Bryan Stevenson's in Just Mercy spends most of his time in prison with incarcerated and those who are in death roll which taught him that people are more than the worst thing they’ve done. He believes that the opposite of poverty isn't wealth; its Justice. I agree with Stevensons society should be judged and how it treats its most vulnerable members. Homeless people get treated like they're invisible in our society. People have the idea that many beggars are drug addicts or are just lazy to look for jobs. I believe some people go through experiences like mental health problems, some lose their jobs that cause them to be homeless . Although some people use the money for their drugs and alcohol abuse. As a society we should help our brothers and sisters who are in need and we can’t just assume everyone is bad. I once met a man in the train who was selling body oil, long story short he was once shot 14 times and was hospitalized for 2 months. After he was out, he had no where to stay or go and therefore he was homeless and slept outside of a mosque for weeks. He said he was very hurt by the fact nobody ever offered him food or water. Then he told me if I learned anything from him is I should i always people who are in need even a little help counts. Homeless …show more content…
Racism still exists in American and everywhere in the world. African Americans are always victims of racial profiling and get treated like animals. For example, the story Eric Garner who was put in a headlock/chokehold by a office which causes breathing difficult and shorty he died. Also, in the book just Mercy Walter Mcmillian was falsely accused for murdering a white woman and there was no tangible evidence against him , all the witness that were black were dismissed by the judge and he was sent to death row. Racism always been a problem in our society, people should look past people’s skin color and look at each others as
On 1/13/16, I watched the TED Talk of Gregory Boyle, “Compassion and Kinship,” a founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries. He explained how we should form a relationship with others so that we can come together as one rather than being enemies towards each other. Specifically he claimed that having kinship and compassion breaks down barriers it allows people who don’t fit society’s standards know that their life has value, meaning, and worth. As he said, “How can we achieve a certain kind of compassion that stands in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgement at how they carry it, for the measure of our compassion lies not in our service of those on the margins but in our willingness to see ourselves and kinship with them and mutuality.” Although some people believe that once they choose to make bad decisions, they have
In the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is a memoir where Bryan Stevenson guides us through his life as a lawyer for those who are death sentence. From 1983 when he was student at Harvard Law to 2013 where he lost a client he was defending for years , he takes us through several cases he has taken over the years and showed how they personally impacted him as not only as a lawyer , but a person as well.
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
It would be ignorant to say racism does not exist till today. There is almost a complete 100 year difference between the reconstruction period and the Civil Rights Movement for equal rights to the Black society. While slavery took time to vanish in the south in those hundreds of years, segregation was pushed harshly, laws we 're enacted to prevent Blacks from having certain privileges that whites had. Segregation almost seemed to kick the Blacks out of the society we live together in. The Jim Crow laws had made efficient work in separating the Blacks from the Whites in society, and it took the Civil Rights movement in 1964 to finally bring more equality to the African-American society. However, the Ku Klux Klan and still other organizations had existed and continue to exist despite efforts to bring equality. There is a strong social equality for the Black population in America today, but because of hate organizations and discrimination still existing today, black lives are being lost through murder, and even in forms of police brutality. Take for example the L.A riots in 1992 from the beating of Rodney King, or going back to 1967 the Detroit riots which tore apart these cities. Today Black Lives Matter movements exist to crush out racism in society so people no longer have to live in fear, and it is an existing movement that I think will actually fade as generations in the future work to build up society, and racism will become a thing of a past. There is however, always going to be something that causes prejudices and hate in society if not directed to one group of people. Even today if racism disappears between blacks and whites, prejudice occurs between cultural people here in America. These problems exist mainly in America, and it is socially slowing us down from advancing as a
Bryan Stevenson is a defence attorney for a man named Herbert Richardson who 's on
In Bryan Stevenson book Just Mercy, Stevenson exposed many things about the justice system. He explain to his audience that the justice system are treated minorities wrong. Bryan Stevenson influences on the readers’ thoughts about the justice system. He makes the readers question if we are being treated right. Stevenson does this by using logos effectively by providing the readers with the cases he dealt with. There are four cases that stuck out to readers are the Walter, Charlie, Horace, and Joe.
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
Homeless or not, we were all raised and taught not to do the things that would hurt people. The way homeless people are being treated in today’s world is out of hand and it needs to come to an end. The homeless are humiliated, assaulted, talked badly about, and overly stressed due to traumatic experiences.
As stated before, racism is not something that people thought of in the last ten years, it is an ongoing theme that has been flowing through the story of the United States. Starting from the enslavement of black Africans, and moving along to the days of when African Americans were separated from white Americans even though they lived in the same country and walked the same streets. Racism is seen all over the world. Hitler killed close to six million Jews during World War II due to the fact that he claimed that Germans were superior. He said that Jews polluted Europe and began “cleaning” it up. “Racism serves both to discriminate against ethnic minorities and to maintain advantages and benefits for White Americans.” This is what Mark Feinberg, PhD, stated about this issue and most people would agree.
Just Mercy documents the incredible and heart wrenching experiences of Equal Justice Initiative founder and attorney extraordinaire, Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson’s niche is a unique and unexpected focus for a lawyer. He works with people that society often wrongfully characterizes as “criminals” that are usually either on death row or condemned to life in prison. Before seeing a segment of Opera’s interview with Stevenson, and reading this book, I couldn’t understand what typically motivates a lawyer to want to protect the rights of criminals and the un-just. In fact, one of Stevenson’s early mentors, Steve Bright, explained the, “‘opportunity’ isn’t necessarily the first word people think of when they think about doing work with us [Southern Prisoners Defense Committee],” because, “they live[ed] kind of simply, and the hours are pretty insane,” (Stevenson 2014, 6). However, a young Stevenson was undeterred by this claim, and went on to work some incredible cases, and exonerate many innocent and suffering individuals.
Just because one homeless person has committed a crime or used the money he has collected on things such as alcohol or drugs does not mean that every homeless person is going to be like that. Many homeless people are Vietnam veterans, have a mental illness, or cannot survive in this economy which we are in. I have had a few experiences with homeless people but there is one which is unforgettable. It is much like when Nathaniel Ayres begins yelling at Mr. Lopez then proceeds to apologize later on (Lopez, 258). Most homeless people do not receive aid from the government or do not receive enough aid which is why they resort to panhandling. Seeing these many homeless people shows us how well our government is doing in protecting its people.
His focus on specific cases underscores the urgent need for reform and empathy in the pursuit of justice. His storytelling is compelling and deeply moving, allowing readers to connect emotionally with the individuals affected by systemic injustices. However, some critics argue that the book could have delved more into the structural reasons behind these injustices, providing a broader context for the issues raised. ‘Just Mercy’ has had a profound impact on public discourse surrounding criminal justice reform. Stevenson’s advocacy has inspired widespread awareness of the flaws within the legal system and has catalyzed efforts to address racial disparities in sentencing and incarceration.
The most prominent demonstration of racism in America had to be the slave codes that were in place in all states where slavery was practiced. In “From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans,” John Hope Franklin went into detail on slave codes on pages 137-138, “…these laws varied from state to state, but most of them expressed the same viewpoint: that slaves are not people but property and that laws should…protect whites.” One law stated that those enslaved could not bear arms or strike a white person, even in self-defense, but when a white person killed a slave it wasn’t even considered murder. Africans had no standing in court, they couldn’t testify or be a party to a lawsuit and their marriages were not legally binding. Raping an African American woman by her master wasn’t considered a crime either. The slave codes were designed to oppress, persecute, and humiliate blacks by the hands of the whites. With the slave codes and the eventual Jim Crow laws and any oppressive laws and segregation practiced in America, the idea of blacks being inferior was stamped into the minds of any person living in the country. African Americans were treated as subpar, they weren’t considered human beings and to this day the same belief is held unto, although not nearly as outright or not as blatant as in the past centuries. Slavery in itself is a large example of how racism is and may always be embedded into American society; blacks had to fight to even be considered citizens, be able to vote, and be given basic human rights. Though many would deny the existence of racism, the sad truth is that racism may be an ever-present concept in American society.
Homeless individuals are known for taking hand outs and they prefer to plead for money rather than to go work for it. People assume most of the the money that is given to homeless people they spend it on drugs and alcohol because of the fact that many homeless people have drug and alcohol addictions. It is not uncommon to come across homeless youth and older homeless population that are known to abuse substances like drugs and alcohol. Because of the fact that homeless people have substance abuse problems, they tend face illnesses and infections. Many hard working Americans ask themselves “why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” The assumption is they are just lazy and unmotivated. Homeless people choose to live the life they live. Everyone goes through problems but not all people take the path homeless people do. The problems homeless people face is not an excuse for them to be helped and maintained by other hard working people. Although homelessness might be a choice to some, no one knows the hardships these people have gone through. Some assume these people are just lazy but in reality a lot of these homeless people have jobs of their own, they just can’t afford housing and a decent life. Everyone has their own opinion on homeless people, but that does not change the fact that one should still serve the homeless. Not because homeless people need help but because we are
Homelessness is everywhere, it is not a new trend and is a growing problem. Many people ask themselves should I help the homeless or not; it is easier to just ignore the problem than to give a helping hand. Every person needs help at one point or another in their life and homeless people should be no different. Assisting the homeless with healthcare, housing, and childcare are ways people are able to and should help the homeless.