Jimmy Dill's Broken The Criminal Justice System

In the book, Stevenson talks about the moment he realized that his life and the work he does, was full of brokenness. IT occurred after he talked with Jimmy Dill, right before Dill was to be executed. Despite the fact that he had intellectual disabilities, and could not afford a decent lawyer, Jimmy Dill was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die. After fighting to get stay requests, the requests were ultimately denied and Dill was executed. After being denied and talking to Dill, it was then that Stevenson realized how broken the criminal justice system was. In the book he recognizes that “his clients were broken by mental illness, poverty, and racism.” (Stevenson 288) At that moment, he wanted to given up.
Then, he realized

that “I don’t do what I do because it’s required or necessary or important. I don’t do it because I have no choice. I do what I do because I’m broken, too.” (Stevenson 289) He realized that in order to fight the brokenness of the system, he too much be broken. I also agree with his statement that everyone has been broken. We are not necessarily broken in the same ways and to the same extent as others, but we are all connected, whether convicted felon or catholic priest, by the brokenness. I think this realization gave Stevenson the strength he needed to continue to help those who have been broken by the criminal justice system. If all we do is harshly punish those who are broken, they will not heal, and neither will we. Stevenson comes to the conclusion that if we were to acknowledge our shared brokenness, “maybe we would look harder for solutions to caring for the disabled, the abused, the neglected, and the traumatized.” (Stevenson 291) I think this realization gave Stevenson a newfound passion for his work.
I agree that we are or have been broken by something or someone. I think, partly due to that brokenness, there are issues with the criminal justice system and how it protects children, the disabled, and those who are weak. While there are some people who go through more or different kinds of suffering than others, it is important to help everyone heal. You always hear the first step to fixing something, is admitting there is a problem. I think a similar thought process can be applied here. I believe society needs to recognize that some of the systems, and the people involved in those systems are broken. Recognition is the first step towards recovery. I think the first steps could be ensuring that those who have a hard time protecting themselves are protect, especially when talking about the criminal justice system. I think it is important for society to realize that we all make up humanity, even those who have been incarcerated. Once we recognize this, maybe we will be more willing to help those who are most in need, not punish them.