Injustice In Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy '

Words: 635

Pages: 3

Open Document

Can you imagine being surrounded by injustice in the justice system? Stuck in a tiny cell and denied sunlight for the rest of your days until a judge decides your time is up. It must be a top priority to make sure evidence is properly examined before someone loses their life. Right? That is a good idea. It is the very justice system which rests on the principle that all suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. The justice system has a duty to treat people fairly before sentencing someone. This duty should matter to them. They should want to make sure the people they sentence are actually guilty. However, in the novel Just Mercy, readers learn this is not always the case. Just Mercy talks about the stories of people wrongfully convicted on death row from the …show more content…
He never stopped working and his work is extremely admirable. He even founded a legal practice dedicated to this fight, named the Equal Justice Initiative. Bryan Stevenson had a lot of very important themes he wanted to stick with for the readers. One of the themes that Stevenson wanted to get across was that untreated trauma can often explode in the worst way possible. An example of this is a prisoner named Herbert Richardson. His story is a case of mental illness and war trauma not being handled correctly by the justice system. It is honestly one of the saddest stories talked about throughout the novel, in my opinion. These two lines from the book give a brief summary of Herbert’s pain before he ultimately committed his crime. “Herbert Richardson was a Vietnam War veteran whose nightmarish experiences in brutal conditions left him traumatized and scarred” “His mother had died when he was just three years old, and he had struggled with drugs and alcohol before he decided to enlist.”(Stevenson 78-79). Before the Vietnam war he was broken, struggling, and in desperate need of somebody to care about

Ironic Injustices In Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy

Bryan Stevenson's “Just Mercy” dives deep into the injustices of the American Criminal Justice System. He draws from his own experience as a defense attorney and advocate for the vulnerable. Bryan reveals the harsh realities faced by individuals, especially those of color and those living in poverty, who encounter bias and flaws within our system. Through his compelling stories and legal cases, he shines a light on these issues, aiming to expose and address systemic injustices. Stevenson’s reason…

Words 144 - Pages 1

Just Mercy: A Story Of Justice And Redemption

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a legal memoir authored by, lawyer and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson. The novel is set in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Just Mercy follows Stevenson’s legal career from the time entered law school and met his first death row inmate till the time he first began his career as an advocate for Alabama prisoners who have been sentenced to death. Intially it may appear, to a reader with no knowledge of the criminal…

Words 225 - Pages 1

Rehabilitation Retributive Justice

The concept of "an eye for an eye" is deeply rooted in the idea of retributive justice, where punishment is perceived as a form of retribution for the harm caused by the offender. However, many argue that such a principle has no place in a modern and civilized judicial system. Instead, the focus should be on rehabilitation, deterrence, and restoration of both the victim and the community. Implementing an "eye for an eye" mentality can perpetuate cycles of violence and vengeance, rather than promoting…

Words 254 - Pages 2

Just Mercy Book Report

In the book Just Mercy, we uncover the story of Bryan Stevenson and his encounters with death row inmate Walter McMilian. While navigating through his accounts, we reveal the corrupt justice system that the United States upheld in the 1900’s. Just Mercy walks readers through various court cases involving racial discrimination, childhood trauma, and misunderstood convicts. Their stories are important because they shine light on the unjust nature of people in power and help to connect them with larger…

Words 1031 - Pages 5

Did Walter Stevenson Have Ptsd

attorney not properly or efficiently defend him in this case but he also did not help him in any way to appeal his conviction. Walter contacted Bryan Stevenson for help. At this point, Walter was just hoping Bryan could get him off of death row. Both Walter and Bryan new he was innocent but proving this and winning in a corrupt justice system seemed imposable. Bryan worked on this case for over six years and eventually was not only able to over throw the execution he was also able to prove Walter innocents…

Words 1039 - Pages 5

Just Mercy Analysis

When I was in the eighth grade, my civics teacher passed out a book. In blue words pasted onto the center of the front cover, it read Just Mercy and was written by Bryan Stevenson. “We will be referencing this book often, so I advise you to follow the roadmap I suggested,” my civics teacher told the class. I heard whispers of complaints zipping in and out of my ears like fruit flies as I got handed my copy. “Do we really have to read this?” one of my friends complained next to me, “I thought only…

Words 505 - Pages 3

Who Is Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy?

"Just Mercy," a non-fiction book by Bryan Stevenson. It mainly describes the author's experiences as a lawyer who helps the most vulnerable people, with a special emphasis on his work assisting those who have been unfairly or severely condemned in the criminal court system. At the beginning of this book, Bryan Stevenson introduced himself as a student at Harvard Law School. After I read this part, I thought he was smart, had an enthusiasm for law and legal studies, and had a clear plan for his own…

Words 1336 - Pages 6

Analysis Of Just Mercy By Bryan Stevenson

Throughout Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, author Bryan Stevenson has created a honest, raw, and optimistic tone. In his memoir, Stevenson speaks about his experiences with inequality, abusive power, injustice, poverty, and oppression. While talking about this, he says, “We are all broken by something. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. We all share the condition of brokenness even if our brokenness is not equivalent” (289). Here he is being honest with himself, and to the…

Words 903 - Pages 4

Thomas Paine The Role Of Injustice In American History

that they are angry with the state of the country, and it most obviously counters Paine’s point that there is nothing in America to “engender riots and tumults.” Going further into inequality, take the justice system for example. In Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy, he dives deep into the flaws of the justice system, specifically when it comes to minorities and the death…

Words 1158 - Pages 5