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In Just Mercy there are a couple themes. The first one is resistance and advocacy the book emphasized the importance of active resistance to under institutions. Bryan Stevenson mentions racism, corruption, and cruelty that pervade American court systems and lead to systematic abuse marginalized communities. He remains steadfast in the power of resistance and advocacy to change conditions for individuals and for marginalized groups overall. The other theme is empathy, mercy, and humanization the idea of the book is that everyone is capable of making mistakes, even terrible mistakes, and that, at one time or another, everyone will need to be granted mercy. Harsh punishments in Stevenson’s eyes, perpetuate violence rather than deter it. Giving and receiving unexpected and undeserved mercy is the only way to break the escalating cycles of violence, punishment, and hatred that characterize the criminal justice system. On the other hand Dead Man Walking has kind of has similar themes with Just Mercy for example The redemptive power of love. Prejean presents love as the one force that has the power to alter and redeem a human life, as well as restore dignity. She says that love has sustained her throughout her life, she grew up in a household filled with love, and she has faith in God’s love, which gives her energy and courage. Another theme is The linked symptoms of social justice Prejean’s fight to abolish the death penalty is not just a fight against one component of the penal system, it’s a battle in the greater way for social justice. One theme that Dead Man Walking had that  I thought was similar to some of the themes mentioned in Just Mercy was the importance of personal responsibility Prejean stresses the importance of personal responsibility by challenging the government officials responsible for capital punishment as well as the men on death row, to hold themselves accountable for their actions. I think when it comes to the question of whose mission is more difficult I think both are difficult in their own way. Bryan Stevenson’s has to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted people on death row while Prejean is a spiritual advisor. I can’t choose whose approach is better because I think they are both influential. Sister Helen’s approach is she wants to abolish the death penalty not just for wrongfully convicted inmates but for everyone on death row. She understands people that have committed the most heinous crimes and has empathy for them. On the other hand Bryan Stevenson focuses on the people who have been either falsely convicted or harshly sentenced. He argues that society should choose empathy and mercy over condemnation and punishment.

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My mom was born in Mexico and my dad was born in Guatemala. They both crossed the border at a young age and were able to get there papers here in the U.S. I was born in California and moved at the age of 2 to Las Vegas. I have two older brother and I am the youngest. Growing up my parents were very hardworking my dad worked graveyard shifts and my mom would work from morning to night. I barely got to see them when I was young so most of the time my aunt would take care of me and my brothers. When it came to schoolwork or learning certain things I learned on my own and became very independent at a young age. Having brothers around all the time made me a very strong and tough person and I was able to hold my own. When I was in high school I really didn’t know what career path I wanted to choose but I felt since everyone knew what they wanted I needed to choose something. My freshman year all throughout my senior year I wanted to be an OBGYN go into the medical field and I never really had an explanation of why. My first semester at Nevada State College I was undecided but I wanted to go into education. The reason being since my nieces were born I loved kids and I loved teaching them stuff. Another influence was my aunt and I remember visiting California and going to her classroom and interacting with her students and getting a feel of what it’s like. Throughout high school I was really into Forensics, investigating shows, cops, jail shows, etc. I was so into it that my senior year in high school they offered for the first time a forensics class and I took it, it was so much fun and so interesting. My second semester here at NSC is when I decided to do criminal justice as my major. When I started taking the class I started liking it more and more and at first I didn’t know my career path I just knew criminal justice is what interest me. My third semester at NSC I took American Sign Language I was beyond nervous but excited because I was into this show called switched at birth and the language was epic to me. I fell in love with the class and the teacher I started taking ASL 2, ASL 3 and I decided to add deaf studies as a minor. It wasn’t until then I realized the path I wanted to take I want to work with juveniles and also work with deaf juveniles as well. I think now that i’m a junior here at NSC my perspective has changed. One thing growing up that one of my older brother explains to me is how moving to vegas and my parents working all the time really made him rebel. There was no parent figure there for us for most of our childhood but my brother was in high school so he started skipping class started partying and not having a care for the world. He didn’t graduate high school and somehow he always says that if he would of had the family structure his life would be different today. Many kids face the same problems and some even worse and having people that understand and not judge or treat them badly is what our society needs.

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Stevenson mentions that his work with the poor and incarcerated has persuaded him that the opposite of poverty is not wealth but the opposite of poverty is justice. There is so much inequality in America today and justice is something we people help to create or destroy. Poverty is the social condition of being disfavored. In poverty neighborhood lacks access whether it be to education, a safe home, decent job, healthcare which leads to no opportunity. Justice on the other hand is to make sure that all citizens have good opportunities. With this being said what Stevenson means by this is that poverty can only happen if there is an absence of justice. We have failed to do justice to those who need it the most. I saw this video the video showed a low-income neighborhood school and a suburban neighborhood school. In the video the kids end up switching schools for a day. The suburban school has a swimming pool, high tech technology, nice class rooms, sports, everything about the school is well put together and the low-income kids are looking around in shock that a school even looks like that. On the other hand the low-income school has no water in the pool, old computers, no books, classrooms are old, the school looks like a mess. The suburban kids are also in shock and asking questions of why they don’t have any updated stuff or any sports or books. It’s sad because it shows the sad reality. What was interesting about the video was the low-income kids when they sat in a class that they were taking at there own school, at the suburban school most of the kids were lost because it was harder and looked more advanced even though it was the same class. Meaning that in the low-income schools they are probably teaching intermediate classes because they can’t afford to teach the advanced classes so it’s two different educations. Which goes back to whether that’s justice and the lack of opportunity. Of course the student at the suburban school will be able to afford college and get their career while the low-income student will have to work for a living because they can’t afford college. It was depressing to see because in the low income school so many kids want to succeed and have these goals and ambitions of what they want to do but then reality kicks in.

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I think Walter McMillan story would maybe play out a little different if he were wealthy and black. At the same time though I feel like it would be the same especially in Alabama, I feel like they would try to tamper with evidence and do everything in their power to send him to prison because of the racial discrimination. The money might have gotten him a good lawyer but I think the outcome would be the same. I also believe even if he were poor and white the outcome would still be the same not because he’s white but because he’s poor he might have gotten a less harsh sentence. Racial discrimination is still going on in our society today and Jim Crow still exist. Our criminal justice system is very unfair. I feel like the most respected are the wealthy white men. I read this quote that said the wealthy make mistakes and the poor go to jail, I couldn’t agree with that quote more. There are two very different societies with different sets of values. Like many minorities they are born into a world with limited opportunities. Where the wrongdoings are resolved with violence and not lawyers. Whites are born into this world with many options. With the right lawyer they can do pretty much do anything and still do nothing wrong. Of course there is the saying the rich get richer and the poor get prison. I agree people that get convicted for petty street crimes or minor drug violations end up going to jail for years and in most cases go for decades. I read about Diana Brooks who was the former CEO of Sotheby’s auction house she was sentenced for fixing sales of art. She served her six-month sentence in home confinement in her 12 room $5 million co-op. Of course the CEO’S and the wealthy people it’s unusual for them to face criminal charges even when they commit crimes. In this article I read they mentioned that the criminal justice system is like a spider web, ensnaring the defenseless and the weak meanwhile the powerful break free. Race still matters in this country because if Walter McMillan were wealthy he still is an African American not White, It’s the sad truth.

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Episode 6 of In the dark really talks about how sex offender registries have affected many people but also how it has really gone to far. The laws started to become stricter so now sending a nude pic or peeing in public can put you in the sex offender registry. I think Patty Wetterling started regretting her involvement in forming these laws when she started getting letters from parents that their teenagers were now getting put on the sex offender registry. When she went to Alabama to speak for a treatment center for kids that were convicted of sex crimes. The story she tells about the 10 year old kid and how he was experimenting with a cousin and a relative walked in and was horrified and named him a sex offender is sad to think about because there are probably so many kids out there like that. She made a good point that she wants all these sex offenders to have a successful life because that would mean no more victims but emotions get in the way of achieving that goal. Like the podcast says they make it harder for sex offender to rejoin society in a way that is safe for everyone. Patty Wetterling mentioned that she thought it was a good tool for law enforcement but grew into a troubling thing. I think there are certain cases where sex offenders are getting what they deserve but in other cases I think it goes to far. If the crime is so heinous then they should be getting life in prison or prison time in general. The sex offender registry wasn’t designed to punish people but instead used for prevention. It hasn’t worked as a preventive tool at all instead some are labeled as sex offenders for minor or harmless offenses. One example is statutory rape where the victim is a high school grade younger than the offenders. I think in cases like this there should be something like community service or some type of program or maybe counseling to prevent it from happening. In the dark mentioned the guy Marcos where he tried to meet up for sex with two teenage girls the girls were undercover officers. I think when it comes to something like this there should be some type of punishment like jail time. I don’t think there life should be ruined where they can’t get a job or a house and there life is over with. It is proven that most people on the sex offender registry do not go out and commit another sex crime. I think the system is broken and it clearly shows there should be some type of law that prevents so many people from getting put on the sex offender registry for something so minor.

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Before listening to in the dark I have seen cases and heard of kidnappings. This one was surprising because of how long it took to solve. I’ve seen some where it took 3 years to 8 years but 27 years is a long time. I think the police investigation is what made a huge difference in the case being solved. They responded right away but the decisions they made is what really failed the investigation. They didn’t search the homes near the kidnapping site. They didn’t even interview the people that lived around the area where Jacob was kidnapped. I think if the police officers would have focused on that small circle where Jacob was abducted and questioned everyone the outcome would have been different. If they would of listened to the kids and seen the signs they would of caught the guy right away. The signs were there, there were complaints about a man following paperboys, watching kids at school, etc and the fact that they did nothing about it was disappointing. I ended up googling more about Jabob Wetterling and I found the original news broadcast, documentaries and the confession video of the kidnapper and what he had done. It was sad to see how the parents and the community were gathered altogether with hope of finding Jacob. The last episode of in the dark surprised me because of all the things the kidnapper had done before the kidnapping and after. The police calls he made and the videos he had it was disturbing to listen to. I think what really stood out was how most people were calling the kidnapper a master criminal but like the podcast said he was just lucky to have committed his crimes in county where the Sheriff’s Office made wrong moves after wrong moves. There are no perfect crimes only failed investigations. I couldn’t agree more this podcast really makes you see how police investigations are important but also how every decision is crucial.

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When it comes to what Sister Prejean said “to be apolitical or neutral in the face of such injustices would be, in actuality, to uphold the status - a very political position to take, and on the side of the oppressors. I think what she means by this is that the injustices that happen in this world there should be something done to avoid this from happening. So many people stay quiet and let the injustices happen which makes you just as worse in a way. For example, how she mentions in the book how poor people are treated especially the ones that are helped out by the government. They are treated unfairly and so many people know this but nobody does anything especially the injustices in the criminal justice system. She mentions that if you do nothing, then you are on the side of the status quo. You can try to duck politics, but politics will find you one way or the other. She reminded people about personal responsibility. She made a really good point that it’s so easy to turn our back on problems that don’t seem to directly involve us but we’re personally involved in just about everything on some level, non-action is still action. I agree with her most of the stuff that supposedly don’t affect us do affect us in many ways. When it comes to my own life I haven’t taken any actions to better society i’ve mostly stayed on the sideline. I think society hasn’t changed as much because a lot of people stay on the sideline and don’t take action. I strongly believe that this is because our society lives by violence, competition, intolerance, jealousy, envy, pride, false patriotism, selfishness, greed, ignorance, etc. If we as whole were to be tolerant, considerate and compassionate maybe this will change. Learning to respect each others differences helping more people that are in need having empathy for others is important.

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After reading chapter 3 the book describes that about 99 percent of death row-inmates are poor. The typical profile is also African American. 75 percent of death row inmates are there for killing whites. The book mentions that it’s unusual in Louisiana for a black man to be executed for killing another black. When black people do get the death penalty for killing other blacks the victims are police or security guards, children, more than one person and rarely women. What was shocking was the fact when a black defendant is on trial in capital cases, even though the constitution promises a right to jury of one’s peers, most prosecutors practice to try to eliminate blacks from the jury because blacks are less likely than white to impose and unless there’s a strong defense attorney the prosecutor will succeed. Even though it’s shocking to read about it’s not surprising. This probably happens so much and so many know of the injustices but still don’t do anything. Even after three decades after the sentencing guidelines were approved by the court in Gregg. The death penalty is still being unpredictably applied to a small number of defendants. There still remains a lack of uniformity in the capital punishment system. Some of the most heinous murders do not result in death sentences, while less heinous crimes are punished by death. This is when ineffective guidelines are constraints in the capital sentencing process can result in decision-makers falling back on their prejudices about who are the worst kind of criminals or who are the more sympathetic victims. Many factors other than the gravity of the crime or the culpability of the offender appear to affect death sentences, including geography, race, gender, and access to adequate counsel. The way the criminal justice system works is if you have the money you get the best attorney which is why more affluent murderers with private attorneys avoid the death penalty. Most of the people that can afford attorneys are more than likely gonna be white. Which brings us to the point that the book makes that and African American that kills a white victim will always or more than likely fave the death penalty. It’s the sad truth and reality that our society faces.

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Sister Helen Prejean believed that what counted when it came to faith was a personal relationship with God, inner peace, kindness to others, and even when this life is done. She didn’t want to struggle with politics and economics. She thought that some things in life, for instance, the gap between the poor and rich were already fixed and unchangeable. She believed that social problems meshed with other problems. In the book, it mentions how getting involved with the poor people and controversy follows you like a hungry dog. In the book, you see how much criticism she gets for attending Pat Sonnier funeral. People question her character, church and if she should even be considered a nun. Like she mentioned in the book she regrets that so many people don’t understand but she knows that these people have not watched the state imitate the violence they so abhor. I think the reason that many see sister Helen as controversial is that of how she’s being a spiritual advisor for people on death row. Also because she’s speaking out of abolishing the death penalty. Certain people feel so strongly about death row inmates getting what they deserve they have their certain beliefs and morals and they think what sister Helen is doing is wrong. This is where the quote If you work for social change, you’re political, but if you acquiesce and go along with the status quo, you’re above politics. This is pretty much saying that if you do something and get involved for social change you are considered political but if you do nothing and go along with how things are now in our society you’re above politics. I think so many people are scared of change and so many people don’t have empathy for others. Like she mentioned she felt guilty befriending a killer but as she got to know him things changed and that’s what our society needs to be informed and stop allowing so many injustices happen right in front of their eyes.

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This is one of my favorite quotes from Just Mercy “ The real question of capital punishment in this country is, do we deserve to kill” I think what he means by this is that mostly everyone thinks that the best form of punishment is the death penalty. A heinous crime deserves the worst of the worst punishment which the worst is the death penalty but what gives us the right to determine whether someone should live or die. Of course the response to that would be well what gives that criminal the right to take a life and not be punished for it. We are just as worse by killing that person and that’s where the question comes to play if we really deserve to kill. When it comes to sister Prejean she was anti death penalty so I feel like she would say no we do not deserve to kill. She was very empathetic towards people that committed the most heinous crimes and were 100% guilty. Everyone has a story and she felt that since god gave forgiveness we as humans should do the same and I strongly agree with her. Sister Helen even mentioned how at first she felt guilty befriending a killer but later she saw his humanity and started to question the death penalty. She said that Jesus christ refused to meet hate with hate, violence with violence. She makes a good point that if she were to be murdered, she wouldn’t want her murderer to be executed. Especially by the government which they can’t even be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes so much less decide which of it’s citizens to kill. Just like Bryan Stevenson said “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done”. Before reading these texts I was already against the death penalty because I felt like execution wasn’t the answer and we are just as worse if we kill. After reading this I am 100% against the death penalty. We as humans need to have empathy for others and forgive others for their wrongdoings.

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This video is great !

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Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED