Imagine spending your whole life behind bars for a crime you did not commit. Seems unfair, doesn’t it? It is a sad reality that in the United States, it is estimated that, “between 4-6% of people incarcerated in US prisons are actually innocent”(Because of the Statistics). Even more shocking is the disparity between wrongful convictions of black Americans as opposed to white Americans. Black Americans are 7x more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder (Because of the Statistics) than white Americans. These disturbing statistics highlight the major issue of ‘Just Mercy’ by Brian Stevenson. The novel describes Stevenson’s work defending individuals who have been wrongfully convicted or excessively sentenced. Throughout the cases, one theme …show more content…
Building off of Stevenson’s work, I have come to define what I believe “just mercy” means. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, mercy is defined as: “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power.” Mercy is to restrain from hurting someone who may have wronged you, something that comes up plenty of times throughout the book. To me, “just mercy” means that even those who may be deemed undeserving due to their crimes, are deserving of mercy. “Just mercy” means to act with compassion, not vengeance, when going after someone who wronged you or society. “Just mercy” focuses on the person instead of the act, creating an understanding of why someone may have done what they did, and helping them improve themselves instead of punishing them for their actions. Mercy is to lend a helping hand to those who need it, even if they are undeserving. “Just mercy” is about forming a justice system that creates improvement in people through rehabilitation, not punishment, helping “uphold the humanity of those we
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
The novel, Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson is an incredible read. In this book, Mr.
If that does not occur to the reader as an issue than factoring in the main problem of the topic where innocent people die because of false accusation will. In addition, this book review will include a brief review of the qualifications of the authors, overview of the subject and the quality of the book, and as well as my own personal thoughts on the book. In the novel Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right authors Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and Jim Dwyer expose the flaws of the criminal justice system through case histories where innocent men were put behind bars and even on death row because of the miscarriages of justice. Initially, the text promotes and galvanizes progressive change in the legal
There were many innocent people that were punished for crimes they did not commit because they could not afford adequate counsel. Being poor and black can become a life or death situation. I believe that both books makes very valid points when it comes to mass incarceration and racial biases. The injustices have become so engrained in the system that many are blind to what is actually going on. More and more black men are becoming incarcerated and this is not because more blacks commit crime, so why then are so many being institutionalized? I believe it is to try to regain that power that was lost from the abolishment of slavery. The New Jim Crow highlighted the creation of the new racial caste system by revealing that the conception of this permanent segregation was implanted well before the Civil Rights Movement ended (Stevenson, 2014). While Just Mercy pinpoints the aftermath of a preconceived idea. It showed that America operated off of fear and anger, rather than truth and
As one grows older, certain trends begin to appear that are difficult not to notice. Naivety begins to fade and the harsh realities people are faced with every day present themselves. These realities shape how people perceive and treat others. A certain theme, or rather lack of theme, that is extremely pertinent in today’s society is the notion of humanity. Humanity is defined, by Merriam-Webster, as the quality or state of being humane or having a compassionate disposition. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, is a book that perfectly embodies the theme of humanity. In this book, the reader follows the author throughout his journey from an idealistic, young lawyer to a revered attorney in his quest for justice for those deemed unfavorable by our
Kalief Browder was a sixteen year old boy who was wrongfully accused of stealing a backpack. He spent three years in solitary confinement on Rikers Island before committing suicide in 2015. Kalief’s story truly upset me, and I wanted to learn why this had happened, and what I could possibly do to ensure this never happens again in the future. My first interests within wrongful conviction were racial bias, reform, and reparation. Questions formed in my mind such as: Why is there not better training towards prosecutors? How common are wrongful convictions? What is being done to combat this grievance? How are exonerees given the resources, if any, to restart their lives? And more specifically, what type of apology, if any, is made? I found it sickening that our law system is not doing anything substantial to shut down this issue. Therefore, I decided to pick wrongful conviction as my topic, and began my research. I read many articles, magazines, and a book about wrongful conviction. Also, I interviewed Colin Bowen, a criminal defense attorney in Oakland, California, and Rhonda Donato, a former attorney for the Innocence Project in Northern California. Despite a few nuances, such as Donato having to postpone our interview, both characters had much to say and much information about wrongful conviction. Through this project, I hope to share with the class the heartbreaking truth behind wrongful convictions, and inspire them to help make a difference. Wrongful convictions are brought about by many many different flaws in our criminal justice system, primarily erroneous eyewitness testimony, and racial stereotyping and systemic bias in the law enforcement
Dating back to 1923, Judge Learned Hand said that the American judicial system “has always been haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted” (Jones, 2010). Wrongful convictions weren’t really the center of attention until a professor from Yale University published a book called Convicting the Innocent in 1932. This book shined light on 65 cases, pointed out legal reasons and presented ideas to bring upon reform.
Just Mercy Reflection Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is an incredible book focused on exploring the implications and impact of racial bias on the criminal justice system. As I read this piece, several quotes and concepts remained lodged in my brain, and I will specifically focus upon these memorable moments and their links to class content. Initially, I was amazed by the conviction and dedication of the author. Even as a very young lawyer, his passion for justice is extremely evident. I found it impressive that the author attended Harvard Law School, yet decided to harness his own experience as a racial minority to help others on death row instead of with a high-paying law firm.
One of the most obvious themes of Dead Man Walking is social justice and the processes of the legal criminal justice system—specifically, the death penalty. It is evident that our country tries to provide justice for crimes committed that have violated another person’s unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what does the word justice mean? Debates regarding the death penalty have existed for many years, and it is a controversial topic. Sister Helen Prejean is against the death penalty. Although she is uncertain about what she is doing, has no experience with death row inmates, and faces much opposition from people around her, she wants t...
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.
On September 2, 2014, after 3 decades of waiting for their death row, Henry Lee McCollum, 50, and his half-brother, Leon Brown, 46, were declared innocent and ordered released with $750,000 in compensation from the state (Brothers Henry McCollum). After thirty years of isolation, both of the brothers has been affected mentally and physically. McCollum and Brown, who are now middle age men, have no education, job, or family have to reorganize their lives in which they could have done 30 years ago. The two brothers, who were only scared, mentally challenged teenagers, while under pressure, confessed to killing Sabrina Buie. The question on whether does race played a factor in the two brothers’ sentence remain unjustified.
On February 5th, 2018 Texas State University’s Distinguished Lecture Series hosted their 36th common experience speaker. Bryan Stevenson, the keynote speaker for the evening, is an attorney, social justice activist, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Every year Texas State University gives a book to their incoming freshman class as a welcome gift and to support different individuals who they would advise their student body to learn from. The the book presented to the freshman class of 2021 was Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, a memoire recounting the story of a young lawyer fighting on the frontline of a country in thralled with extreme punishment and careless justice. Because this book was the 2017 addition to
The United States has historically promoted the rights of man and liberty. The sentencing of an innocent person not only displays the inefficiency of a government’s judicial system to uphold these values, but also the irreversible damage done to the individual.
Mercy killings are very controversial, many believe it is a form of murder where the perpetrator can masquerade behind the victim’s problems as an outlet of innocence, while others believe it is an ethical way to save someone from further pain or problems in life. Such as what Gigi Jordan was faced with, “The weepy mother confessed to taking Jude Mirra’s life in February 2010 at the swank Peninsula Hotel but insists that it was a ‘mercy killing’ to spare him from abuse at the hands of almost half a dozen people”. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, we see a very similar thing happen when one of two migrant workers, George Milton, is faced with the decision of killing Lennie Smalls, his mentally disabled companion, after
The numbers are disturbing. Innocent people are becoming victims of the United States judicial system by its overlooked imperfections. A former president of the American Bar Association (ABA), John J. Curtin Jr., said it best when he told a congressional committee that “Whatever you think about the death penalty, a system that will take life must first give justice. Execute justice, not people.” Though some of the innocent death row inmates have managed to escape their execution, there are numerous others who are unable to overturn their sentence through appeals. Many cases of innocence go unheard and result in the unfortunate fatality of an innocent bystander. When the death penalty in 1972 was ruled unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia, the Justices expected that the “adoption of narrowly crafted sentencing procedures would protect against innocent persons being sentenced to death”. But the chances that innocent persons have been or will be executed remain astoundingly high (Bedua 344). The United States justice system was formed on the premise that it should protect society’s general well being from any harm. Processes and procedures...