Bryan Stevenson is not only an author but a human rights lawyer who founded and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative located in Montgomery, Alabama. The non-profit organization fights against the racial and poverty discrimination that occurs in the United States justice system. Bryan Stevenson has done multiple interviews including one with 60 Minutes with Walter McMillian and made an appearance on TED to talk about the injustice that occurs. Through reading his book, Just Mercy, the reader will see the truth about what it is like to be in the justice system and will not only be shocked by the information that Stevenson has witnessed and experienced firsthand, but will also be appalled with how cases and
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I’ve read about apparent flaws that took place that took six years away from a man’s life or even a man’s life because he didn 't get the help that he needed. My mixed feelings though originate not necessarily with the system itself but with the people that are running it. I saw multiple examples throughout Just Mercy that presented the corruption that is within the justice system. Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges overall topic is on how a judge should perform their duties while in office “fairly, impartially and diligently”. Subcategory 3A (1) states that “A judge should be faithful to, and maintain professional competence in, the law and should not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism” ("Code of Conduct for United States Judges"). Judge Key in the McMillian case broke this code at least once when McMillian’s first defense team when they put forth a change in venue motion. The judge could should have chosen Conecuh, Alabama to have the trial because the population was 46 percent black rather than Baldwin County which was only nine percent black. Conecuh would have been the best venue because the ethnicity population percentages weren’t completely skewed in one direction or the other. Judge Key though chose Baldwin County knowing that the population were unbalanced which would lead to few to no black jurors on the jury. Due to the trial taking place in 1988 and in the south, racism was an active variable throughout the span of the original trial and all of the trials where Stevenson was representing McMillian. This was one of many apparent flaws in the system that regarded a person who was elected in to serve the people who failed to do their job
I’ve read about apparent flaws that took place that took six years away from a man’s life or even a man’s life because he didn 't get the help that he needed. My mixed feelings though originate not necessarily with the system itself but with the people that are running it. I saw multiple examples throughout Just Mercy that presented the corruption that is within the justice system. Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges overall topic is on how a judge should perform their duties while in office “fairly, impartially and diligently”. Subcategory 3A (1) states that “A judge should be faithful to, and maintain professional competence in, the law and should not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism” ("Code of Conduct for United States Judges"). Judge Key in the McMillian case broke this code at least once when McMillian’s first defense team when they put forth a change in venue motion. The judge could should have chosen Conecuh, Alabama to have the trial because the population was 46 percent black rather than Baldwin County which was only nine percent black. Conecuh would have been the best venue because the ethnicity population percentages weren’t completely skewed in one direction or the other. Judge Key though chose Baldwin County knowing that the population were unbalanced which would lead to few to no black jurors on the jury. Due to the trial taking place in 1988 and in the south, racism was an active variable throughout the span of the original trial and all of the trials where Stevenson was representing McMillian. This was one of many apparent flaws in the system that regarded a person who was elected in to serve the people who failed to do their job