In addition to the McMillian case, there are many other instances of injustice presented in this book. Two, in particular, occur in chapter two and deal with police brutality. In the first of cases, a black man named Lourida Ruffin was beaten after the police pulled him over for a traffic violation. After the beating concluded, the police restricted Ruffin from grabbing his asthma inhaler. Shortly after his arrest and incarceration, he was found dead in his jail cell. This instance of police brutality affirms the point that brutality is not always physical. “Verbal abuse, racial epithets, and listening to only one side of the story are regarded by many people as a form of brutality” (Farley 384). Yes, Ruffin was physically beaten, but
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The woman is Marsha Colby, a white married woman with 6 kids living in a trailer home. When Marsha got pregnant with her 7th kid, she could not afford prenatal medical care. The baby was delivered a still born, and the family proceeded to bury the body of the child in their backyard. The story is quite tragic. What makes it even worse is that scientists examined the buried chid and determined that the child was born somewhat alive and could have been restored to full capabilities. They immediately arrested Marsha. This is not fair because Marsha couldn't afford the medical visits. If she was in a proper facility with doctors, they could have told her that the new born had a chance. But, because she couldn't afford the care, she didn't know the circumstances and assumed the child was dead. If Marsha had the money, she would not have been convicted. This story is important because it shows that people get into bad situations not because of their race, it is because of their socioeconomic status. Minorities are perceived as greater threats because they apparently have higher crime rates. What the statistics don't show you is that most of these crimes are committed due to having a low socioeconomic status (Farley 368). One is much more likely to rob a store if they are …show more content…
Many veterans come home from war with some form of mental disability that goes untreated. The mistreatment of the diseases can be attributed to the lack of therapists correctly trained to work with veterans (Karlin). The lack of treatment often causes patients’ symptoms to worsen and this can lead to violence. Veterans’ abusive actions are often a result of having PTSD or very heightened protective instincts (Karlin). This was the case with Herbert in Just Mercy. In an effort to win back his ex-girlfriend, he made a bomb and placed it outside of her door. His plan was to prove his worth to his ex-girlfriend by saving her from the bomb. Instead, the ex-girlfriends’s 10 year old niece found the bomb, picked it up, and had it detonate in her hand. Herbert was arrested for murder of the 10 year old and was placed on death row. As terrible as the situation is, Herbert should have been granted some amnesty. He was suffering from severe PTSD that was going untreated. His diseased caused the death and Herbert did not have any intention of killing the girl. There needs to be a focus on intention when trying people for murder. Some suspects are not in the right state of mind to go through with a murder
The woman is Marsha Colby, a white married woman with 6 kids living in a trailer home. When Marsha got pregnant with her 7th kid, she could not afford prenatal medical care. The baby was delivered a still born, and the family proceeded to bury the body of the child in their backyard. The story is quite tragic. What makes it even worse is that scientists examined the buried chid and determined that the child was born somewhat alive and could have been restored to full capabilities. They immediately arrested Marsha. This is not fair because Marsha couldn't afford the medical visits. If she was in a proper facility with doctors, they could have told her that the new born had a chance. But, because she couldn't afford the care, she didn't know the circumstances and assumed the child was dead. If Marsha had the money, she would not have been convicted. This story is important because it shows that people get into bad situations not because of their race, it is because of their socioeconomic status. Minorities are perceived as greater threats because they apparently have higher crime rates. What the statistics don't show you is that most of these crimes are committed due to having a low socioeconomic status (Farley 368). One is much more likely to rob a store if they are …show more content…
Many veterans come home from war with some form of mental disability that goes untreated. The mistreatment of the diseases can be attributed to the lack of therapists correctly trained to work with veterans (Karlin). The lack of treatment often causes patients’ symptoms to worsen and this can lead to violence. Veterans’ abusive actions are often a result of having PTSD or very heightened protective instincts (Karlin). This was the case with Herbert in Just Mercy. In an effort to win back his ex-girlfriend, he made a bomb and placed it outside of her door. His plan was to prove his worth to his ex-girlfriend by saving her from the bomb. Instead, the ex-girlfriends’s 10 year old niece found the bomb, picked it up, and had it detonate in her hand. Herbert was arrested for murder of the 10 year old and was placed on death row. As terrible as the situation is, Herbert should have been granted some amnesty. He was suffering from severe PTSD that was going untreated. His diseased caused the death and Herbert did not have any intention of killing the girl. There needs to be a focus on intention when trying people for murder. Some suspects are not in the right state of mind to go through with a murder