Just Mercy Analysis

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Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson flawlessly captures the reality of a common, yet somewhat unknown theme in today’s justice system, injustice. While reading this memoir, I was extremely inspired by Stevenson’s devotion to fighting for justice for his clients. In particular, the heart wrenching story of the young black man, Walter McMillan, made a lasting impression on me and my ideas of justice and mercy. I learned that we all must learn to have compassion and warmth in a world that can be so cold. Stevenson states, “We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer …show more content…

On July 10th, my family and I were on our way to Charleston, West Virginia when we got hit by a heavily intoxicated driver on I-77 and became involved in a multi-vehicle car collision. The fatal accident has given me a different input on life in general. The moment we crawled out of the car, and nearby drivers stopped to tell us the driver who initially hit us was driving at over 100 mph and weaving in and outside lanes, I felt angry. I was confused and felt helpless. A witness rushed to me and said “I have no compassion for people like that…no compassion.” Still in shock, I had seen my mother lying on the floor with a bleeding wound on her face. My sadness and anger built. You can’t help but ask questions like “Why us?” and “What did I do to deserve this?” There was a moment when I thought I would lose my family, and it would all be at the fault of a reckless criminal who had no mercy for others. Thankfully, we are all blessed to be alive and well. However, in the moment of my loss of hope, I was becoming like the witness who had no

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