Bryan Stevenson negotiates the prejudice and intolerance within the criminal justice system, and the biases within based on economic and racial status. This book exposed myself to a deeper level of injustice inside our system than what I already had a conception of. Each story Bryan talks about hits on different subjects that opened my eyes to how our system truly treats minorities so coldly. Those of a different race, economic status, are treated far worse than we can imagine. Within the past few years racial injustices have began to gain more attention in the media, allowing awareness into the discrimination still present in our system. Stevenson talks about serious cases of murder, rape, and drug use that were charged to someone of a minority
In McMillian’s case, the power of the criminal law is employed, not to control crime, but to instigate a felony in the form of unfair conviction of the innocent. As much as the reader may want to overlook the possibility of racial influence in this matter, it is impossible, because discrimination against the blacks is a dominant theme in the cases recounted by Stevenson. To sum it up, the case of Walter McMillian in Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” explicitly presents him as a victim of the judicial system whose predicament is worsened by the fact that he is black. The themes of constitutional violation, unfair conviction, legal activism, and racial discrimination are prevalent throughout.
Whether it is institutional racism, racial profiling, unfair sentencing, and racial inequality; each of these issues were a constant theme throughout each case that he covered. It was surprising to see that to an outsider like Stevenson, was able address these issues that were so clear and apparent for every case. While for the prosecutors and judges involved, these issues were discarded and ignored. The case of Joe Sullivan was a prime example of this injustice. Sullivan was an impressionable young 13 year old boy that committed two burglaries with two older boys.
This year at Elon University, all first-year students were given a summer reading. The author Bryan Stevenson, a gifted attorney, who founded the Equal Justice Initiative; fights to raise awareness about the injustices in the United States legal and social systems. Just Mercy, his book magnifies his early career, where he fought for people on death row. This book talks about the injustices that happened back in the 80’s and 90’s but, these same injustices by the police are still around today, but justified by law now.
The novel Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson has brought to life the horrors of the prison system. Previously, I knew very little about the prison system, especially the level of injustice experienced by numerous prisoners. While I knew of the discrimination in the courtrooms for minorities, Stevenson’s stories added a personal touch to a harsh reality. I was especially shocked when Stevenson related the story of how he was stopped by police outside of his own house. Although he had done nothing wrong, the police immediately accused him of crimes, which he did not understand.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: The New Press. Michelle Alexander in her book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" argues that law enforcement officials routinely racially profile minorities to deny them socially, politically, and economically as was accustomed in the Jim Crow era.
Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S. The American prison system is flawed in numerous ways as both King and Alexander points out. A significant flaw that was identified is the injustice of specifically targeting African American men for crimes due to the racial stereotypes formed as a result of racial formation. Racial formation is the accumulation of racial identities and categories that are formed, reconstructed, and abrogated throughout history.
Bryan Stevenson, a public interest lawyer devoted to assisting the incarcerated, poor and condemned, shared his thoughts on how “we”, americans, cannot fully evolve due to the lack of consideration for human rights and basic dignity of all persons, in his recent Ted Talk, “We Need to Talk about Injustice”. Stevenson gives numerous statistics which shows the numbers growing in reference to people who have been incarcerated. He continues on to go into detail about unfairness throughout the justice system in America. Stevenson brings to light the issues amongst the justice system with various scenarios that have occurred in the past. I agree with Bryan Stevenson that America is flourishing when it comes to technological advancements and innovations,
The author describes how people are easily condemned in our justice system and how we allow fear and anger to control our perceptions and actions towards others. Stevenson is an attorney who runs a project called “The Equal Justice Initiative”,
Stevenson advocates for the power of mercy and compassion in the criminal justice system. He emphasizes that mercy does not mean ignoring or minimizing wrongdoing but recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of every human being, including those who have committed crimes. Stevenson calls for systemic change and reform within the criminal justice system. He highlights the need to address racial bias, poverty, inadequate legal representation, and the dehumanizing conditions of prisons. He advocates for policies that prioritize fairness, equality, and rehabilitation over punishment and
Harleen Shahi Non-Fiction Annotated Bibliography Crime and Punishment: Grisham, John. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. N.p. Bantam Books, 2014. Print
Coker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
The New York Times Bestseller book, Just Mercy, entails true accounts of a young African- American lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, about the unjust criminal justice system of the United States. Stevenson embarks on sharing his first- hand encounters of racial prejudice and corruption against death row inmates and himself. Thus, giving vivid images of how race and social class can play a big part in the fates of people in America. After reading Just Mercy, it has given me a validation of what I’ve already known about the justice system against African-Americans especially in the South, with prior knowledge of accounts about black Americans and the deep bigotry against them. In which, my race plays an immense part of cruelly punishing black Americans without further consideration of the circumstances that led to the crime
Stevenson’s ability to incorporate cases to support his claims allowed for his essay to feel real as well as personal. He began with the case of Walter McMillian, which I found to be interesting due to how unconstitutional both the investigation and trial had become. According to Stevenson, Walter McMillian’s case illustrated how the actions of the police, prosecutor, the bench, and a jury selected in a racially discriminatory manner can produce a capital murder conviction and sentence of death for a person who was innocent. In the end, McMillian was convicted of capital murder based solely on the testimony of Ralph Myers, a felon with a lengthy criminal record. After several evidentiary hearings and four years of litigation, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals finally overturned Mr. McMIllian’s conviction and death sentence based on the state’s failure to disclose favorable
In several different ways, the principle of equality of opportunity is relevant to the criminal justice system in the twenty-first century. John Rawls “assumes that we are self-interested, rational beings motivated to select laws, rules, and ways-of-life that are most advantageous to ourselves” (p. 117). The principle of equality is a theory that we all wish truly existed; however, it is unfortunate that it does not exist due to our own personal biases. Unconsciously, we all have biased and prejudicial thoughts—we are human and this tends to result on a reality based on social values; however, it does not make it correct. Unfortunately, we have not all learned to put our differences aside in order to get along.
It was around this time that I first saw the Rodney King beating along with the LA riots. I was in disbelieve of the entire situation. In this paper we will be looking into the racial disparity in prison sentencing. Young, African American and Latino males -especially if unemployed- are subject to particularly harsh sentencing compared to other offender populations.