Just Mercy Analysis

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,

Naturally, the narrator feels the pressure of being a minority. At first, he wants to be like everyone else, to be a part of white society. Then, he realizes that such society is not what he imagines it to be. As a result, he wants to reconnect with his family, this time appreciating them as his own. Nevertheless, the narrator is afraid of what his father

Michelle Alexander in her eye-opener novel, The New Jim Crow, makes a dauntless premise that the racial caste system that was supposedly ended in America during the Civil Rights Movement still exists today and is completely redesigned in the sense that colored men are the target of an intentional “War on Drugs.” Alexander claims that the criminal justice system is used as a mean to racially control millions of colored people and the same system is used to demote them to a second-class citizen status. Alexander employs a great deal of rhetoric in her novel to appeal to the reader’s emotions and values, so that she is able to alter the ethos of the readers and ultimately reveal the blindness present in the United States Justice System. Alexander

In "Black Men and Public Space," Brent Staples writes about how he was treated differently throughout his life due to his race by using connotative diction that invites ethos and pathos. Staples describes the problems, discrimination, and disapprovals he faces being a black man in public places. Staples explains how through his lifetime, people have discriminated against him because he is an African American man who works as a writer in a primarily Caucasian field. Brent Staples explains, the first time he understood how much his presence startled or concerned others was after an experience he had when he used to take late night walks as a graduate student. In addition to his first experience Staples describes countless other different occurrences of when he felt he had been discriminated against by other people based on his race. Staples has constantly been seen as a threat or criminal solely because of the color of his skin, leading him to have to deal with many distressing situations.

Tyson mentions white supremacy, and how it helped Robert Teel and his two sons get out of the jury with a slap on the wrist. In addition, Tyson also provides interviews with local citizens many years after the trial and asks them about what has changed in Oxford since then. Tyson intended to write this autobiography to go in depth about civil rights and to also educate the readers more about Afro-American studies.

But because of color-blindness, these facts are not realized by many people (141). Which makes it difficult to fix a problem that society does not know that it has (141-143). While chapter three introduces the shame that ex-prisoners face, chapter four entirely covers the system that goes into place after felons are released from jail (140). The stigmas that went with the Jim Crow laws, according to Alexander, were better than the current stigmas that African Americans face after they are released from jail in modern American(154-156). Alexander notes the dehumanization of African Americans and how the self-hate they began to face turns the entire black community against one another (161-167). Alexander believes that if there was any real equality during the Civil rights movement, mass incarceration would not exist, but it does today because of colorblindness (177).

“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” is an inspiring memoir written by American lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson. Stevenson’s story reveals a poignant insider view of the racial and economic injustice within our criminal justice system. Stevenson illustrates through his impassioned storytelling, that the use of technicalities and plea-bargains, and the lack of safeguards against corrupt legal officials in our adversarial system of justice in effect, is the main contributor to the injustice that plague our justice system and perpetuates the cycle of oppression for the most vulnerable and defenseless members of our

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.

Wright creates a story about a young man afraid to fly into his destiny as a black African American male. Bigger is afraid to live life because he knows deep inside he will never amount up to the “white man”. Because of this great deal of fear Bigger ends up killing two women one being white and he ends up going to prison for life and getting the death sentence. In every reason possible was Bigger most definitely wrong for his actions; but there is a story very similar to his. Leopold and Loeb were two students who kidnapped and murdered 14 year old Robert Franks. Both men were sentenced to life plus 99 years. Loeb was murdered by a prisoner in 1963, but Leopold was released on parole in 1958. It's quite funny that Leopold was released with parole but Bigger stayed in prison and had to die because of his wrongful doings. There is honestly no difference between Bigger and Leopold, they both committed a unacceptable crime. So why is it that Leopold gets to have some freedom and Bigger did not? I know the difference, it is the color of their skin. These policeman and judges seem to have pity on the white americans who commit a crime big or small. But when the tables are turned the African American male or female seems to have no pity, no help or parole. These black men and women are being thrown into jails or prisons for a great lump sum of years. Some make it out to see daylight

Reading the content in this book made me get a picture of what it was like to be a colored person in this time. My eyes were opened to the meaning of the word “nigga”. Nigga is such a derogatory term, yet now-a-days it is used by people so much. Kids in this generation use it as a term of endearment when they see their friends, or they say it when they are shocked by something. Frankly, I don’t believe they know how serious it really is. The fact that white people could look at a person and see less than a human being when they did nothing wrong distresses me. They (white people) treated them as if they were property and below them. Even though we don’t have racism to this extent

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).

I am better than you because I am black and you are white or I am white and you are black. What does this say about the type of people we are today? Having moral power over a certain race determines the guilty and the innocent. The simple fact of saying I am better than you, does not matter on the color of your skin but how you present yourself. Steele offers us a view of what it is like to be a black middle class citizen and shows his way of dealing with the major issues of race. For me this has opened up a new way of thinking about myself and the several dealings I have had in my life with the moral aspect of race, which dove me into the reality of what obstacles we encounter everyday with the race issue.

Reading the first chapter of the Michaels book, right away I could tell that it would closely relate to our class discussions and focus on one of the complex subjects that many if not all of us face on a daily basis, race. Beginning in chapter one Michaels talks about the Plessy v. Ferguson case and how a man named Homer Plessy was thrown from a train for being one-eighth black. Plessy was quickly identified as being colored and told to leave the ‘whites only’ train compartment to which he refused. The story goes on to tell of the case going all the way to the U.S Supreme Court where he loses the case. During the hearing the judges proceed to explain that there is a discernible difference between whites and blacks so therefore the segregation of races is permissible. Next the book goes on to target another story, this one has a slightly different outcome. Susie Guillory Phipps who her whole life has identified as a white woman goes to the Bureau of Vital Records for a copy of her birth certificate in order to obtain a passport. To her surprise she learns that she is actually part black and just like Plessy her case goes on to court where it is to be decided

I can infer thru my reading of Just Mercy that Stevenson is a believer in Jesus Christ, and his belief in Christ is what motivated him with enormous courage and conviction to fight for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, the wrongly accused, women and juveniles. Bryan Stevenson has a passion for young teenagers as he fights for changing the laws regarding how the judges run juvenile trials, death row cases and life without parole sentences. Throughout the book, a reader can find the concept that everyone makes mistakes, horrible mistakes, and that, at one time or another, everyone will need mercy granted. As Stevenson is fighting for his clients, hope is in his heart; if it were not, he would have quit being

I have sat down about five different times to write this post, and each time I can't bring myself to do it. Not because I am ashamed, but because I don't want it to be real. I have been fighting this reality for the past few weeks. Because it is a part of my life that I have not wanted to give up, I honestly am having a hard time saying, "Jesus I give this to you"... As you read this I am sure that you are becoming a little worried as to what I am talking about, but I assure you when I tell you... You might laugh, because it is so selfish of me...