Brief Summary Of The Book 'Just Mercy' By Bryan Stevenson

Paola Moreno Ms. Stack ELA 10 Eth Stu May 14, 2024 Just Mercy Final Essay The book Just Mercy is an autobiography written by Bryan Stevenson. Just Mercy is about a young lawyer who helps people in need or wrongly convicted. After reading this book, there were some problems in the judicial system that stood out to me. Some of the examples of unfair treatment described in Just Mercy are juveniles charged as adults, trauma not acknowledged, and also mental health/disabilities being ignored. Because of this, there were consequences. This treatment was unfair because it was cruel and unequal within the justice system. One of the unfair treatments in the judicial system was juveniles getting charged as adults. Juveniles would get life in prison even for homicides. Evan

This explains how juveniles are not safe being sent to adult prisons and getting life in prison. This treatment caused trauma and confusion to the juveniles. Another reason prisoners are treated unfairly by our judicial system is that trauma is either neglected or taken advantage of. For instance, in Just Mercy we are told about a girl named Trina Garnett who was abused her whole life and traumatized about it. She was sentenced to life in prison for something she didn't mean to do and was once again abused there by an officer. For instance, Stevenson discusses “Not long after she arrived at Muncy, a male correctional officer pulled her into a secluded area and raped her. The crime was discovered.the correctional officer was fired but not criminally prosecuted.”(127). In other words, Trina was taken advantage of and was afraid to speak up because she was traumatized. This treatment causes Trina multiplesclerosis, intellectual disability, and mental illness related to trauma. Lastly, mental health and disabilities are another problem in the judicial system. Poor people suffering from serious mental health