How Did Stevenson Search For Justice

Abraham Lincoln once said, “No law can give the right to do what is wrong”. Similarly, Martin Luther King wanted to end segregation between African Americans and Whites because he disagreed with the law and believed in equality for all. King thought that the best possible route to making change in society was to use specific techniques such as nonviolent resistance and direct action. Nonviolent resistance include protesters that fight for change, but cannot fight others that disagree. Direct action is getting straight to the problem rather than negotiating to make a difference. Nonviolent resistance and direct action is essential for change because it causes tension without creating violence and explicitly addresses the problem at hand.

Throughout everything King has done, we can all see that he is a well-educated man. He supports his reasoning in his letter with different words and comparisons to get his point across. King clearly describes what he wants for himself and his people which is why his letter is well respected. He’s in depth with his descriptions of what he wants and what the world should be like. His opinion on the racial injustices are highly respected because he is standing up for what he believes in. Behind every message, he proves what he wants to do. King’s argument is very strong. He expresses how valid his reasoning are.

Bryan Stevenson’s novel Just Mercy offers a shocking and intriguing view into the American criminal justice system. Regardless of whether you agree with Stevenson on these controversial topics, it is not a story you can read without being affected by it. There are so many stories that make you question whether our justice system is actually doing its job. Before reading this novel, I never thought about our criminal justice system. I didn’t have much of an opinion on capital punishment nor did I realize just how much prejudice is still ingrained in society. It is hard to accept just how corrupted and prejudice the officers and judges Stevenson meets are, but the worst part is, the stories Stevenson tells are fairly recent. The biggest revelation I had while reading Just Mercy is that racism, as well as other prejudices, are not dead. They are alive and thriving within each and every one of us.

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

In both works, Dr. King Jr. adopted techniques of series rhetoric, repetitions, effective use of metaphors and similes in protesting against social injustice and assuring his audience of a hope for a better tomorrow. In the letter to the clergy Dr. King Jr. invoked their thinking of what a just and unjust law was. He explained that the just law is a moral act of God’s will and the unjust law is such act instituted by men. When in conflict, he admonished society to accept the laws of God over those of men and cited instances where society had an obligation to reject unjust laws of segregation. Dr. King Jr. draws inspiration from men of historical significance to ascertain his claim and quotes

Stevenson gets close to the incarcerated people he is helping by getting to know all aspects of their life. In addition to reviewing the case on a professional level, he also forges a personal bond with that client and sometimes family members. Stevenson's would sometimes visit his clients and talk for hours and hours with them because he believes they're still human no matter how society labels them. By founding the Equal Justice initiative his only goal is to protect the rights of the people in prisons and not for any personal gain. Furthermore, Stevenson would take on many cases at a time sometimes not winning them all but it doesn't stop him from his quest to get justice.

King, (1991) in his speech from “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” explains that breaking the law is allowed in dangerous and extreme situations. Before taking action, King and the rest of his group found lots of evidence of injustice, had discussions with those in charge and made changes to their strategy (King, 1991, pg. 406). King, (1991) explains that god gave the land to them and the actions were based in those in Asia and Africa (pg. 407). King, (1991) says the consequences of not taking action were to leave things as they were with lots of violence, racism and poverty (pg. 407-408). King, (1991) explains that are unjust and just laws, which follows natural law (pg. 408). Natural law theory is the belief that what is moral correct is accordance with how it is in nature (Vaughn, 2016). King, (1991) explains that unjust laws are human laws that do not follow nature (pg. 408). King says for example, unjust laws are when the dominant group makes the submissive group follows rules that they disobey (King, 1991, pg. 409). King, (1991) says that those that disobey the law must do it with good will to accept the penalty (pg. 409). Nonviolence means were used with good intentions (King, 1991, pg. 414). This is in accordance with the doctrine of double effect. The doctrine of double effect says things should be done with good intentions and cannot be done with bad intentions (Vaughn, 2016). King’s argument was very well supported. His views are consistent with many ethical principles. However, there were examples and arguments that were repeated.

I think Bryan Stevenson has a unique understanding of the CJ system because of his work. Because of the statistics he has researched and his difficult cases, I think Stevenson is very aware of the short comings of the CJ system. He has also seen that the system is capable of righting a wrong. In his book, Just Mercy, he wrote about a case in which a 14 year old kid was unjustly being tried as an adult. He was able to get the case moved back to the juvenile court, and the kid was released before he turned 18 and able to create a new life. Stevenson’s work has enabled him to see what needs to be fixed in the CJ system, and as a result, he has become a champion of his cause.

Bryan Stevenson talks a lot about genocide not only in his book but also when he does public speeches. The execution of prisoner accused of serious crimes is a form of genocide. In the book, Stevenson talks about how other countries has the process of truth and reconciliation. But in the United States of America, he tells us that we want the opposite. Stevenson talks about how we do not want to talk about race, inequality, poverty, incarceration, and excessive punishment. He talks about how we as a country lack this and in order for the country to improve, we must consider the need for truth and reconciliation.

Stevenson gets close to the incarcerated people he is helping by getting to know them. He gives them hope and strength to fight along with him. He gets to know the person’s whole life. Factors and events that shape the case are worth knowing, but Stevenson realizes

Stevenson had always been a very creative child. After the incident with Claudius, he continued to live in the Overworld. Knowing that Claudius would one day rise again, he created an army of humans. They were not like his and Sabastian previous creation that wandered aimlessly about their villages; the human had conscious thought. It talked and acted just himself and his brothers. They wandered for some time before one person in his group asked to be relieved of duty to explore the land on his own. Stevenson tossed and turned all night thinking about it and when he awoke the next day, he devised a solution.

He wrote novels. short stories, and poems. Born in 1850, he grew up to be a very qualified man, but instead of pursuing he father's dream of becoming a lawyer, he decided to be a writer. The story of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appeared Stevenson one night in a dream. It is about Dr. Henry Jekyll, a very intellectual and respected man that did not know how much evil resided in him.

The measure of our character is how we treat the poor, accused, and the people incarcerated. I learn the unfair system of simply punishing the broken to ensure that the person punished stays broken. For instance, when he spoke on the nine year old boy who killed his mother’s boyfriend and was tried as an adult only because the man killed was a county sheriff. When Bryan Stevenson went to see the little boy, he was only in jail for three days and he was beaten the first day, raped the second, and beaten again the third day. Although I am not righting the wrong of him shooting the officer, I feel as though he should not have been tried as an adult. Mr. Stevenson also brought to my attention there are 2.3 million people in prison in the United

When one reads the nonfiction work of Robert Louis Stevenson along with the novels and short stories, a more complete portrait emerges of the author than that of the romantic vagabond one usually associates with his best-known fiction. The Stevenson of the nonfiction prose is a writer involved in the issues of his craft, his milieu, and his soul. Moreover, one can see the record of his maturation in critical essays, political tracts, biographies, and letters to family and friends. What Stevenson lacks, especially for the tastes of this age, is specificity and expertise: he has not the depth of such writers as John Ruskin, Walter Pater, or William Morris. But he was a shrewd observer of humankind, and his essays reveal his lively and

Robert Louis Stevenson, the sole child of one of Scotland’s leading light house engineers Thomas Stevenson, was born on the 13th of November 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Being a sickly child that endured repeated health problems was arguably a blessing in disguise. As the six year old Stevenson was mostly confined to his bedroom (or sickroom as some call it) on 17 Heriot Row, he was greatly influenced by his caretaker, Allison Cunningham (who he called Cummy) that used to read him the Bible and works on Presbyterian morality. Thus, Stevenson used his confinement to his advantage and developed a critically acclaimed imagination.