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General Topic: Racial Discrimination

Thesis: Racial discrimination remains a pervasive problem within the American and Canadian criminal justice systems, leading to a concerning lack of fairness in court trials and sentencing for people of colour.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Release Date: December 25, 2019

Group Members: Tasneem Ahmed, Danial Sajid, Ravi Shahi, and Matthew Rocchese

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The film portrays the unjust conviction of Walter McMillian, a black pulpwood worker wrongfully convicted of murder. The exclusion of African-American jurors from his trial and the mistreatment he faced from law enforcement, including racial slurs, exemplify extreme racial biases and prejudices within the American justice system

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Walter McMillian was wrongfully arrested for the murder of 18-year-old Ronda Morrison, who was found dead at Jackson Cleaners

McMillian was convicted by a jury that recommended a life sentence, that decision was overrode and Walter was then sentenced to death

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Bryan Stevenson was wrongfully strip-searched before being allowed entry into the prison to meet with his clients when a strip search is not required of attorneys who come for legal

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This strip search is racially motivated as the prison guard didn't believe Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer because he is African-American.

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The case of Herbert Richardson, a veteran suffering from PTSD, highlights the intersection of mental health issues in the legal system’s

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His struggles with mental health are pivotal in illustrating the lack of understanding and support for individuals dealing with trauma within the legal system.

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The portrayal of systemic biases in the legal system, as seen as the lack of fair representation and the presumption of guilt based on race

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The film portrays the biased jury selection process, particularly in the case of Walter McMillian, the exclusion of African-American jurors and the manipulation of the jury pool highlight the systemic bias present within the legal system

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The depiction of racial disparities in law enforcement, including biased traffic stops and search decisions, serves as a powerful illustration of systemic bias within the criminal justice system

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Bryan Stevenson was wrongfully stopped by officers and he wasn't told why he was stopped. He was forced to step out of the car on gunpoint. He was threatened to stay quiet as the officer says "You ought to be careful with your words when you got a gun on your head"

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The scene where Darnell Houston was wrongfully arrested for purgery when he testified and told the truth about what happened on the day of the murder

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The ethical and moral implications of the death penalty, particularly in cases where individuals are wrongfully convicted, shed light on the racial disparities and discrimination within the criminal justice system

The disproportionate use of the death penalty against people of colour

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Walter speaks about how everyone, including the judge and jury tells him he did it, and after a while he himself starts to question whether or not he'd done it, and the truth started to fade away.

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The film also touches upon the psychological impact of incarceration on Walter McMillian. His experiences, including the isolation and dehumanization he endured on death row, shed light on the mental health challenges faced by incarcerated individuals.

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The prisoners at Death Row say the legal system is quite literally a mess, and they weren’t given the justice they deserve

“The judge laughed at me and said rehabilitation was a 70 years-old joke”

“My lawyer was there, but he wasn’t there. It was like I was by myself”

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This portrayal of these disparities sheds light on the systemic inequality represented in the application of capital punishment within the criminal justice system

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Herbert was electrocuted to death although he was suffering from mental illness

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Despite a lack of evidence, the jury convicts him solely based on his race and the testimonies of unreliable witnesses

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"You a rich boy from Harvard, you don't know what it' is down here, When you’re guilty from the moment you're born."

This quote, spoken by Walter McMillian, highlights the pervasive racial bias and prejudice faced by black individuals within the criminal justice system.

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“When you take a black man and put him on death row a year before his trial… and exclude black people from serving on his jury… when you base your conviction on a coerced testimony of a white felon… when any evidence proving his innocence is suppressed and anyone who tries tio tell the truth is threatened […] It becomes a test of whether we are going to be governed by fear and by anger, or by the rule of law”

Bryan Stevenson expresses his frustration with the inherent bias within the criminal justice system, highlighting how it disproportionately affects marginalized communities.

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Bryan Stevenson speaks about how the criminal justice system tends to treat you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. He underscores the disparate treatment of individuals based on their socioeconomic status within the criminal justice system. It emphasizes how racial discrimination intersects with economic disparities, resulting in unequal outcomes for marginalized communities.

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Bryan and his team uncover crucial evidence that was intentionally withheld during Walter's trial. This scene exposes the deliberate attempts to undermine justice and highlights the systemic racism that allows such misconduct to occur.

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We are shown the overwhelming majority of death row inmates who are people of colour. This visual representation highlights the disproportionate impact of racial discrimination on marginalized communities within the criminal justice system