Stereotypes On Death Row Prisons

Bryan Stevenson employs pathos to depict the sheer inhumanity of the criminal system towards death row inmates. To introduce, Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer who had just begun his career; Stevenson was passionate about studying the law and sought to achieve justice for death row inmates. Particularly, Stevenson was brought in to meet an inmate by the name of Henry Davis. Upon entering, the two instantly clicked; Stevenson noticed vast similarities between him and Henry, noting that they were roughly the same age and happened to bond over common interests and shared passions. The two of them formed a connection before they were interrupted by a prison guard who violently yanked Henry, threw him against the wall and escorted him out of

Yet he gave me an astonishing measure of his humanity. In that moment, Henry altered my understanding of human potential, redemption, and hopefulness” (Stevenson 12). Our society imprints the notion that all death row inmates are vicious and pure evil, disregarding the fact there are a multitude of wrongful or one-sided convictions. Prisoners on death row are constantly dehumanized not only by the system, but the general public too. For Stevenson to not anticipate Henry’s generosity truly demonstrates that harmful stereotypes regarding the behavior of death row inmates were in effect and started to affect Stevenson’s own assumptions. The excerpt inflicts a certain emotion on the reader; the text intends to spark feelings of empathy for both Henry and Stevenson. To elaborate, the side of Henry shown in the quote heavily contradicts how the media wants us to view those on death row. As humans, we are able to emit strong emotions and tend to become emotional for others. Henry, who had his own life story just like anybody else, was neglected and treated as if he were an animal. Clearly, this was an example of pathos and was meant to humanize Henry and disprove incorrect

To provide another perspective, Walter McMillian was a pulpwood worker who had an affair with a white woman named Karen Kelly. Following their affair, Karen Kelly began to develop a drug addiction which led to her affiliation with a man named Ralph Myers. Both Karen and Ralph got involved in criminal activity, where eventually Ralph falsely accused Walter McMillian of murdering Ronda Morrison; the court determined McMillian guilty of the crime and sentenced him to death. Stevenson, who investigated the case, was truly appalled by the court’s wrongful decision: “Walter’s experience taught me how our system traumatizes and victimizes people when we exercise our power to convict and condemn irresponsibly–not just the accused but also their families, their communities, and even the victims of crime” (Stevenson 17). This quote appeals pathologically to Stevenson’s audience. Stevenson wants to raise the general public’s awareness of the amount of times innocent citizens are wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes and put on death row as a result of it. In our society, it is easy to overlook death row inmates and assume that they were sentenced to death for something truly malicious. However, roughly 190 people since 1973 have been mistakenly sentenced to death for a crime they never