Summary Of Ted Talk About Injustice By Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson, a public interest lawyer devoted to assisting the incarcerated, poor and condemned, shared his thoughts on how “we”, americans, cannot fully evolve due to the lack of consideration for human rights and basic dignity of all persons, in his recent Ted Talk, “We Need to Talk about Injustice”. Stevenson gives numerous statistics which shows the numbers growing in reference to people who have been incarcerated. He continues on to go into detail about unfairness throughout the justice system in America. Stevenson brings to light the issues amongst the justice system with various scenarios that have occurred in the past. I agree with Bryan Stevenson that America is flourishing when it comes to technological advancements and innovations,

A justice system where as long as you have money it is seen as a lesser crime than if you were on the poorer spectrum. There was a case of a hit and run that happened in the past, including Martin Joel Erzinger as the defendant, in which the defendant did not face felony charges due to holding a high paying job. Although the victim endured spinal cord injuries and bleeding in his brain, the defendant still managed to get off with a misdemeanor all due to his current job status. (Alden, 2010) It is sickening to know that our justice system is so influenced by the amount of assets a person holds over their true guilt or innocence. Stevenson later backs his claims of a lack of human rights and basic dignity in America as he states, “Right now in Alabama 34 percent of the black male population has permanently loss the right to vote.” (Stevenson, 2012) America was built of democracy which is basically a government built and based on voting. Thirty-four percent of a state has been stripped of one of the most basic rights as an American. How can America grow and flourish as a country if we constantly strip the aspects that make up America away from the citizens?