Just Mercy Reflection

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.

Within the criminal justice system, officials abuse their power. The officials of the justice system have a duty to protect and perform their duties with unbiased decision making. The abuse of power jeopardizes people’s lives who are not able to sustain oneself and their families. Some people do not understand that poorer people find themselves in jail more and once a person is released, that person is subjected to return to jail for the amount of money owed to the state. There are many obstacles for the poor, especially those of color. People of color are treated unfairly in the justice system, from the arrest, the sentencing, and the release. The criminal justice system is supposed to be just but that is not the case. The criminal justice system allows for the police, public defenders, and judges to bend the laws and not be punished for their actions or that apologizes can fix the wrong that has been done. This paper will discuss the abuse of power from the justice system and the solutions to rectify the damages.

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.

The criminal justice system used today is to follow principles that protect and establish equality for all and while the United States criminal justice system may strive to follow these right of the people, but unfortunately, this is where the system falls short of fundamental American principles. Repeatedly the criminal justice system does the adverse of what it’s supposed to do. It does not protect the many liberties the people should have. Some may argue that the criminal justice system is indeed fair for

Bryan Stevenson’s 2014 book, Just Mercy, is about “getting closer to mass incarceration and extreme punishment in America” (Stevenson, 2014, p.14). Stevenson focuses mainly on blatant racism and classism in the poor south by detailing a case he worked on during the 1980s. Throughout the book, Stevenson also analyzes the discrimination poor women, children, and mentally ill people face that often lands them on death row. The 2015 article “U.S. Education: Still Separate and

There are always two sides to an argument, but different people have different opinions on which side is right and wrong; as a result, we can compare a debate or argument as of a coin, due to the fact that it has two sides. When it comes to the topic of judicial system in America, most of us will readily agree that it needs to be reformed. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of who will step forward and make changes to the court system. Whereas some are convinced that no one is going to do anything about it, others maintain that the government will be the savior by making the changes. In the introduction of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice And Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson -an American lawyer, social justice activist, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and a clinical professor at New York University School of Law- Stevenson emphasizes that people are not being treated fairly in the judicial system of America. The book was written to give readers a close up look on mass incarceration and extreme punishment given in America. Convincing the readers is not easy, except if the author uses strategic techniques such as ethos, pathos, and logos. It is even more tough if the topic is sensitive and debatable as this one. Stevenson used these three techniques in a variety of different ways to convince the readers.

Almost every day, we hear about justice being served upon criminals and we, as a society, feel a sense of relief that another threat to the public has been sentenced to a term in prison, where they will no longer pose a risk to the world at large. However, there are very rare occasions where the integrity of the justice system gets skewed and people who should not have been convicted are made to serve heavy prison sentences. When word of this judicial misstep reaches the public, there is social outcry, and we begin to question the judicial system for committing such a serious faux pas.

The book “Just Mercy” written by Bryan Stevenson, examine and expose the inequality in our criminal justice system. The story begins with Mr. Stevenson doing an internship program in Georgia. The internship program required him to visit an inmate named Henry who is sentenced to the death. Mr Stevenson at the time of his internship was a confused grad student who was uncertain of his future. After his visit from meeting Henry he realized that our justice system judges people unfairly. Mr. Stevenson vows to protect the poor from being wrongly condemned.

Throughout the reading of “Just Mercy”, a novel written by Bryan Stevenson, and the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”, there are many examples that represent the corruption within the criminal justice system. The various forms of corruption are expressed through specific cases that have occurred within the criminal justice and through different characters in the reading or the movie that show examples of corruption. The different corruptions categorize into overall groups such as race, gender, and mental capabilities.

Just Mercy is a powerful, eye-opening memoir about criminal justice, social justice, mercy, and race. Stevenson links all of these aspects together to create a narrative that exposes the corruption, prejudice, and abuse of power that runs rampant in our justice system. The criminal justice system today is prosecuting a disproportionately high rate of minorities, and they are shown less mercy than those who are white and privileged. This means that our criminal justice system is failing at promoting social justice, and we must fight for those who come from a different race or disadvantaged social background. Our justice system will not truly be just until we start promoting social justice by using mercy and leaving race out of the process.

I’ve chosen to write my reflection over chapter 4 of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. This chapter involves the aftermath of the successful opening of Stevenson’s and Ansley’s “Equal Justice Initiative” and their relations with their new clients, particularly, Herbert Richardson. The chapter follows these clients’ cases, most of them being unsuccessful, and the unjust practices in the judicial system that cause these failures. This chapter holds significance to me because it was one of the first times while reading that the book managed to strongly affect me emotionally and relate to me on a personal level.

Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and a professor at New York University Law School, brilliantly captures the stories of Walter McMillian and many others who have suffered from the corruption and racism of the criminal justice system in his novel Just Mercy. He exposes the abuse of laws by government officials to inflict severe sentences on the poor and suffering people of this nation. He wants his readers to feel the agony and helplessness of these people who have been forgotten and left to the hands of a cruel and unrelenting organization. Just Mercy argues that government officials prey on the poor and condemn them in an unjust way.

Our current system of law and justice is oriented completely to the offender. “Restorative” justice is a term used to describe a number of programs that seek to do…what? What is “Restorative” justice and how may it work? Pg 67

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 class is the first in my major of Criminal Justice, and throughout this class there will be a great deal of valuable information obtained. Justice can have several meanings to it because all of us are different in our own way, and we all will have different outlook on situations. Throughout this research paper you will learn about what justice means to me, and how I think I will impact society once I achieve my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Secondly, you will be able to compare with the remaining of the class mates to see exactly how many of our views are the same or different. Last but not least, there will be at least two