Analysis Of Just Mercy By Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson was a lawyer based out of Montgomery, Alabama. He helped many of these people get an honest, fair sentence. Through the publication of his book, he has educated many on the reality of our prison systems in America. He shares his firsthand accounts of children being charged as adults, innocent men being charged for crimes they had clearly not had any involvement with, and women living in poverty being charged with murder for burying their stillborn children. All of these cases had one thing in common: poverty.

Stevenson believes that in the justice system we have a “disturbing indifference to inaccurate or unreliable verdicts, our comfort with bias, and our tolerance of unfair prosecutions and convictions”(17). McMillian’s case proves this point because, there was unreliable witnesses that charged McMillian with the murder of Morrison. Ralph Myers was the man who told the police that McMillian was responsible for the murder of Morrison. Investigation started to show that Myers had never met McMillian. ABI agents proved this by “having Myers meet up with McMillian at a grocery store while they monitored the interaction”(33). “Myers could not identify McMillian amongst several black men present he had

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a story of innocents sentenced to death row (2015). As an attorney at law, he sheds light on the fraudulent Criminal Justice System with the corruption of cops and prison guards, bribed witnesses, and paid off judges. Written in first person, Stevenson’s (2015) account depicts 50 years of debasement of the Criminal Justice System. Telling the accounts of corruption in first person and using dialogue that included the actual victims conversations allowed his readers to be invested in the story. His vocabulary and the stories used, made the reader realize that corruption takes place in the United States Criminal Justice System both in history and continues through today.

By deciding which are the worse cases throughout his stack and picking them to help fight for their justice. To add, the more Stevenson grew as a person he realized many things as he says here “The more I experienced, the more I recognized that I had been struggling my whole life with the question of how and why people are judged unfairly” (13).

Just Mercy was written in 2014 by Stevenson Bryan. This story takes place in Montgomery Alabama. This story is about the broken system of justice. How people are judged unfairly even in the supreme Court. Bryan Stevenson primarily focuses on death penalty cases and juveniles sentenced to life or death. He provides relief for those incarcerated also, he understands the need to fix this criminal justice system by focusing on poverty, and racial disparities. Stevenson chooses cases that did not receive justice. This book discusses the prison life and how they are treated. It also decides about the different cases and how each case has one theory. It provides additional insight into the rush to incarcerate for life people as young teenagers, putting them in an adult prison. Where they are certain to suffer from sexual, mentally and physical abuse.

Stevenson becomes largely aware of all of the injustices, specifically all the racial injustices that occur within the prisons and specifically within death row. This injustice that occurs within death row is saddening to observe, especially when it comes down to ending one’s life. Stevenson reminds his audience that everyone makes mistakes and deserves mercy because no one is perfect, however every life has value. His most prevailing case of this is the Walter McMillian case. At this time in 1980s, Alabama has the fastest growing prison population. Stevenson therefore spends much of his time in Alabama for the defense of McMillian as he is accused of murder and an alleged drug lord and rapist. With the defense of Walter’s community on his side along with his connection with EJI (Equal Justice Initiative), Stevenson was determined to

    Bryan Stevenson, the author of Just Mercy, describes the many struggles of disadvantaged clients and unfairness in the courts. Bryan Stevenson as a lawyer exemplifies the qualities of giving, loving and hardworking. Throughout the story, Stevenson goes through many stories of representing poor clients and unfair trials. However, one case that he spends a majority of his time on and shows these qualities is with Walter McMillian. McMillian was framed for a murder that he did not commit and was put on death row even before convicted. Stevenson gets an email from the family asking for help and if he could take the case. With him being already backed up,

The sentencing process in this country is racially, ethnically, and socio-economically bias. Despite the fact, that the book concentrates on the federal prison system and life behind bars the reader can inference that the sentencing process works against minority groups, which can be demonstrated by the action of the guards against certain inmates. Society has predisposed perceptions of individuals based on their skin color, ethnicity, and social class that influence one’s judgment. So once they walk into the sentencing process the prosecutor and judge can use their discretion when imprisoning them. The guards then continue to demonstrate this in their behavior against them. Santos introduces the reader to this when he describes a time guards

In Just Mercy, the criminal justice system is alluded to being unjust. In today’s society, the justice system still remains in a corrupt state. The justice system today versus in the book Just Mercy is similar because of certain laws, criminal cases, and societal issues.

In the novel Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson the truth can hurt someone for a little while but a lie hurts forever. For example, an African American man named Walter McMillian was wrongfully accused of murder in Monroeville, Alabama 1986. McMillian was held on death row prior to being convicted and sentenced to death for a crime that he never committed. Along with Mr. McMillian another African American man named Jimmy Dill was held on death row on an account of inadequate legal assistance. Mr. Dill’s conviction was very questionable, but because his lawyers were careless and effortless he was sentenced to death. Alabama is the only state in the country without a state funded program to help death row prisoners. Mr. Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy is about a lawyer fighting for the innocent people who are wrongfully accused and put on death row. Bryan Stevenson, the author of the book talks a lot about mass incarceration in the United States. The extreme punishment that the unfortunate face based on their race, social class, and other factors is an act of inhumanity. This book is basically about the injustice in the American criminal justice system. I am startled about what I have learned throughout his book. My firm believe is that these kind of obstacles are not discussed so it gets even worse. People are unaware of what is happening or better still some are not ready to face the reality that such actions are taking place.

This paper explores my future pathway to the career of a criminal defense attorney. I will be discussing the history of lawyers by explaining how they started in Greece and how they developed to what they are in the present. The primary source I explore in my paper is Barack Obama. Barack Obama was a civil rights lawyer and a professor. My paper discusses how Obama became a lawyer, where he studied, and how he came to be a civil rights lawyer. Stanford is the university where I choose to research. It has everything a lawyer needs to study to become a lawyer. The paper discusses the classes as well as the skills required to become a lawyer. Finally, I conclude with a discussion about why becoming a criminal defence attorney is a suited career

“We kept talking and talking, and it was only when I heard a loud bang on the door that I realized that I’d stayed way past my allotted time for the legal visit. I looked at my watch. It had been three hours.” (Stevenson, 10). Stevenson describes this experience as the turning point in his study of the law, after changing his perspective and realizing he was talking to a human being and not some monster, he began to study up on all the executions cases and the law relating to them

Throughout the course of the book Stevenson made me realize how little I know about the justice system and everything surrounding it. Through statistics and stories he opened my eyes to a whole world that I previously had never explored. It baffled me how hard it is to get things done and people properly taken care of. Initially I was surprised at how under represented public offenders are, but then it started to make sense. Government jobs do not pay well, so it is hard to recruit someone for such a cumbersome job with such little pay. Once that person is there it is even harder to make them do good work if they don't feel they are being appreciated.

Bryan Stevenson is a public interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the belittled. Through each case he resists against incarceration and abuse. Each person he meets, Stevenson acknowledges and educates people on the prison system, how to take stand and resist against mass incarceration and abuse even if you do not match the same