Injustice In Stevenson's Just Mercy

In a real-life trial within a courtroom, there are two sides: the plaintiff and defense. The plaintiff’s role is to prosecute the defendant with a crime, and the defense’s role is to vindicate the defendant of the crime accused. To do so, a story must be told, followed by an argument with evidence as aid. The person in charge of the final verdict is the judge or the jury. In the book, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, the readers become the jury and Stevenson is the lawyer who is presenting the injustice within the case of Walter McMillian.
The way Stevenson wrote the book Just Mercy is in the style of a courtroom trial where there is a story told, then an argument made. He uses the story part of the book to set the mood before he presents the argument he is making. In the beginning of chapter five, Stevenson starts with the conversation he is having with the members of McMillian’s family. During the time and date of the crime, McMillian was with his family having a fundraiser at his house. A few months later, McMillian was convicted of killing Ronda Morrison. “’We were with him all day! […] I feel like I’ve been convicted, too’” (Stevenson 93). He shows the sadness and pain that McMillian’s family was going through. He makes the readers sympathize the guilt and pain …show more content…
Chapter five is about being treated unfairly and unjustly, because of the abuse in power. Using mood to create sympathy, comparing the case to a story of an unjust crime, and presenting what happened to a witness who tried to tell the truth makes McMillian’s innocence much clearer. The readers of the book became the jury to McMillian’s case, as well as the ones who knows the truth behind the trial. Before convicting someone of a crime, there should be evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty, or innocent, so that they are not convicting of a crime unfairly or