Just Mercy is the profoundly touching account of author Bryan Stevenson’s work with the non-profit law firm the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), and representation of the poor and the wrongly indicted in the south. Being born to an impoverished black family, Stevenson grew up questioning both the racial and the economic disparities he observed in his neighborhood. He recognized his passion for fighting for justice and individual rights early on. After attending Harvard Law School and having a riveting meeting with a death row inmate during an internship, Stevenson relocated to Montgomery, Alabama where he helped found the Equal Justice Initiative. Essentially, Just Mercy illustrates how easily people in America, particularly in the south, are
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It makes sense that victims and the families of victims would want justice and to feel fairly avenged for the trauma that they went through. This could be rationalized with the just-world hypothesis which suggests that society needs to believe that people deserve whatever comes to them (Mallicoat, 108). From that perspective, life in prison or a death sentence may seem reasonable depending on what crime was committed. Throughout the book it seems as if Stevenson refuses to recognize any villainous motives that his clients may have. To some, this could be considered somewhat of a weakness. However, I feel that being so sympathetic may promote recovery and cultivate a positive and hopeful attitude in an extremely harsh environment. It may be one of Stevenson’s greatest assets. In general, I feel like he expresses this quite thoughtfully by stating “Simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity” (Stevenson, …show more content…
I cannot express enough how much this book has impacted me. As I read it, I kept thinking how frustrating the racial inequalities were as well as how people could just turn a blind eye to the injustices in society and condemn a man who was clearly innocent. I found solace in reminding myself that this was part of the distant past until I realized that this was not in fact some obscure event. Walter McMillian’s case may not be current news, but for many individuals, the experiences in this book that seemed just like a story to me, are a reality for them. Bryan Stevenson’s book relates to this course because it is a perfect representation of not only how our system works, but also how it is flawed. It also illustrates how corruption within law enforcement can impact someone’s life in such a profound and real way. There’s a difference between just talking and learning about things like corruption and hearing a firsthand account of it. Personally, I found it to be very useful not only in demonstrating a concept, but also an effective tool for recounting such an emotional story.
Overall, I felt like Just Mercy made extremely relevant points and devised an abundance of important arguments. I agree that everyone deserves mercy and that by mistreating others, we are all implicated. This book made it even more clear to me that our criminal justice system and the way we handle incarcerated individuals
It makes sense that victims and the families of victims would want justice and to feel fairly avenged for the trauma that they went through. This could be rationalized with the just-world hypothesis which suggests that society needs to believe that people deserve whatever comes to them (Mallicoat, 108). From that perspective, life in prison or a death sentence may seem reasonable depending on what crime was committed. Throughout the book it seems as if Stevenson refuses to recognize any villainous motives that his clients may have. To some, this could be considered somewhat of a weakness. However, I feel that being so sympathetic may promote recovery and cultivate a positive and hopeful attitude in an extremely harsh environment. It may be one of Stevenson’s greatest assets. In general, I feel like he expresses this quite thoughtfully by stating “Simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity” (Stevenson, …show more content…
I cannot express enough how much this book has impacted me. As I read it, I kept thinking how frustrating the racial inequalities were as well as how people could just turn a blind eye to the injustices in society and condemn a man who was clearly innocent. I found solace in reminding myself that this was part of the distant past until I realized that this was not in fact some obscure event. Walter McMillian’s case may not be current news, but for many individuals, the experiences in this book that seemed just like a story to me, are a reality for them. Bryan Stevenson’s book relates to this course because it is a perfect representation of not only how our system works, but also how it is flawed. It also illustrates how corruption within law enforcement can impact someone’s life in such a profound and real way. There’s a difference between just talking and learning about things like corruption and hearing a firsthand account of it. Personally, I found it to be very useful not only in demonstrating a concept, but also an effective tool for recounting such an emotional story.
Overall, I felt like Just Mercy made extremely relevant points and devised an abundance of important arguments. I agree that everyone deserves mercy and that by mistreating others, we are all implicated. This book made it even more clear to me that our criminal justice system and the way we handle incarcerated individuals