Similarities Between Just Mercy And To Kill A Mockingbird

"It was far too easy to convict the wrongly accused man... send him to death row... and much too hard to win his freedom" -Bryan Stevenson. Hundreds of men and women have lost several years in prison throughout the 1900s to now in the United States. An example is in To Kill A Mockingbird, a famous novel, that sheds light on serious issues within the justice system. The protagonist, Scout( Jean Louise) Finch, discovers injustice surrounding black people in Alabama in 1930. Scout's father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who faces many threats through working for Tom Robinson, a poor black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a poor white girl. In Just Mercy, written and narrated by Bryan Stevenson, he recounts his experience helping Walter McMillian,

After Tom's trial in To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout and her brother Jem (Jeremy) the reality of court cases, Atticus says, "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man, the white man always wins" (237;3). This reality created by the social climate in Alabama interferes with the court's understanding, affecting the outcomes of the trials. The social climate existing was created, by the stereotypes and racial bias that has influenced many cases similar to Tom's and Walter's throughout the years. Bryan Stevenson knows this and therefore decides to use a method that can prove credibility using the court's judgment against them. Stevenson decides to present white witnesses on the first day of the trial to ensure the jury can not question the credibility of their testimony. He writes, " All of the witnesses we called during the first day were white, and none had any loyalties to Walter... It seems Judge Norton had not expected that. The worry lines on his face were deepening" (149). According to, to racist beliefs and prejudice, a white man's word is more credible than that of a black man. Using this logic, Stevenson successfully provides strong 'credible' testimonies to the jury. Stevenson's use of this technique is a result of, the stereotypes and prejudice common, in the Southern courts. The social climate influences the jury as they believe black men are unreliable and believe whites at a higher rate, which is a common stereotype that affects the way the jury sees Walter and