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Analysis Of Just Mercy By Bryan Stevenson

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Just Mercy is a powerful and moving book written by Bryan Stevenson, who is a lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. The book is based on his experiences as a young lawyer in Alabama fighting for justice on behalf of death row convicts and wrongfully convicted individuals. The author's writing style is engaging, and he does a fantastic job of educating the reader about the world of criminal law and the terrible reality that it frequently involves. He describes various examples in which he worked relentlessly to prove his client’s innocence or lower their sentences, exposing weaknesses in the American justice system. Walter McMillian, for example, was sentenced to death for a crime he never committed. McMillian was finally …show more content…

He highlights how these issues have contributed to mass imprisonment, false convictions, and inequities in punishment. Through his stories, he reveals how these issues significantly impact minority groups. Despite its serious message, Just Mercy is an uplifting book. Stevenson's relentless devotion to justice provides hope that even in the most difficult of situations, change may occur. His belief in redemption and rehabilitation rather than punishment echoes throughout the book. Furthermore, Just Mercy emphasizes the importance of individuals with privilege actively fighting injustice with their resources. The author admits that he could not have accomplished what he did without the support of others, whether they were colleagues or strangers eager to lend a helping hand. Ultimately, Just Mercy is a must-read for anybody interested in social justice concerns or seeking encouragement in tough times. It emphasizes real-life events that will cause readers to reconsider their ideas about our judicial system while also offering insight into how we can all work together to make a …show more content…

Stevenson emphasizes how African Americans are particularly impacted by mass incarceration and police brutality as a result of fundamental racial prejudices within the justice system. He believes that if we want to see a significant change in our society, we have to confront these challenges head-on. The power of hope is another important concept highlighted in Just Mercy. Despite seemingly overwhelming obstacles, Stevenson never gave up on his clients and fought tirelessly for their rights. His relentless dedication inspires readers who want to make a difference in their

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The book, “Just Mercy”, written by Bryan Stevenson, tells the story of true justice in helping incarcerated people fight for freedom. He develops convincing arguments showing the hidden flaws and inequality in the American criminal justice system. Bryan Stevenson makes his arguments through three appeals, ethos, logos and pathos, using personal experiences, his viewpoint on juvenile sentencing and justice, and his priorities. In chapter 2, Stand, Stevenson shares his personal experiences with the Atlanta Police Department to provide exposure to racial inequality. On a drive home from Gadsden, Alabama, Stevenson gets pulled over by an Atlanta SWAT car: “The other officer was now leaning inside my car and going through my papers.

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In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson tells a first person account of his years defending the people who were wrongly convicted or punished by the US justice system. At the heart of the novel is the story of Walter McMillian, a man wrongly convicted of murder and sent to death row. Throughout the novel, Stevenson presents examples of individuals who were wrongfully punished due to racism and discrimination. He shows the readers how our criminal justice system unfairly impacts members of the Black community. He also highlights the destruction and devastation this can cause.

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Mary Kwentus Mr. Singleterry ENGL 2250 22 May 2023 Social Unjustness In Bryan Stevenson’s novel Just Mercy Stevenson gives his first-person accounts of the social justice system in America and marginalized Americans who are unfairly punished. The novel retells the cases of Stevenson. Stevenson fights to end the justice system’s unjustness and racial discrimination. The novel follows Stevenson as he and his company the Equal Justice Initiative work to help prisoners on death row and give them the legal representation they deserve.

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781 Words | 4 Pages

The book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson is very moving. It highlights the many different injustices that are going on within the American criminal justice system, specifically regarding race and socioeconomic status. Stevenson provides personal experiences with representing individuals on death row, including Walter McMillian, which left me with an eye-opener of what is happening within the justice system and how truly devastating some of the stories were. Throughout the book, Stevenson leaves the reader to question their own biases and assumptions about crime through his different experiences within the field, including myself.

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973 Words | 4 Pages

Just mercy is a book of human experiences, and one of those experiences is injustice. Everyone has experienced injustice in their life in one way or another. However, the experiences that most people have had with injustice were something small. But that is not the case for Walter McMillan in just mercy.

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The (In)justice System “‘I feel like they done put me on death row, too. What do we tell these children about how to stay out of harm’s way when you can be at your own house, minding your own business, surrounded by your entire family, and they still put some murder on you that you ain’t do and send you to death row?’”(Stevenson 93). In the memoir Just Mercy, we follow the life story of Bryan Stevenson who we see start out as a young Harvard law student and as the novel progresses transforms into a lawyer helping those on death row who do not have any help. He has many experiences where he sees people change, statistics that prove injustice, and where he experiences injustice. All of these are examples of rhetorical strategies, which are

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Bryan Stevenson knew the perils of injustice and inequality just as well as his clients on death row. He grew up in a poor, racially segregated area in Delaware and his great-grandparents had been slaves. While he was a law student, he had interned working for clients on death row. He realized that some people were treated unfairly in the judicial system and created the Equal Justice Institute where he began to take on prisoners sentenced to death as clients since many death row prisoners had no legal representation of any kind. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson focuses on some of these true stories of injustice, mainly the case of his client, Walter McMillian.

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Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy exposes several ethical failures that permeate the criminal justice system, reflecting a profound disregard for human dignity and justice. Firstly, the book highlights the systemic racism that unjustly targets minorities (Stevenson, 2014). The disproportionate incarceration of African Americans, despite constituting a small percentage of the population, is a testament to the biased application of laws and policies. The pervasive racial profiling, leading to discriminatory arrests and excessive bail amounts, further perpetuates this injustice. Secondly, Stevenson highlights indigent defendants' lack of adequate legal representation (Stevenson, 2014).

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779 Words | 4 Pages

“There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy (Stevenson 109) .” This bold statement is one of many as Bryan Stevenson sets the tone for his renowned award winning novel Just Mercy. As a young lawyer from Georgia, built the foundation for his company, SPDC (Southern Prisoners Defense Committee) to help convicts that are on death row or in need a second chance. Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer from Georgia who fought for justice on the behalf of inmates on death row, showed tremendous intelligence in becoming a successful lawyer, demanding for not backing down in moments of refusal, and was an overall advocate

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442 Words | 2 Pages

In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, he writes to illustrate the injustices of the judicial system to its readers. To do so, Stevenson utilizes multiple writing styles that provide variety and helps keep the reader engaged in the topic. Such methods of his include the use of anecdotes from his personal experiences, statistics, and specific facts that apply to cases Stevenson had worked on as well as specific facts that pertain to particular states. The most prominent writing tool that Stevenson included in Just Mercy is the incorporation of anecdotes from cases that he himself had worked on as a nonprofit lawyer defending those who were unrightfully sentenced to die in prison.

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977 Words | 4 Pages

There are many vulnerable populations in the book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, They all affected me in different ways. Out of all the populations Woman in jail had the most significance to me. One of the women in the book named Marsha, was pregnant with her seventh child. One day she was feeling ill and decided to take a warm bath to relax in the tub. The family didn’t tell anyone about her stillbirth and they keep a burial for the baby that only included the people who lived in their home.

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997 Words | 4 Pages

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson concludes “the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice,” and by this he means that when there is no justice, most people will live in poverty, despair, and fear. Despair is the complete loss of all hope, and each of these characters felt that feeling. Bryan Stevenson was stopped and searched by the police, and he was full of fear because one officer had pulled a gun on him. Fear, Police rely on fear to break the law and do as they wish, because they know a majority of people are scared to go against the police. In chapter 3, Walter McMillian was in jail awaiting his trial and eventual execution, this alone drove him into a pit of despair.

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902 Words | 4 Pages

1. Which social problems are treated in this book? Why did they develop? Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption focuses on many social problems, including the miscarriage of justice to the poor, disabled and minorities; along with the poor living conditions in prisons, and the cruel and unusual punishment. The miscarriage of justice developed throughout our country’s history.

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1272 Words | 6 Pages

Ashley Tinajero Mrs. Trull AP Language and Composition 27 December 2022 Just Mercy The book Just Mercy tackles many different issues throughout the novel however its most notable one being the political injustice that consistently damages people of color and to be specific Americans the author Bryan Stevenson translates this issue through his thoughtful rhetoric and eliciting a sense of hope and sadness within the reader to emphasize the issue of the flawed justice system targeting African Americans and imposing rules that are purposefully set to ensure African Americans do not succeed in trials of any sort. In the novel the main case is that of Walter Mcmillion who is wrongly accused by a white man of murdering a young girl with the blatant

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1224 Words | 5 Pages

The search for justice is never ending. Justice may be delayed, denied, or postponed, however, the search is timeless. To be just is to argue for fair rights for all. It is to be someone that will help the people of the community. However, many times justice is not sought and not given to those who need it most.

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