Meghan McDonald Engaging Differences Film Review Film Review: Just Mercy The film I chose for this assignment is Just Mercy, a movie from 2019 that was originally a book published by Bryan Stevenson in 2014. I had to read this book for a class in high school and enjoyed it so much that I decided to watch the film as well. The reason I chose this movie to review is because I believe that it greatly expresses multiple problems that today our society faces, such as racism and having a corrupt justice system. In summary, this film is about an African American lawyer who fights to prove a man's innocence who is currently on death row, because of this he is faced with many hardships and battles. In my opinion, this film angered me at the fact that all these African American men were being falsely accused of crimes that they did not …show more content…
These officers believe that they are higher up and think that they can break the law. In this film, this happened on multiple occasions. For example, two officers pulled over Bryan Stevenson, pulled a gun at him, went through his car, and then let him go. These officers broke the law just to show power over Stevenson. Another theme that was shown in this film was the thought of closeness and how a situation can affect a community as a whole. In this film, it is Bryan Stevenson's mission to bring justice to people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes. Unlike most lawyers, Stevenson dedicated his time to becoming close to those convicted and even their family members. Along with that, he stood by those being put to death until their last second. Moving on, not just the people who are being wrongfully convicted of crimes are greatly affected, but the community that surrounds them, too. Walter McMillan’s family had to live with the thought that their family member was innocent, but there wasn’t anything they could do about
In To Kill a Mockingbird, a conflict that connects to the theme innocence should be protected is the death of Tom Robinson. Once found guilty, Tom Robinson was placed in prison. Because of his race, Robinson knew he would be sentenced the death penalty. Soon after being convicted, Robinson tried to escape. He knew that he didn’t deserve to be punished. While trying to escape, he was shot 17 times by p...
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.
The novel, Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson is an incredible read. In this book, Mr.
In Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, he uses methods of gothic language, partial language, biased facts and repetition to portray prisons in a negative light, allowing him to subtly persuade the reader, he often times does this through the negativity of prisons focusing on: prison guards, the structures themselves and the mistreatment of the prisoners. This method is a vital form in storytelling, but often times detracts from the overall message of Just Mercy and the injustices of the prison system.
For instance, Dally did not have much to live for. No family that loved him except for Johnny, just a couple of Old’ friends. He already has a police record, because of how is is so disobedient to the laws. The only fun in Dallys life was picking up girls and finding some new ways to break the law. He never cared for anyone but Johnny, and once Johnny had died that was the end. Dallas did not know how else to handle himself. When Darry got the phone call Ponyboys thoughts scattered then came to a conclusion, “But I knew that was what he wanted, even as the lot echoed with the cracks of the shots, even as I begged silently please, not him… not him and Johnny both - I knew he would be dead, because Dally Winston wanted to be dead and he always got what he wanted”(154). Like Pony said, Dally always got what he wanted and he definitely did. Once Johnny died he did not care about anything in life. Conversely, Johnny had a lot to live for. He is only sixteen years old and he has a lot ahead of him. Johnny was very law abiding he tried hard not to get into any trouble or break any laws. Now that he has made that mistake with Bob he thinks he has ruined his whole life. He has not, there is much more ahead of him. Johnny had died a hero by saving all those kids at the burning church. He finally understands, “Listen, I don’t mind dying now. It's worth it, It’s worth saving those kids. Their lives are
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
Bryan Stevenson is a defence attorney for a man named Herbert Richardson who 's on
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
Growing up Jack’s dad’s had a “keen eye for spotting criminals of all stripes was impressive” because he would always point out people that he thought were druggies, criminals, or ex-convicts. He would tell him as a kid that there is no coming back from certain things and being in jail was one of them (Gantos 7). “His eye “wasn’t perfect. He never pegged [Jack] for being one of them” (Gantos 7). Along with his dad trying to help his son not become a criminal his high school tried to help the community as well, In the town's high school there was a presentation where criminals came to share their stories and how they regret doing the things they did because doing the time and wasting their life was not worth it. Jack believed this to be useless, “What could they say that could possibly change my life? I was enjoying my life just fine. I wasn’t going to become a criminal. I was going to be a writer. And if not a writer, I wasn’t sure what I might do, but I certainly had no interests in becoming a criminal,” (Gantos 28). Little did he know that later in life he would become a prisoner
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
Inequality continues to affect people in different communities around the globe. It is difficult for many to realize the severity and extreme reality of these situations because they are not given prominence in media and they are not seen as often around certain communities. That is why I believe there is such a huge importance in being aware and reading books such as Just Mercy. Growing up in a large African American and latino population while being caucasian, I felt as if I was much more aware of these issues as compared to those living in less diverse communities. To my surprise, there are always people in worse situations than one can imagine. In Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, he brings attention to the history of the United States
In Harper Lee’s fictional novel To Kill A Mockingbird, an African American field hand is falsely accused of raping a white women. Set in the 1930’s in the small town of Monroeville Alabama, Addicus Finch an even handed white attorney tries to shed a light on the injustice of this innocent black man’s conviction. Atticus feels that the justice system should be color blind, and he defends Tom as an innocent man, not a man of color.
In The Night Of the Police, Detectives, and lawyers that are working the justice serving jobs are not look forward to serving true justice. These individuals have a feel for how powerful the law is and take advantage of the justice system instead. They decide to make bad moral decisions for their own self benefit. This shows that individuals value their own self-benefit over making the right moral decision.
During the scene with the police lineup, Detective Clay tells a worried and nervous Denise Moore, that she shouldn 't concern herself with testifying because Jesse Williams is most likely going to take a plea deal, and not go to trial. This caused me to realize that an officers has little to no responsibility with ensuring the innocence or guilt of an individual. Their job is to solely remove men and women, that they feel pose a threat to the rest of society, off of the street. In another scene, Detective Riley and the prosecutor for the case are seen revisiting the crime scene, the Detective emphasizes the need for the case not to go to trial, but rather for Jesse to cop a
One would like to believe that our legal system is perfect, but as the film displayed the system can be manipulated. Therefore, sometimes it seems to us the justice we feel is deserved, isn’t handed down. “Taking matters into one’s own hands may sometimes seem justified, but it hardly meets the more rigorous criteria for consensual, or community, justice” (Don't Confuse Revenge With Justice: Five Key Differences. (n.d.).