Criminal Justice Questions In Just Mercy, A Book By Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson writes a book called Just Mercy. He was brought up in an African American working-class family. When he was 16, his grandfather was killed by children who tried to steal his TV. Stevenson was not deterred by this. Stevenson then became an accomplished attorney, having graduated from Harvard Law School. In Georgia he began working for the Southern Center for Human Rights. Next, he headed to Alabama and started the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson describes his most important work here, including fighting against the death penalty for juveniles and life without parole sentences for those on death row. Just Mercy can be read quickly. The stories are fascinating and will change the perception of the justice system.
Stevenson discusses many of the issues that arose during his work with Equal Justice Initiative. He talks about the injustices and flaws in the justice system. Walter McMillian’s case is one that he talks about in his book and is proud of. Walter McMillian had fabricated testimonies used to convict him of murdering an innocent girl. He was convicted despite having witnesses who gave him an alibi, including a police officer, which placed him 11 miles away from the crime scene. In this case, a jury convicted him and ordered he be sentenced to life imprisonment. The jury recommended that McMillian be sentenced to death. However, the Judge Robert E. Lee Key overruled this recommendation. Stevenson was unable to believe that McMillian would be found guilty by a jury based on a fabrication of such absurd evidence.
Stevenson was determined to have his conviction overturned or to be granted a retrial, but in the end he continued to be denied. Finally, he turned to his last resort. Stevenson appeared in “60 Minutes”, and the 1992 segment was about Walter McMillian. Three months later, the Alabama Court of Appeals granted McMillian a retrial. After the court granted the new trial, McMillian’s charges were dropped a few weeks later. Stevenson would have killed an innocent man if he had given up fighting for McMillian, after all the devastating denials.
McMillian is a case that raises several questions regarding criminal justice. The case raises ethical questions regarding the officers who were involved. The officers fabricated and pushed false testimonies so that an innocent man could be put on death rows. The question is, if a murder is committed and the public presses the police for an arrest, do all the officers go against their ethics, lie, or even break the law to place someone behind bars? They found a suspect to blame and then fabricated evidence against him to get him in jail. This was done to appease the community.
McMillian raised questions of procedural law. McMillian’s death sentence was imposed before McMillian had been convicted. It is not a standard procedure and raises questions about why they would do this. The judge’s decision to overrule the jury and give McMillian the penalty of death raises questions about policy. Alabama allows judges to overrule jury decisions, but it’s rare. McMillian knew that he could be innocent. He was there, and witnesses were present to confirm his location. He believed that no one would believe the lies being told against him. The McMillian justice system is flawed. It failed in its duty to protect an unjustly convicted man and nearly led to his death.
McMillian was a case that should have started off differently. Stevenson may not have needed to get involved in the McMillian case if it was handled properly. McMillian never would have been convicted had the police done their job. He probably wouldn’t have been charged if the prosecution was doing what they should have. McMillian could have avoided conviction if McMillian’s first defense team had done an excellent job of discrediting and destroying the prosecution case. Stevenson was supposed to have explained the problems with the McMillian trial and the new prosecutor would have agreed. The case was a complex one, and many things could have gone differently. Stevenson’s fight to defend McMillian is the only aspect of this case that was done well.
Stevenson was a man of many victories and defeats. Michael Lindsey is one of the most talked-about. He was put on death row after he murdered a woman of color. Lindsey is African American. The sentences tend to be harsher when the victim and perpetrator are both black. Lindsey had a jury that recommended a death sentence. The judge, however, overruled the jury and gave him a sentence of life. Stevenson tried to get clemency because the jury wanted Lindsey to live. However, he was denied. Lindsey received the chair. Stevenson still opposed the death sentence despite the defeats he suffered.
Stevenson represented clients in other cases as well. Stevenson’s main focus was on understanding why adolescents commit crimes. He represented clients in prison for crimes committed as children and challenged their sentences. Stevenson describes in Just Mercy many cases of people sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed as children.
Trina Garrett is a case that stands out. A girl was sentenced for life imprisonment after committing a crime at the age of fourteen. Trina was traumatized before and after the crime. She was a victim of trauma and therefore mentally unstable, but she was still made to go to trial for second-degree murder. Just Mercy, page 148-151). 148-151). This case wasn’t handled properly. Trina did not have a lawyer appointed by the court to represent her. Her attorney also failed to mention Trina’s state of mind during her trial. This led her to be tried as an older person. She was sentenced for an adult prison. In prison she was raped, and the child she was pregnant because of rape had to be taken away. Her mental state deteriorated. Just Mercy, page 148-151). 148-151).
Trina has a mental problem and was abused. She is one of a number of children sentenced life imprisonment for having a mental illness. Stevenson’s Just Mercy focuses on the abuse of mentally ill inmates and children. Stevenson explains these issues through his book. He also tries to provoke the reader’s feelings. Reading about children like Trina inspired me to try and change the way things work. Children should never be sent to adult jails. They are vulnerable to abuse. When children are sent into adult prisons they may be placed in solitary custody, which was designed for punishment, not to scare them. Stevenson mentions Ian Manuel (Just Mercy, page 151), a child who was sentenced to life in prison at age thirteen. 151-154) was sentenced to life imprisonment at the age of thirteen, and then sent to a prison for adults. He was kept in solitary for 18 years without interruption, to “protect” him from adult prisoners. (Just Mercy, pg. 151-154). Imagine what this child’s mental state was like after being in a cell for 18 years without any human contact. Many children are sent to adult jails and are subjected to abuse by the adult prisoners.
When it’s about the issue of kids in adult prisons, there is something that needs to be addressed. Stevenson deals with these issues when he works for juvenile offenders who are in adult prisons. “The incongruity that children are not allowed to vote, smoke or drink alcohol. . . Because of their well-recognized incapacity to mature and make judgments, while treating some of the most vulnerable, neglected and impaired children the same way as adults of full age, the criminal justice system.” Stevenson’s quote explains perfectly his view of children in adult-only prisons. Why do children and adults receive the same treatment in the criminal court system?
Just Mercy is a film that addresses many issues. The worst of them all, however, is the abuse and neglect of children. Since children can be sent to adult prisons, this has been happening. The mental disabled or children are not protected in any way. A change is needed in the way juveniles appear before the court. Procedures for violent crimes committed by children need to be reviewed. Alabama needs to improve many of its policies. Only Alabama and Florida allow judges to overrule a jury’s verdict and recommend death. It is time to change these policies.
Stevenson addresses a wide range of issues in his work. Stevenson demonstrates his commitment to fighting for the civil, human and political rights of Alabama’s prisoners and changing the laws. People like Stevenson are working to improve the Alabama system. Stevenson is a testament to the Equal Justice Initiative’s success in Alabama.
