Empathy In Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy

“You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close”(Stevenson 13). This reality that Bryan Stevenson’s grandmother voices in Just Mercy expose the many issues that plague the criminal justice system today. How the alienation of the convicted causes a disconnect between the prosecutors and the persecuted, the lack of empathy and effort to get close to the ones who are most vulnerable. Only by utilizing empathy are we able to further resonate with the condemned as humans and understand the inhumane nature of the punishments we give. With empathy and healing, we can guide those who have done wrong toward making it right. This is best exhibited in the cases of Avery Jenkins, and Ralph Myers where you

Avery Jenkins is a mentally disabled African American man that was severely damaged and abused by the foster system since he was two years old. The mental impairment that has sprouted due to this abuse manifested into him taking the life of a man during a psychotic episode. While Bryan Stevenson presents his case in court he accentuates the absence of empathy in the prosecution of Avery Jenkins. He compares it to “‘[Asking] someone who had just lost his legs, you must climb these stairs with no assistance, and if you don't, you’re just lazy’”(Stevenson 173). With this analogy, Bryan highlights how the lack of understanding and consideration for Avery Jenkin's circumstances lead to him being punished to inhumane lengths, and if there was only some attempt to understand or empathize with his past, they would have decided on a punishment that fits the crime. The healing properties that empathy can cause are later illustrated by Avery's correctional officer. The correctional officer initially had no compassion and or empathy for Avery Jenkins but as he stood in the courtroom and listened to Avery’s past in the foster system he began to empathize with Avery as he too was “Moved around like [he] wasn't wanted nowhere”(Stevenson 175). This led the correctional officer to start to sympathize more with Avery as indicated by him buying Avery a

Ralph’s abusive and traumatic past was a factor in his repeated lies for attention as well as roping him into the accusations of Walter Mcmillian. While Ralph Myers was in prison he participated in an empathy support group that helped people talk about their pasts and the traumatic events that lead to the immoral actions that placed them in prison. During Ralph's time in the support group, he resolves that "[He] needed to make it right. That's what [he's] tryin' to do"(Stevenson 113). This statement shows the contemplation he had about his actions while confiding within the group, additionally, it demonstrates his attempt to reverse and rectify what he's done by contacting Bryan. Additionally, Bryan makes us, the readers, empathize with Ralph Myers. Bryan discloses how his traumatic upbringing and desire for attention drove him to his dishonest accusations of Walter McMillian. Bryan tries to make us see past his label of a 'liar' or a 'snake' and see him as somebody who's been broken by his past and due to that, he breaks others. We, the readers, can be regarded as a representation of the criminal justice system, and how "So many of us have become afraid and angry"(Stevenson 239). Many of us convict or judge others with no consideration for their past suffering. In the case of Ralph Myers, we viewed him as one