In Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, he addresses the hardships faced by African Americans in society and in the legal justice system. Through the author’s efforts to accomplish changes in our legal system, he utilizes three different group values including: common purpose, collaboration, and controversy with civility. All three of these groups values are interconnected and different in their own way and are essential in accomplishing social change. Collaboration, common purpose, and collaboration are all important for a groups working together to achieve a common goal. The common purpose is the group’s shared vision and accurately sets out the values that the group hopes to possess. In order to find this common purpose the group must first …show more content…
In contrast, controversy with civility can happen with two people without the same common purpose in mind. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson shows that controversy with civility can be used without common purpose. He has thoughtful conversations on multiple occasions where he and the other person have differing views-mostly on race. But Stevenson handles each of these examples in a civil way. Also collaboration can happen without controversy with civility between two people discussing a viewpoint on the same side. Stevenson utilizes each of these key values in his book to achieve social …show more content…
The author collaborates with his fellow staff, the family and community of Walter to plan a case to prove his innocence. Without proper collaboration the author would not be able to prove Walter’s innocence and have Ralph Myer’s change of heart to testify truthfully. The author also shows common purpose through the relentless to free Walter of all charges. Without sticking to the common purpose of the family of Walter and Bryan’s staff, Walter would never have been exonerated. This highlights the importance of a good common purpose and without one, true change can not be achieved. This example also shows controversy with civility when the black women did not attend the first day of court because of the guard dogs and her prior trauma from Selma. On the second day, she decides to face her fears and comes into the courtroom and even explains to the court that they could not keep her from there. This shows controversy with civility with the women facing her fears and speaking out against the authoritative and letting her voice and opinion be heard. These values all tie into leadership and
Throughout the book Just Mercy, there are several unjust circumstances, such as imprisonment due to lack or wealth or mental illnesses, which occur within the judicial system that Mr. Stevenson discusses with the reader. The author uses several devices to display the behaviors that occur within the novel, and these devices genuinely help the reader see through Mr. Stevenson's point of view. Bryan leads his audience through the several predicaments he encounters and displays the true faults of the judicial system itself. He walks us through the struggles of individuals such as Trina Garnett, Walter McMillian, and many more. Bryan Stevenson displays the injustices of the judicial system, such as racial bias and child imprisonment without parole,
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.
Common objectives are developed by working together to ensure Team building is done and that the team runs affectively with all members using their strengths. The evaluate each individuals strengths and weakness’s and bear these in mind when allocating tasks. Agree with team members the tasks they have been set and ensure they are confident and trained to carry them out. Ask for suggestions and brainstorm for idea’s from the team and allow them to have an input as long as it is safe and possible to do so.
The following piece of work will discuss racism within the criminal justice system by viewing the Black Lives Matter movement, the roles of law enforcement and how that effects citizens, and potential solutions to the problems in the system. Within our criminal justice system, it is evident that there is a problem by the ratio of blacks in prison, and the number of police brutality cases in the country.
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.
Just Mercy: A Story of justice and redemption is written by one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. The book talks about vindicating potential of mercy. Bryan Stevenson is a gifted attorney. He founded the Equal Justice Initiative. The initiative is opened to defend the poor, falsie accused, and those trapped in the abyss of our justice system. The whole book covers Bryan’s journey as he met different people. There are several character mention in the books. Every character in this book has their own story, and the author does brilliant job portraying them. This book talks about Stevenson’s life’s work and the racial injustice in American life. Also, the book talks about mass incarceration and extreme punishment in America. It is about how easily people are condemned in this country.
In Bryan Stevenson’s novel, Just Mercy, it is extremely apparent that there is a link between poverty, wealth, injustice, and justice. This book incorporates a strong theme of poverty and how it relates to justice, as well as injustice. Furthermore, it works to explain and provide examples of problems within the justice system, and the urgency to correct these. This being said, throughout a personal reading of the book, one might come to agree with Stevenson's statement, "the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice" (Stevenson 18).
In today’s society, discrimination continues to affect millions of minorities from inappropriate name calling to being shot by a law enforcement officer because you were perceived to be dangerous. The underlying effects of racial discrimination are seen in all aspects of our society, especially in our social institutions. These social institutions range from the educational system to our government, yet racial discrimination is more evident in the criminal justice system. When analyzing how the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities we are able to do so through the visible disparities within the system. Unfortunately, these disparities display African Americans having the highest population rates in the criminal justice system, therefore, we can immediately conclude this disparity in population is due to the injustices conducted by the system. Thus, there is a need for urgent change not just within the criminal justice system but within all social institutions beginning with our government. This change should create greater opportunities for minorities to enter the political field in our government as well as promoting higher participating in voting. Yet, the criminal justice system within all its aspects practices discrimination due to its deeply interwoven prejudice, institutional racism, and socioeconomic status.
The intersection of racial dynamics with the criminal justice system is one of longstanding duration. In earlier times, courtrooms in many jurisdictions were comprised of all white decision-makers. Today, there is more diversity of leadership in the court system, but race still plays a critical role in many
In the book Just Mercy: A story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, there are several topics discussed regarding the American Justice system. One of those many topics discussed is regarding how a person’s race, social status and income, may influence the outcome of a court trail. In present day America, many years after the era of Jim crow and segregation the Justice system still seems to be more lenient towards white Americans, especially those with high income and a good standing in society. The American justice system has become unjust in the trials deemed to be fair, due to an evident prejudice against minorities, their social status and whether or not they receive a well off or poor income.
At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).
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.
The New Jim Crow is a book that discusses how legal practices and the American justice system are harming the African American community as a whole, and it argues that racism, though hidden, is still alive and well in our society because of these practices. In the book, Michelle Alexander, author and legal scholar, argues that legal policies against offenders have kept and continue to keep black men from becoming first class citizens, and she writes that by labeling them as “criminals,” the justice system and society in general is able to act with prejudice against them and subordinate black Americans who were previously incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, by limiting their access to services as a result of their ‘criminal status’ and therefore, further degrading their quality of life. The New Jim Crow urges readers to acknowledge the injustice and racial disparity of our criminal justice system so that this new, more covert form of racism in society can be stopped.
One key example would be Mr. Link Deas who rose in the middle of the trial “and announced: ‘I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy’s worked for me eight years an‘ I ain’t had a speck o’trouble outa him. Not a speck” (261). Mr. Deas was surrounded by many of his peers who he knows personally and still has the courage to stand up against the majority of racist opinions to support Tom Robinson, a negro being accused of rape. This takes an immense amount of empathy and courage to truly believe and support Tom Robinson to the point that he is not afraid to take a stand against his peers that are doing the wrong thing.
Justice and independence has been one of the sole virtues that are held within the United States of America; values that present the ideal ethics placed on all citizens within the nation. This American image of freedom and liberty holds the function to unite all persons, yet such an image is not consistent with the accurate reality within America’s society. These purported ideals cloak the visible struggles of color that are stored within the nation; social strifes that have endured from America’s past to the present. People of color, especially African Americans, display a form of unification while exposes the corruption within the nation’s government. Likewise, it can be the opposite, for identifying the surreptitious features and the demoralizing