Just Mercy Summary Sparknotes

.In the Novel Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Bryan has met many difficult situations that have led to heartbreaking death penalties and unjustified charges. The men that stood out to Bryan Stevenson the most were Joe Sullivan and Herbert Richardson because of their harsh penalties. Joe Sullivan was a 13-year-old African-American boy who was convinced by two other black teens to break into an elderly woman’s home. Later that afternoon elderly woman Lena Bruner was brutally raped. Joe turns himself in, admits to being involved in the robbery but denies any involvement in the sexual assault. Joe was later charged with sexual battery. After Joe was put into jail for his unjustified involvement, Bryan Stevenson later found out that Joe was sexually

In his book, Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson writes of cases where the defendant was wrongfully condemned because their attorney did not do their job correctly. In some cases, this behavior extended past the original trial, all the way through any appeals available to the client. Stevenson continues by discussing how the trials were either clearly biased, or evidence was blatantly ignored. Yet often, the attorney either submitted a brief attesting to no appeal, or simply neglected to file an appeal by the deadline. Their clients not only did not receive the fair trial that our constitution mandates, but also lost any chance to take advantage of the fail-safes that were built into the legal system. When these ineffective defenders were eventually disbarred, no investigations were launched to revisit their past cases in search of legal malpractice. Instead, any cases directly impacted by their conduct were left as they were- with unfairly convicted people sitting behind bars. While the Equal Justice Initiative does what it can to help find justice for people who deserve it, they must be contacted by, or on behalf of, the victim of injustice. There are few programs to help individuals with mental illness or those without knowledge of the initiative, even though these are the people who need guidance the most.

Just Mercy Analysis In the memoir, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Stevenson writes about his time spent as a young American attorney, battling systematic racism and discrimination against marginalized groups from the legal system. He shares the stories of the condemned, giving them a voice they were unable to have. He says “Most of the people crowded on death row had no lawyers and no right to counsel. There was a growing fear that people would be killed without ever having their cases reviewed by skilled counsel” (Stevenson 7).

In the book, “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, a novel focused on the court of law and justice, the purpose of the book is to engage our emotions and judgment towards the Criminal Justice System, and mass incarceration. Bryan’s book highlights mass incarceration and the CJS by appealing to pathos and logos. And by describing cruel prison conditions, police violating human rights and being abusive as well as unfair, and prisoners who have suffered abuse and are still unfairly convicted. Bryan appeals the logos by describing inmates on death row or who are incarcerated that have been previously abused. This forces a new agenda and another reason why the Criminal Justice System is in need of reform.

The author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, has a strong background with poverty and institutions that are known to fuel the marginalization of minorities. Stevenson recalls, “I grew up in a country settlement where some people lived in tiny shacks; families without indoor plumbing had to use outhouses. The black people around me were strong and determined but marginalized and excluded” (Stevenson pg. 13). The syllable of the syllable. Stevenson is the perfect candidate to spread information on not only the rapidly growing poverty issue in the United States, but also the disproportionate amount of minority groups being incarcerated on almost non-convictable charges.

In Just Mercy, author Bryan Stevenson uses the appeal of ethos to claim that the criminal justice system is in need of reform because people of higher power abuse their power and mistreat prisoners who are humans and not just prisoners. Bryan Stevenson focuses on how prisoners are abused both mentally and physically every day for hours and left in isolation for months. This abuse is caused by none other than the prison guards who think it is their right to physically and mentally abuse the prisoners many times for no proper reason at all. In the first chapter, Stevenson is in a visiting room with his client Walter Mcmillian. Once Steveson is told by the guard to leave, he witnesses the mistreatment of his client.

In Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy," he explores how he can decrease the rate of wrongly incarcerated individuals, especially those who live in deep Southern states of America, where racial discrimination is still relatively rampant. The key claim that stood out to me when reading this book was Bryan’s famous quote: “The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.” (p. 18) When I first read this quote, it honestly confused me quite a bit. However, after reading the several anecdotal and historical cases that Bryan presents throughout his story, the true meaning of his claim started to make itself clear to me. In my visual rhetoric, I sought to capture the stark contrast between poverty and justice.

In the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Stevenson talked about the society in the 18th century had filled with racism. Black people did not have the same right with white people, and the court was injustice and racist. The purpose of the book by Bryan Stevenson was to show people the injustice and inequality towards colored people that happened in the 18th century court. Stevenson tried to make people flashback to the time that racism had dominated the society and to warn people to cherish the equality of all people regard their races today. His main ideas was people should not be judged based on their race; however, people should take care of each other and be fair to each other. Stevenson

Stevenson’s autobiography Just Mercy, his main emphasis is on mass incarceration and extreme punishment across the country. Whereas, in “A Gun to His Head as a Child. In Prison as an Adult,” written by Audra D.S. Burch, the article focuses on how childhood trauma affects the future of children. There are various similarities between both texts, which support each other’s main point. Both of the texts are centered on incarceration of young males who many cases were victims of growing up in abusive environments; whether it be abuse of drugs or domestic abuse, it led them to one place: jail.

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

Bryan Stevenson's "Just Mercy" serves as a powerful testimony to the flaws within the American criminal justice system. As an attorney and social justice advocate, Stevenson shares his story of confronting racial bias and unfair treatment. A big part of his memoir is the case of Walter McMillian, a black man wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Alabama. Through McMillian's story and others, Stevenson exposes issues such as racial discrimination, inadequate legal representation, and unethical sentencing laws. With a focus on empathy, Stevenson challenges readers to question the fairness of a system that affects the underprivileged.

In "Just Mercy," written by Bryan Stevenson, the brutal reality of prison life and the injustices experienced by young offenders are addressed. Stevenson says, passionately, "Something has broken us all. " Our ability to be compassionate is fostered and maintained by our common imperfection and vulnerability (Stevenson, 2014, p. 292). These remarks highlight how critical it is to fix the structural problems in our legal system. This essay will make an argument for altering juvenile incarceration laws and introducing mandatory regulations to enhance prison quality, with a focus on the significance of rehabilitation and compassion.

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.

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.

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.