Part Five: Final Thoughts

Hi and welcome to my final blog post! 

Although I have reached the final pages of Just Mercy, the lessons and stories in the book have not been forgotten. I will never forget the cases of Walter McMillian, Charlie, and Marsha Colby. Their stories and others have truly opened up my eyes to how horrifyingly broken our criminal justice system is. If not for Stevenson, I still would have been ignorant of the injustices that are happening in the courts. I have definitely learned a lot from this book, more than I can share in this post. But there is one thing that I feel is worth sharing. 

In the final chapters of the book, Stevenson explains why he defends the wrongly condemned, “I do what I do because I’m broken, too” (Stevenson 289). This is not what I expected. I thought he would say fixing the system is important and someone needs to take action. But, instead he confesses that like the people he helps, he too has been “struggling against inequality, abusive power, poverty, oppression, and injustice” (Stevenson 289). He continues to say that all of us have been broken by something. And that brokenness is what connects all of us and that compassion is what will heal it. 

It took me a while to understand why Stevenson was sharing this with the readers. But now I get it. Most of us have probably not had it as bad as the people in Stevenson’s book but at some point in our lives we have all regretted a choice we have made, hurt someone we didn’t mean to, or felt alone. What makes us different is how we deal with this inevitable brokenness. We can either accept or deny it. Stevenson has accepted it. He uses his brokenness to strengthen and motivate himself to show mercy. He did this by working directly with the people he wanted to help, as his grandmother had advised him to do,’”You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close”’ (Stevenson 14). 

Does getting “closer” allow you to show more mercy?

In my own observation I’ve come to realize that there are more good people than bad. The reason I say this is because so many of the jobs out in the world focus on helping others. Think about the doctors who save lives, policemen who protect people, teachers who educate others, and lawyers who fight against racial and economic injustice. Think about Bryan Stevenson and how getting “closer” has saved the lives of Walter McMillian and so many others. He has become an advocate for ending mass incarceration and challenging injustices in the courts. We all have the capability of helping others and showing mercy. How did Stevenson become so good at it? He simply got closer, not just by being closer in proximity to the inmates but by getting to know his clients and himself. 

By now, most of us have heard the idiom, “before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes”. Essentially, it is a reminder to show empathy towards others. For instance, your first reaction to when someone barrels into you on the streets and doesn’t apologize might be that that person sucks. You later find out that the person who ran into you is your co-worker. Are you going to let that encounter define your relationship with that person? If you are, you really shouldn’t. You really don’t know the person that ran you over or the situation that led to it. Maybe his wife’s water just broke and he’s running to the hospital or maybe he’s late to an important meeting. The possibilities are endless. He really could be a jerk but you will never understand why he is who he is unless you make an effort to know the person. This is what Stevenson does everyday. He directly works with inmates to understand their stories, something the courts fail to do. For example, in the late 1980s, thirteen-year-old Joe Sullivan was tried in adult court for sexual battery that he didn’t do. The lack of a review of whether Joe should go to adult or juvenile court and mishandled evidence clearly showed that the courts had no interest in Joe. For them, he was just another case that took up time. If the courts had done the background research on Joe, they would have learned that he had mental disabilities, an abusive father, and had experienced severe neglect as a child. Perhaps knowing this would have changed the attitudes of the courts and prevented Joe from being raped in prison and attempting suicide several times. Going back to the scenario of the co-worker running into you, the question we have to ask ourselves is, are we going to let that one moment define that person? When we do open ourselves up and get “closer” to others, we learn a great deal and become a better and more compassionate person. 

However, before most of us can empathize with others; we must first accept ourselves. For some people this can be the most challenging part. As mentioned earlier, it is our brokenness that brings us together. The people that deny their differences and hide their fears are the ones mistreating inmates, bullying children, and neglecting the disabled. They do this for a very simple reason and that is to make themselves feel better. By ignoring the truth, these people fail to realize that it is hindering them from connecting with others. A clear example of what can happen when we embrace ourselves is seen through a white male prison guard. When Stevenson visits Avery Jenkins, one of his clients, at a prison, an unnamed guard treats Stevenson disrespectfully. He does an unnecessary strip search and unkindly tells Stevenson that the truck with all the confederate symbols is his. When it comes time for Jenkins hearing, that same guard is assigned to escort Jenkins from the prison to the trial. Stevenson does not like that. But after the three day trial, the guard approaches Steven and tells him that, like Jenkins, he was also put into foster care,‘“Man, I didn’t think anybody had it as bad as me. They moved me around like I wasn’t wanted nowhere. I had it pretty rough. But listening to what you was saying about Avery made me realize that there were other people who had it as bad as I did. I guess even worse”’ (Stevenson 201). By listening to Jenkins case, the guard learned that other people have difficult childhoods too. He realized that others were broken too. Recognizing that changed the guard’s mean and tough demeanor to a more compassionate one. In fact, on the way back from court the guard got Jenkins a milkshake. It is truly amazing what can happen when we realize that we are not alone. Embracing our brokenness, in a sense, is embracing other peoples brokenness. 

One way to remind ourselves to give mercy is to remember this quote by Stevenson, “each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done” (Stevenson 290). We can’t forget that about ourselves and others. By embracing yourself and accepting others, Stevenson has shown the great things that can happen. We have the strength to minimize discrimination against impoverished, disabled, and colored people. We have the power to fix our criminal justice system. 

That’s a wrap! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read or skim over my blog! 

Note: I'm not sure why but there are a few words throughout my post that are black and underlined. I apologize for the inconvenience. 

Part Four: Citations

I realized I forgot to add the citations for my previous blog (Part Four)!

Click on it for a focused image

Part Four: Who can we trust?

Hi and welcome back to my blog! 

It is finally in these chapters that justice is served and Walter McMillian is released from death row (woohoo!). This long-awaited event arrived after the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled McMillian a new trial. The new ABI’s (Alabama Bureau of Investigations) report made it impossible for the state to find a reason to prosecute McMillian again after finding a more likely suspect, a white man who had been stalking Ronda Morrison. This led to the state siding with Stevenson to eradicate the charges. The new judge, Pamela Baschab, made the trial short and simple, “‘Mr. Stevenson, if you’ll just present the motion and provide a brief summary, I don't need any arguments or statements, I intend to grant the motion immediately so you all can get home’”(Stevenson 223). After six unjustified years on death row, McMillian was finally freed.

As exciting as this news is, in this blog, I want to look at McMillian’s case from a different perspective, the media’s view. So far in this book, we have really only seen Stevenson’s view of McMillian. For many of us, McMillian is a kind and hardworking person. But, for others, they see him as a “sexual predator” and “gang leader”. In fact, many of the newspapers in Monroe County published false headlines regarding McMillian and the murder. Some of these titles were “McMillian Charged with Sodomy”, “Ronda Wasn’t the Only Girl Killed”, and the longest one yet, “Myers and McMillian were part of a burglary, theft, forgery, and drug smuggling ring that operated in several counties in South Alabama, according to law enforcement officers. McMillian was the leader of the operation”. It’s clear that the media was painting a different picture, one that villainized McMillian. Unfortunately, many people focused on the headlines, rather than the truth. 

Sound familiar? 

In today’s world, this is what we would call “fake news”. With the internet, millions of news websites can publish their own articles, whether or not it is true information. For example, during the 2016 election, false stories such as “Hillary Clinton selling weapons to ISIS and Pope Francis endorsing Trump for President” ("Statistics & Facts about Fake News.") were being retweeted and commented on. It hasn’t stopped there. In fact, the growth of social media has made it one of the main sources where “fake news’ comes from. According to a Buzzfeed report, the most popular fake news stories are from Facebook, where on average the stories get 22 million shares and comments (Ahmad). Below is an infographic that details some of the most heinous stories published.

(Ahmad)

Some credit should be given to Facebook because they are making efforts to fix their “fake news” problem. These efforts include page information, third-party fact-checking, related post listings, and tips and tools on how to detect “fake news”. 

But in reality, the solution to the problem starts with us. We need to be educated in knowing when we encounter fake news. The websites and social media outlets need to do their job in monitoring their content but we need to play our part in being smart when it comes to the internet. In an article published by NPR, it talks about how students in Ukraine are learning how to discern propaganda, hate speech, and fake stories from real news. Ukraine teachers are incorporating media literacy training into their lessons and the results are showing. In a recent study, it found that students who took those lessons were 18% more successful in identifying fake news compared to the students who didn’t (Ingber). 

America needs to work on reducing fake news, whether through education or the sites themselves, something needs to be done. As Mike Caulfield, a leader in the national digital literacy initiative said, “Often places that are the most vulnerable [to disinformation] are where large social divisions are being actively exploited by bad actors”. Isn’t that America? 

Going back to the book, it definitely shows the negative effects false media can have, even back in the 1990s. The local headlines that slandered McMillian pitted most of Monroe County against him. Even with a supportive family, he had to spend his first week of freedom in Montgomery and the following couple months in Florida with his sister, before he moved back to Monroe County. 

The conflicting thing is when McMillian was released, the media used his story to analyze and discuss the death penalty and the justice system in America. The media was finally willing to recognize McMillian and his situation. But does that justify all the times the media told lies that aided in ruining his reputation? 

I don’t think the lesson is that the media is our enemy, but it’s not our friend either. We need to be smarter and more careful of the information we read before we start forming an opinion. 

Here is an infographic containing important questions to ask when spotting fake news: 

(How to Spot False News.)

Thank you for reading! 

Part Three: Racism, Dogs, and Justice - OH MY!

Welcome back!

In this particular post I am going to talk about Mrs. Williams and her role in the book. But for me to explain why she is important, I must give you guys some context first. She is introduced in chapter nine, which primarily focuses on McMillian’s hearing. Unlike many of the instances before, this hearing is good news. It is finally a chance for Stevenson to prove that McMillian is innocent. And with Ralph Myers recanting his original statement, that McMillian killed Ronda Morrison, and willing to provide a new (more truthful) testimony, things were looking good for McMillian’s hearing. In addition to that, Stevenson had a handful of new witnesses to testify including Clay Kast, who is McMillian’s mechanic, Woodrow Ikner, a local policeman, state doctors, who treated Myers, and several inmates, who were incarcerated with Myers. All their statements collectively proved that McMillian was never at the crime scene, that Myers’ accusations were false, and that the state prosecutors were pressuring people to lie. The hearing took three days and according to Stevenson each day went very well. However, like most of Stevenson’s experiences in the courtroom, the hearing did not end without a couple mishaps. One of them involved Mrs. Williams, an older black woman. 

On the second day of the hearing, black people were denied entrance into the courtroom but state supporters were let in. When Stevenson confronted Judge Norton, he was given the response, “Mr. Stevenson, your people will just have to get here earlier”(Stevenson 175). It’s quite evident that their tardiness was not the reason they couldn’t go in. The added metal detectors and aggressive police dogs at the courtroom were an additional hint that the state prosecutors did not want black people in the room. Once the courtroom was half full of state supporters, the black people were let in. But because the number of people who wanted to come in outnumbered the amount of seats available, only a select few were allowed in. Mrs. Williams was one of the selected. Not much is given about her background but from what Stevenson described, Mrs. Williams is well respected around the community. It was clear from her nicely worn outfit and confidence that she wanted to be in that courtroom. So when she entered the room with elegance, took a few steps in, and suddenly turned around and left, it was a surprise. The cause for her exit was the police dog. The dog scared her to the point where she couldn’t walk past it. 

To be honest, when I first read this I was kind of confused why Stevenson included this in his book. Compared to his other anecdotes, this scene with Mrs. Williams didn’t seem so important. It wasn’t until later that I realized that Mrs. Williams symbolized something important. 

“‘...I was supposed to be there and I wanted to be there...When I saw that dog, I thought about 1965, when we gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and tried to march for voting rights. They beat us and put those dogs on us’”(Stevenson 179). 

This passage completely changed my view on Mrs. Williams. For instance, when Stevenson described Mrs. Williams entrance into the courtroom, “...there was something commanding about her presence-I couldn’t help but watch her as she moved carefully through the doorway”(Stevenson 176), I didn’t think much of it. I thought maybe it was some silly little crush Stevenson had on Mrs. Williams. But now, I realize it wasn’t some crush, it was admiration. To Stevenson and the rest of the community, she represented strength and unity in the face of oppression. And her fear of police dogs symbolized the relationship between black people and government authorities. So on the next day, when Mrs. Williams walked right past the police dog and shouted “I ain’t scared of no dog” over and over again, she wasn’t just directing it towards the dogs. She was telling everyone who had caused her pain and injustice, that she wasn’t scared anymore. 

After all this analyzing, I think Stevenson included Mrs. Williams’ story into the book because it further connected McMillians case to racial injustice. It reminds the readers, that this case isn’t just about the broken criminal justice system, it’s about what’s causing the system to fail. And a large part of it has to do with racism. Furthermore, I think Mrs. William’s story demonstrates how Stevenson wants to be. He wants to fight. Although McMillian’s case isn’t exactly the same as Mrs. Williams participating in the Selma marches, it has many similarities. One of which is that they are both fighting for racial equality, whether it is about voting or the criminal justice system. 

That’s it for today! If you are interested in learning more about the Selma marches, I have included a video at the bottom of this blog that will give you a brief summary. 

  

Video from https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/1965-selma-to-montgomery-march-fast-facts/index.html

Part Two: Incarcerated Children

Hi and welcome back! 

In this post, I am going to focus on chapter six. This chapter is different in that it strays away from the case of Walter McMillian and instead tells a story about another case Stevenson represented. It is about Charlie, a young boy who killed a man. His story goes like this:

His mother was in a relationship with an abusive and alcoholic man named George. In fact, there were several occasions where Charlie’s mother was so badly beaten that she had to seek medical care. Most nights George would come home from the bar very drunk and very angry. But one particular night, before George set off to the bar, Charlie’s mom had begged him not to go, in fear that he would come home drunk again. But he didn’t listen. And when he came home that night he punched Charlie’s mom in the face hard enough that her head hit the kitchen counter and fell to the ground. George then went to the bedroom and passed out. Charlie knew that the only way to save his mom was to call 911. The only problem was that the phone was in the bedroom that George was in. Mustering up enough courage, Charlie entered the room and picked up the phone. But at that moment Charlie also opened the dresser drawer and grabbed the handgun and shot George. 

There are several things I should mention:

One, Charlie was only fourteen when he killed George. 

Two, George was a local police officer.

Three, Charlie was tried as an adult and sent to a county jailed for adults.

This story in itself is already tragic, but the way Stevenson strategically tells the story makes it even more powerful.

To begin with, the first thing you read in this chapter is, ‘“He’s just a little boy’”(Stevenson 115). These words were spoken by Charlie’s grandma when she called Stevenson for legal help. Right from the start, Stevenson is telling us that this story is about a kid. It’s even more compelling in that he’s quoting a close relative of Charlie's which makes the fact that he is a kid very personal. 

This isn’t the only time Stevenson reminds the readers that Charlie is just a kid. In the following passage the author makes use of short sentences and commas to stress that Charlie is just a boy: 

“Charlie was fourteen years old. He weighed less than 100 pounds and was just five feet tall. He didn’t have any juvenile criminal history--no prior arrests, no misconduct in school, no delinquencies, or prior court appearances” (Stevenson 117). 

By starting off with a short and straightforward sentence that introduces Charlie’s age, it makes it very clear to the readers how old Charlie is. If this information wasn’t in a stand alone sentence, it would have surely been lost in a sea of other words. Stevenson continues to paint the picture that Charlie is just an innocent kid by sharing Charlie’s height and weight measurements. He does this because he wants to underline the idea that it’s hard to imagine that such a small boy could be prosecuted as an adult and sent to stay with adult felons, is hard to imagine. For most people when they picture an inmate, the person is an adult and has a personality that could be summed up as “tough”. Unfortunately for Charlie, he lacked those very two traits. Stevenson isn’t done just yet. The last part of the passage could be described as a list, a list that supports the claim that Charlie is a good boy. It is also used to make the audience question why a kid with no prior criminal record was tried as an adult. It just doesn’t make sense. But if you think back to the fact that George is a cop, the passage subtly hints that that might be the reason why Charlie is being tried as an adult and given harsher punishment. 

I should make it clear that Stevenson isn’t trying to prove Charlie innocent of shooting George. Charlie already admitted to doing that. What he’s trying to do is tell us that a boy so young and good-hearted should not be put into an adult jail. But it’s not just Charlie. No kid should be sent to an adult jail.

When Stevenson met Charlie, the first thing Charlie did was cry. After calming down Charlie explained to Stevenson what had happened in the jail, ‘“There were three men who hurt me on the first night. They touched me and made me do things”’ (Stevenson 123). It wasn’t a one time thing. Every time I read this my heart just drops. And that is exactly what Stevenson wants. It’s already known that jails are rough and at times very dangerous. But to read an actual account from Charlie makes it ever so real. And by including that Charlie cried and took almost an hour to stop supports the idea that Charlie is just a little boy. 

It is very evident that Stevenson appeals to pathos, not just because the story itself is emotional, but because Stevenson makes use of syntax (ie. use of short sentences and commas) and context (ie. including quotes from Charlie and his grandma). But to further support his claim that children should not be incarcerated, Stevenson includes statistical information related to the rate of children being incarcerated. 

“Many states had changed their laws to make it easier to prosecute children as adults and my clients were getting younger and younger. Alabama had more juveniles sentenced to death per capita than any other state--or any other country in the world” (Stevenson 115).  

This information shows that Charlie isn’t the only kid that is being incarcerated. And that in fact, there is an influx of kids in recent years that are being sent to adult jail. The possibility that other kids in jail are being raped and abused is horrific to think about. By embedding factual information into the story he creates a stronger case. Because Stevenson isn’t just playing with our emotions, he’s telling the truth. In addition, it also builds his credibility because it demonstrates that he has researched the topic and knows a lot about it. 

A fourth thing I should mention is that Charlie’s story isn’t done yet. His story actually has a happy ending. Stevenson was successfully able to move Charlie to a juvenile facility in just a couple of days. And while at a church telling Charlie’s story, a married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Jennings, approached Stevenson to ask if there was anything they could do to help Charlie. At first, Stevenson took caution but the couple kept insisting that they wanted to help and eventually started corresponding to Charlie by writing letters. When Charlie was in detention, the Jennings helped him get his GED and when he was released they paid for his college education. 

‘“We’ve all been through a lot, Bryan, all of us. I know that some have been through more than others. But if we don’t expect more from each other, hope better for one another, and recover from the hurt we experience, we are surely doomed”’(Stevenson 126)

This is a quote from Mrs. Jennings and I think it summarizes one of Stevenson purposes of this book. And that is we can’t give up on the people that have made mistakes. Incarcerating kids and putting men on death row isn’t going to solve any of the problems. The conditions and environments in these facilities are inhumane and toxic. Like the Jennings family, we can’t expect less from these people and we can’t give up hope. And this is exactly why Stevenson included Charlie's story. While it is still a story about a boy who murdered someone, it is also about the fact that people didn’t give up on him. They gave him mercy.

Thank you for reading! 

Introduction + Part One: Initial Thoughts

Welcome!

For those who are not reading Just Mercy alongside with me, there is a chance that the name Walter McMillian will be unknown to you. For that reason, here is a little background of McMillian:

He is black.

He grew up just outside of Monroeville, Alabama in a poor area that was and still is predominantly black. Exposed to the cotton industry as a kid, McMillian gained experience in the agricultural industry, that would later help him start his own pulpwood business in the 1970s.

The first time Walter McMillian’s name became known was when the residents of Monroeville discovered that McMillian was having an affair with Karen Kelly, a married white woman. At that time interracial relationships were seriously frowned upon. In fact, the Alabama state constitution prohibited the authorization of any interracial marriage.

McMillian’s reputation went down after that and he was only seen as the black man who had sex with a married white woman. Unfortunately, Karen Kelly was having a much harder time dealing with the consequences. She began taking drugs and associating herself with a criminal named Ralph Myers. This comes to importance when Ronda Morrison was found dead at the local cleaners. She came from a well respected family which made the case very public. Ralph Myers, already suspected for murdering another woman, was questioned. His stories were exaggerated and far from the truth. He even went as far to say that county sheriff, Tom Tate had killed Morrison. But when Myers mentioned that Walter McMillian was involved, people's ears perked up. It had been about four months since the murder and residents of Monroe County wanted answers. When Myers brought up McMillian’s name, the sheriff saw it as an opportunity to arrest someone. Mcmillan became the perfect suspect simply because he was a black man who had a scandalous affair with a white woman.

This was when Walter McMillian become known for the second time. Although he had more than a dozen albis and evidence that proved he was innocent, he was still convicted of murder and sent to death row.

Just Mercy revolves around McMillian’s case and the author, Bryan Stevenson’s effort to save him from the death penalty.

Walter McMillian

Before reading this book I had very little knowledge about the American criminal justice system. I knew that there were people upset about the system. I didn’t know why and, to be honest, I didn’t really care. Having never had trouble with the law I thought that that the criminal system was irrelevant to me.

I was wrong.

I’m 91 pages into this book and I can confidently say that the American criminal justice system is relevant, to me and every American. Under the United States Constitution every American is promised a fair and equal trial but our justice system has undoubtedly broken that promise. The system had unjustly taken the lives of Horace Dunkins, Michael Lindsey, and Herbert Richardson; all men that Stevenson tried to help. All these men, in the process of being incarcerated, encountered discrimination because of their color and economic status. So much for the concept that everyone is equal before the law. If injustice is happening in the courts, a highly regulated and educated place, then what does that tell us about our society?

There were many things that surprised and disappointed me in this reading.

I was surprised at the multitude of stories Stevenson shared about falsely accused felons. Most of the stories showed that poor colored men did not get fair trials because they were not given proper legal assistance. How could a society with movements such as #meToo and #Timesup fall into the hands of racism? What struck me too was how people were willing to ignore evidence and red flags simply to get a trial over with. As Stevenson points out, “finality, not fairness, had become the new priority in death penalty jurisprudence” (Stevenson 78). It is obvious that the courts no longer cared about maintaining fairness. To satisfy the public and to impress coworkers, judges and lawyers just want a quick trial. This is quite evident in McMillian’s trial. Only three out of the twelve alibis were brought to trial and no one mentioned the lack of credibility and background of Ralph Myers. I was baffled when I learned that Ralph Myers had told the officers multiple times that his allegations against McMillian were not true, yet the officers still used Myers as a witness. When I was reading about Walter McMillan’s case I kept asking myself: Is this a true story? Am I really really reading a nonfiction book? I just couldn’t believe how poorly constructed the justice system had become. How could we ignore such obvious information? In fact, I was so shocked that I had to look up the case to make sure the people were real and remind myself that none of it is fictional. A part of me was hoping that it was.

At random moments in my life I have found myself pondering over the question, what would I do if today was my last day? I’ve never really taken the question very seriously because I know that I have decades before I die. But after reading the detailed encounter Stevenson had with Herbert Richardson on the day of his execution, I realized, that death row inmates wake up every day, knowing that in x amount of days they are going to be electrocuted. It makes my anxiousness for a test in the morning seem a bit silly now. And on top of that, it’s not just the inmate that has to suffer but the inmate's family. One of the most disheartening parts in the book (so far) is when Richardson says goodbye to his family. Just to imagine having to do such a thing is hard enough! But to read how his wife clung on to him, crying loudly “I’m not going to leave you” (Stevenson 87) makes it surreal. No one should have to experience that, not even a felon. Yet, the American justice system is the reason why the death penalty still exists in 30 states. It is the reason why men like Walter McMillian were unjustly put into death row.

Can we truly use the word justice to describe the American criminal system?

Thank you for reading! I’m excited to dive into the complex and much needed discussion about the flawed criminal system in America.

Image of Walter McMillian is from https://eji.org/walter-mcmillian