Corruption In 'Just Mercy'

“Just mercy” written by Bryan Stevenson is a story about “justice and redemption”(title). Bryan Stevenson tells the story about Walter McMillian a convicted murder. McMillian was unjustly charged for the murder of Ronda Morrison by Ralph Myers even though there was clear evidence that McMillian did not commit this murder. McMillian’s story proves the inequities in the American justice system, and Stevenson proves the faults in the system by telling McMillian’s story. “Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done”(17). When we judge people based on their person not the facts innocent people can be charged for crimes that they never committed, and that is where are justice system is unjust.

The main social problem addressed in Just Mercy is the unjust American justice system and the extreme biases and prejudices that plague it. There are numerous examples of this shown throughout the book. The best example of racial bias and prejudice is Walter McMillian’s case because it shows both extreme racial biases and extreme racial prejudices against McMillian because of the color of his skin.

America is supposed to be the land of the free, but in reality does America give freedom to all? Not if your poor, black, or disabled. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, who is a lawyer, writes about the harsh realities of the justice system in the United States. He illustrates his encounter with several prisoners, who were wrongly defended based off of race, disability, and class. The main story follows an innocent man put on death row, Walter McMillian.

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.

In his memoir Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson shares his experiences with justice and mercy--or the lack there of; be these experiences his own, or the experiences of others which he has witnessed. Unfortunately, because of the color of their skin or their social standing, Stevenson and his clients are often treated with a justice rendered from mercy. An example of this is when the two police officers accosted Stevenson. Had they been calm and clearly expressed that there were concerns of burglary in the area, they could have peacefully come to the conclusion that Stevenson was no threat. Instead one of the officers immediately drew his gun which lead to a hostile treatment of Stevenson, a cruel violation of his rights, and, when the officers rummaged through his files, an unlawful breaking of attorney-client privilege.

The Walter McMillian, Joe Sullivan, and George Daniel cases all have a lasting impact on Bryan Stevenson and his novel, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. The underlying theme found in each case is that of being wrongly convicted of a crime. Unlike many of Stevenson’s cases, these three end positively - with either a lesser sentence, or the removal from prison. These accomplishments, however, took much time and effort due to the differing factors of each case, making them unique and one of a kind. Nonetheless, all three cases share one common detail, Bryan Stevenson and his practice, the Equal Justice Initiative, work to help these men gain the freedom that was stolen from them.

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.

Bryan Stevenson, the author of Just Mercy, has many themes in his book. One of which is the importance of human life. He goes through many cases of which, in the end, he realizes that every human deserves empathy and mercy and a fair chance at living their lives. Throughout the novel there is one specific case that changes Stevenson’s perspective the most however. This case is the Walter McMillian case that demonstrates the unfairness that was tolerated for death row inmates. Stevenson expresses this theme throughout the book. Some examples are through the McMillian case, the mental patient case, the juvenile case, and his own experience.

Firstly, To Kill a Mockingbird and Just mercy correlate with each other. Both books include similar topics within the book. In To Kill a Mockingbird there is a man, Tom Robinson, that was accused of raping a girl. He didn't do it, but they didn't believe him because he is black. He was shot dead before he could have a possible second trial. During the trial, it is shown that the African Americans are intimidated by the all white jury. Tom Robinson said when questioned why he was scared, "Mr. Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too."(TKMB, Pg 195) This shows that African Americans were intimidated, because of the color of their skin and other people's reaction to them. In Just Mercy there is a man, Walter McMillian, that was accused of killing a white girl that worked at a dry cleaning store. The man was innocent, but he was already convicted and trialed to death row. Though Walter had three people that testified that he has an alibi and that he was at church. The Trial Judge ignored them, overruled the jury, and found him guilty. It was after this that Bryan picked up his case. He managed to make Walter a free man again. The point on this story wasn't the fact Bryan did what he did, it was the fact that this case happened.

Many people believe the titles of names of places, people, or books have little to no meaning, I can argue there is a reason behind every single capitalized letter and chapter title and every person’s name. In the common read, Just Mercy we can truly test this theory. Throughout the introduction and sixteen chapters that follow, the amount of emotion and strategically placed names of each chapter depict a strong image of struggle or happiness. The title of the book itself “Just Mercy” represents all that America strives to become a civil and lawful society. We can start by dissecting the title “Just Mercy”. If you were to google “Just” the word is defined by having a basis in or conforming to fact or reason. (“Just.” Merriam-Webster). The definition of the word “Mercy” states two different meanings, compassion; or a blessing that is an act of divine favor. (Mercy.” Merriam-Webster). Immediately upon putting these two words together you come to find they balance each other. The correspondence between just and mercy sound like they belong together, it simply means the fact of being kind. Beginning with the rest of the titles, Stevenson parallels Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird into his day to day struggles of an unjust court system.

Someone who is abusing the power that is given to him or her defines corruption, however, the word in its self is more than a simple idea; it is an intricate network. Since people’s views about ethical and moral behavior affect the way corruption is examined, the word has a slightly different meaning to each person. Additionally, misconduct across various societies is viewed differently due to social and cultural borders. The criminal justice system has had many instances where corruption had affected the outcome of a case and has inserted itself into the legal process.

Just mercy is a powerful novel Written by Bryan Stevenson in the book he put us in a different world. while he depicts the social injustices he experiences while he defended an innocent man. Walter whom was set up for a murder of a women named Ronda even with multiple witnesses he is still convicted. Which made this be my topic of interest during the time that I was reading Just Mercy. Because In this society we have a race based institution where they can directly say a African American is guilty without fair trial. in the which mean that African Americans are “Guilty until proven innocent”. which is the opposite when it come to the opposite races.

Looking at the cover of the book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redempt, written by Bryan Stevenson, one could not understand what would be thrown at them after opening the crisp pages. Breaking the title of the book down, we know what ‘mercy’ is defined as the feeling toward offenders through a person with the ability to oversee justice within our system. Furthermore, the two words ‘just mercy’ is implied that our officials that are administering the justice within our system go about it in a conscionable way. Stevenson’s starts off with an autobiographical introduction that sets forth how the context will be delivered to the readers. From the start, Stevenson explains how he got into the profession of defense law.

corrupt, and the state attorney as well. Another example would be, that even though witnesses are used in courts, the witness Dr. Kumagai was a lot different then a typical witness, he got extremely mad and even got out of his seat as if he wanted to fight the defense attorney. Another way in which reality is distorted is the way the judge handled many matters. In reality, lawyers do approach the judge and ask whether a specific evidence is allowed or not in trial, but in the movie the judge allows one side to do something, while saying he will be easy on the other side in return. This clearly does not make sense. Another thing that was completely distorted and fantasy involved the actual choosing of the judge. Judges may get picked by lotto

A darkness lurks in the tangled foliage and vines shrouding inland Africa. All the civilized world exists in but a bright flash of materialism and wealth, undercut by a looming darkness, a desire for wealth and power, and an inherent tendency towards gluttony and corruption. The darkness gnaws away at morality, stripping away the notion of right and encouraging mankind to subjugate those different from themselves in the interest of personal gain. Joseph Conrad, in his novella, “Heart of Darkness,” criticizes this corruption and subjugation of the lower class brought about by the imperial system, illustrating mankind’s inherent greed for dominance and its role in fostering atrocity and savagery.