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  • Essay / A review of Just Mercy, a book by Bryan Stevenson

    In the book Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Bryan, an attorney, guides us through his life in Alabama and how he helps defend poor, innocent men sentenced to death who were wrongly convicted. In each case, we see how a good proportion of the condemned men were specifically chosen because of their race and vulnerability. Poverty is a key ingredient of vulnerability in Just Mercy and is also a major problem for African Americans in the South during this era. The main theme of this book, according to Bryan Stevenson, is that “the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. This statement means that black people are treated with such cruelty that even all the money in the world could not overcome the satisfaction they would receive from enjoying freedom and fairness. This is easily seen from the beginning of Just Mercy through racial profiling, poverty, and police brutality and mistreatment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayRacial profiling refers to the discriminatory practice of law enforcement officials targeting individuals for suspicion of a crime based on their race, ethnicity or religion. Although local authorities in Alabama did not discriminate based on religion, they did discriminate based on ethnicity and race. Being black primarily meant that you were dangerous and a threat to society. For example, Walter McMillian was an African American accused by Ralph Myers of the murder of Ronda Morrison. Walter's entire family knew that he couldn't have murdered him because he was a very hardworking man and they had proof that he was eating fried fish with them during the murder. The only evidence the police had on Walter was that he "was an African-American man involved in an interracial adulterous affair, which meant he was reckless and possibly dangerous" (p. 34). Just being black and having an interracial affair was enough evidence for them to believe the false Ralph Myer story and condemn Mr. McMillian, which is not right. Another example of racial profiling in the book involves the author, Bryan Stevenson, in his early 20s. Bryan was sitting in his car one night until a SWAT car came speeding down the road and stopped right in front of him. The police highlighted him with suspicion, so Bryan got out of his car very scared and was going to try to walk home until they threatened, "Move and I'll blow your head off!" (Page 40). As you can see, these officers only thought Bryan was threatening and dangerous because of his race. Then they illegally searched his car and unfortunately found no evidence to take him back to prison. Bryan was later released but was very moved by the incident and now had a better understanding of what poor people and people of color were dealing with in Alabama. These two events show how African Americans struggle to integrate into society and why racial profiling affects their daily lives. Black people living in poverty cannot go out without anyone thinking they are dangerous or threatening. This is why they would much rather have the feeling of freedom and equal representation than monetary satisfaction. Poverty is another big struggle that Alabama residents have to live with. . The key theme of Just Mercy is poverty and this appears inevery case Bryan has to defend. The majority of blacks, and even some whites, living in the South must live on the streets or even avoid proper hospital care because they do not have enough money to afford it. Sometimes mothers cannot afford prenatal care and attempt to give birth themselves, which is not safe. For example, Marsha Colby lived in a poor rural Alabama town with her husband Glen Colby, where they struggled financially. They lived in a crowded trailer with their six children and knew they were at risk when they heard warnings of Hurricane Ivan. After the hurricane's damage, Marsha found herself pregnant. One of the problems was that she “knew that pregnancy at her age was very risky, but she could not afford a doctor.” She had no money to spend” (p. 229). Marsha knew what to expect from her previous deliveries, so she figured she would make the most of it. For a few days, she didn't feel well, so she sat in a hot tub filled with water, thinking it would help. Out of nowhere, she felt intense pain shoot through her body and began to give birth. She had delivered a stillborn baby and tried to resuscitate the child, but found that he was not breathing and concluded that he was dead. Her neighbors saw she was no longer pregnant, but had no idea about the baby and called the police. Marsha was later arrested and charged with capital murder. The court concluded that “the child would have survived with medical care” (p. 231). Many women suffer from the same problem and are too afraid to get professional help to deliver and care for their baby. Not having enough money to pay for hospital care should not worry pregnant women, because such care is unsafe and could result in mothers being wrongly convicted of killing their child. Wealth is not the opposite of poverty, but it is justice and we see it here because mothers who cannot afford treatment are condemned for "killing their children", but in reality, they simply don't have the money to see doctors and take their children. killed by accident, which is not fair to them. Besides racial profiling and poverty, Bryan Stevenson shows us in his book how police mistreatment and brutality occurs. Police mistreatment remains a global problem and exists in the United States, primarily affecting black prisoners, both physically and mentally. Police mishandling of prisoners is an example of mistreatment and is shown with Bryan's first client named Henry. Bryan first came to the Southern Prisoners' Defense Committee as an intern and was invited to visit this man named Henry. He was only supposed to tell him that his execution date had been pushed back, but once Bryan told him the news, he became very happy, which surprised him. After hours of conversation, the guard came back very angry because they had exceeded their allotted time to speak. Then “he roughly chained Henry’s ankles. The guard was so angry that he tightened the handcuffs” (page 11). Bryan saw this and was concerned about how he had tightened the chains on Henry, but the officer angrily told him to leave. In many of Bryan's cases, you can see how the police mistreat their prisoners, exhibiting abusive behavior. Many of these brutalized prisoners are poor and of color, which is no surprise. It's not just what these ;).