Analysis Of Just Mercy By Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson, an established lawyer with a degree from Harvard Law School and an author of his own personal memoir titled Just Mercy, constantly battles the problems within the criminal justice system. In Stevenson’s memoir, he makes multiple arguments about the unfairness and the need for change within the criminal justice system. One such argument is that of individuals with mental health problems not being properly diagnosed during their trials, therefore receiving lengthy prison sentences such as life in prison. In order to convey his message about the neglect of the mentally ill in American prisons, Stevenson uses numbers, as well as stories that pull at the heartstrings of his readers. Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir was written …show more content…
He appeals to his audience not only through emotion, but values as well. Stevenson speaks of a story of a young girl, Trina Garnett, who was sentenced to life in prison at just fourteen years old for accidentally killing two boys. Trina showed signs of mental disabilities and was also abused for most of her life, but under Pennsylvania law the judge could not take that into account and she was sentenced to life in prison and was sent to an adult prison for women (150). There she was sexually assaulted and impregnated by a male correctional officer. Not only are children subjected to spend life in prison, and are often put in adult institutions, but the mentally ill are too. In his memoir, Stevenson tells of how he represented a mentally ill man named George Daniel who killed a man after a psychotic episode and was charged with capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. During the trial Daniel was examined by a doctor, who was later exposed as a fraud after eight years of examinations, and was declared as faking symptoms (190). Stevenson’s use of stories that appeal to his audience in ways that elicit emotions, establish pathos within his argument. This use of pathos urges the reader evoke change, …show more content…
His targeted audience is that of one with an educated background, which he hopes to inform about the injustice within the very system that is designed to bring justice to the people. He also hopes to persuade his audience to help him with his intended goal of reforming the criminal justice system. Stevenson uses his credentials as a lawyer to establish trust with the audience, as well as to provide in-depth coverage of his topic. Stevenson not only uses personal anecdotes but uses sound statistics and numbers when making his argument. His established credentials as a lawyer and an expert at what he is talking about, due to his firsthand experience and involvement with his topic not only allows the audience to trust what he is saying but also be persuaded by his argument. Although Stevenson uses sound numbers and statistics in his argument he seamlessly weaves that through his experiences and stories that appeal to the reader on an emotional level. By using sound numbers while also appealing to the reader on an emotional level, Stevenson is easily able to persuade the reader to join in his cause and develop his argument at the same