sentenced to death and sentences of life without parole for children. These issues Stevenson raises bring to question whether the death penalty is as viable as it should be. It brings to light the many issues our criminal justice system has today. There
Bryan Stevenson is a defence attorney for a man named Herbert Richardson who 's on
The death penalty, a subject that is often the cause of major controversy, has become an integral part of the southern justice system in recent years. The supporters and opponents of this issue have heatedly debated each other about whether or not the death penalty should be allowed. They back their arguments with moral, logical, and ethical appeals, as seen in the essays by Ed Koch and David Bruck. Although both authors are on opposite sides of the issue, they use the same ideas to back up their argument, while ignoring others that they don’t have evidence for. Koch and Bruck’s use of moral, logical, and ethical persuasion enhance both of their arguments and place a certain importance on the issue of the death penalty, making the readers come to the realization that it is more than just life and death, or right and wrong; there are so many implications that make the issue much more 3-dimensional. In dealing with politics and controversial issues such as capital punishment.
In “The Death Penalty” (1985), David Bruck argues that the death penalty is injustice and that it is fury rather than justice that compels others to “demand that murderers be punished” by death. Bruck relies on varies cases of death row inmates to persuade the readers against capital punishment. His purpose is to persuade readers against the death penalty in order for them to realize that it is inhuman, irrational, and that “neither justice nor self-preservation demands that we kill men whom we have already imprisoned.” Bruck does not employ an array of devices but he does employ some such as juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and appeals to strengthen his argument. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of supporters of capital punishment such as Mayor Koch.
Humanity instructs us that we must behave with tolerance and respect towards all. Just Mercy exemplifies how that is not the case for many Americans. Critical Race Theory is a theory which focuses on the experiences of people who are minorities. It argues that people who are minorities in the United States are oppressed and, because of the state of being oppressed, creates fundamental disadvantages (Lecture 4.7). A study conducted for the case McCleskey v. Kemp revealed that when a black defendant killed a white victim, it increased the likelihood the black defendant would receive the death penalty (Stevenson, 2014). Looking at this fact through the lens of a critical race theorist, it illustrates how unconscious racism is ignored by our legal system. The actuality that, statistically, people of color have a higher chance of getting sentenced to death than white people is a blatant example of inequality. In Chapter 8, Stevenson discusses the case of multiple juveniles who were incarcerated and sentenced to death in prison. These juveniles who were sent to adult prisons, where juveniles are five times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault, show an innate inequality towards minors (Stevenson, 2014). Ian Manuel, George Stinney, and Antonio Nunez were all only fourteen-years-old when they were condemned to die in prison. Although they did commit crimes, the purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate young offenders. Trying juveniles in adult court represents a prejudice against age, which Stevenson sought to fight by working on appeals for Manuel and Nunez (Stevenson, 2014). His humanity shines through once again, as he combats the justice system to give the adolescents another chance at life, rather than having them die in prison. The way prisoners with mental and/or physical disabilities are treated while incarcerated is also extremely
“ ….Judgments, right or wrong. This concern with concepts such as finality, jurisdiction, and the balance of powers may sound technical, lawyerly, and highly abstract. But so is the criminal justice system….Law must provide simple answers: innocence or guilt, freedom or imprisonment, life or death.” (Baude, 21).
Most black Americans are under the control of the criminal justice today whether in parole or probation or whether in jail or prison. Accomplishments of the civil rights association have been challenged by mass incarceration of the African Americans in fighting drugs in the country. Although the Jim Crow laws are not so common, many African Americans are still arrested for very minor crimes. They remain disfranchised and marginalized and trapped by criminal justice that has named them felons and refuted them their rights to be free of lawful employment and discrimination and also education and other public benefits that other citizens enjoy. There is exists discernment in voting rights, employment, education and housing when it comes to privileges. In the, ‘the new Jim crow’ mass incarceration has been described to serve the same function as the post civil war Jim crow laws and pre civil war slavery. (Michelle 16) This essay would defend Michelle Alexander’s argument that mass incarcerations represent the ‘new Jim crow.’
According to statistics since the early 1970’s there has been a 500% increase in the number of people being incarcerated with an average total of 2.2 million people behind bars. The increase in rate of people being incarcerated has also brought about an increasingly disproportionate racial composition. The jails and prisons have a high rate of African Americans incarcerated with an average of 900,000 out of the 2.2 million incarcerateed being African American. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 1 in 6 African American males has been incarcerated at some point in time as of the year 2001. In theory if this trend continues it is estimated that about 1 in 3 black males being born can be expected to spend time in prison and some point in his life. One in nine African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 are currently incarcerated. Although the rate of imprisonment for women is considerably lower than males African American women are incarc...
Bryan Stevenson’s purpose of writing about his grandfather’s death in his book Just Mercy is to explain how hard it is to deal with children’s crime without knowing or understanding their lives. Many children who commit crimes have grown up in hard situations. Children at the age of twelve to eighteen are going through many changes during that time, like puberty. They are also still very immature and their brains are not fully developed yet. Stevenson also explains, “Young adolescents lack life experiences and background knowledge to inform their choices,” unlike adults teenagers do not have the best judgment for issues and do not necessarily understand the consequences that come from their actions. This is why Stevenson fights against the death row put against children.
In the United States, the rate of incarceration has increased shockingly over the past few years. In 2008, it was said that one in 100 U.S. adults were behind bars, meaning more than 2.3 million people. Even more surprising than this high rate is the fact that African Americans have been disproportionately incarcerated, especially low-income and lowly educated blacks. This is racialized mass incarceration. There are a few reasons why racialized mass incarceration occurs and how it negatively affects poor black communities.
Race plays a large factor in showing how you are viewed in society. Although there is no longer slavery and separate water fountains, we can still see areas of our daily life clearly affected by race. One of these areas is the criminal justice system and that is because the color of your skin can easily yet unfairly determine if you receive the death penalty. The controversial evidence showing that race is a large contributing factor in death penalty cases shows that there needs to be a change in the system and action taken against these biases. The issue is wide spread throughout the United States and can be proven with statistics. There is a higher probability that a black on white crime will result in a death penalty verdict than black on black or white on black. Race will ultimately define the final ruling of the sentence which is evident in the racial disparities of the death penalty. The amount of blacks on death row can easily be seen considering the majority of the prison population is black or blacks that committed the same crime as a white person but got a harsher sentence. The biases and prejudices that are in our society relating to race come to light when a jury is selected to determine a death sentence. So what is the relationship between race and the death penalty? This paper is set out to prove findings of different race related sentences and why blacks are sentenced to death more for a black on white crime. Looking at the racial divide we once had in early American history and statistics from sources and data regarding the number of blacks on death row/executed, we can expose the issues with this racial dilemma.