(This is after Walter just got declared innocent and was returning to death row to collect his things)

"Men in their cells could see the crowd outside and started shouting encouragement to Walter as he walked away. We couldn't see them from outside the prison, but their voices rang out just the same - the voices were haunting because they were disembodied, but they were full of excitement and hopefulness... Walter raised his arms and gently moved them up and down as if he meant to take flight. He looked at me and said 'I feel like a bird, I feel like a bird'" (Pg. 197-198)

This shows how significant the feeling of freedom can be , especially to those who have been denied it. Throughout Just Mercy, the theme of a need for mercy in the name of justice is commonly focused on. In this scene, Walter's liberation, just Mercy was finally granted after six years of struggle on death row for a crime he didn't commit. It also humanizes the other death row prisoners, showing them as compassionate and uplifting of their peers, contrasting the stereotype of a heartless brute that the public has built. This also connects to the way Bryan Stevenson sympethizes with death row prisoners and aims to highlight their humane qualities, deeming them worthy of mercy.

Context:

This passage is from Mrs. Williams, someone from Walter McMillian's community who showed up to court to support Walter. She was one of the people chosen by the ministers to enter the court room when they were denied access.

A Vision of Justice

“I may be old, I may be poor, I may be black, but I’m here. I’m here because I’ve got this vision of justice that compels me to be a witness. I’m here because I’m supposed to be here. I’m here because you can’t keep me away.”(Stevenson, 158)

Mrs. Williams’s comments show the power of bearing witness, overcoming fears, standing up for yourself, and doing what is right. When the witnesses were excluded from the court room and Mrs. Williams was chosen as one of the few who could enter, she was proud because it showed she was an honored member of the community. When she saw the German Shepherd, she was brought back to the Selma Race Riots in 1965 and the younger woman within her took over and she experienced the same terror she felt during those protests. In particular, the fear that a police officer who is supposed to keep you safe was there to inflict harm. She spent that night and the following morning telling herself, “I ain’t afraid of no dog.” because she needed to stand up to the fear that was so deeply ingrained in her because of racism in this country. By standing there and repeatedly saying “I am here,” and insisting on being acknowledged, she is standing up, not only for herself and Walter McMillian but for all of the people who have fought for racial justice in the face of threats and intimidation. She has a vision of justice that is almost like a dream because she has not often experienced it in her own lifetime, but it is a vision that this country is based on, and she wants to do her part to support Mr Stevenson’s efforts to help make it come true.

Systematic injustice towards children.

"She was one of nearly five hundred people...condemned to life imporisonment without parole for crime they were accused of comiiting when they were between the ages of 13 and 17." (128)

The importance of this passage to Just Mercy related to systematic injustice. Many young people were sentenced to life without parole for crimes that couldn't be proven the children actually commited. Majority of the children convicted come from a background of poverty, abuse, and trauma, overlooking the childrens trauma shows how the system injustly overlooks the humanity in these children. This shows system injustice because it shows how injustly people were convicted especially children, and how this can effect someone and give someone trauma.

Chapter 6, page 96

Passage: "Charlie was quietly begging his mother to wake up, when it appeared to him that she wasn't breathing. He thought he should call an ambulance, but the phone was in the bedroom with George. George never had hit Charlie, but he terrified him just the same".(p.96)

Response: This is a powerful paragraph to me because Charlie is giving us all the details about his family, I think this is relating to abusiveness because CHarlie is scared of what George would do to him. Charlie is expressing his nerves and the power that comes from what Charlie is saying is great. He is a scared kid trying to wake his mom.

Lost Everything

“They put me on death row for six years! They threatened me for six years. They tortured me with the promise of execution for six years. I lost my job. I lost my wife. I lost my reputation. I lost my-I lost my dignity.” (pg. 215)

This quote is said by one of the main characters, Walter Mcmillian in the novel Just Mercy. Here, Walter has finally been released from death row after 6 years of being wrongfully accused. He was eventually dismissed from capital punishment and was then flooded with media requests after being released and being proved innocent. During an interview, Walter started talking with more emotion and excitement than ever before. He had begun to explain what had actually happened in prison, how it actually felt, and how it drastically changed his life. He was opening up, showing the public how he lost everything and how big of an impact it had on his health. He had started to accept what had happened and was thankful that his faith helped him survive hundreds of nights on death row. I think this quote ties to the book’s themes of empathy, mercy, and advocacy. This type of treatment is not something to ignore and should be changed for the better. Not only does Walter begin to advocate for himself, he has received a lot of empathy and help from his lawyers and supporters. 

"Now, deacades later, I was starting to understand. In preparing litigation on behalf of the children we were representing. it was clear that these shocking and senseless crimes couldn't be evaluated honestly without understanding the lives these children had been forced to indure" (221).

- Walter reflecting on finally understanding the crime that his grandfather was the victim of. Bryan is adressing the legal system's injustice towards children.

• This passage connects to a few major themes in just mercy, especially empathy/understanding. When you're a child, your brain isn't fully developed, so being tried as an adult with adult sentencing is not fair. This is not only applies to kids, but to people with mental dissablilities or PTSD, such as Herbert Richardson, convinced for a crime he probably wouldn't've committed if he had mental clarity. Taking in someone's full situation including age and mental state is crucial for justice.

Sadness then hope then sadness again

"Once a condemned prisoner has completed the appeals process for the first time, courts are deeply resistant to reviewing claims. Although I knew the odds were against us, Mr. Dill's severe disabilities had made me privately hopeful that maybe a judge would be more concerned and at least let us present additional information. But every court told us,'too late"'(page 233).

Context:

The chapter starts with the deteration of Walters health which led to him being put in a nursing center. Then the chapter moves forward to discuss the case of Jimmy Dill who was accused of shooting someone during the course of a drug deal. The victim didn't die but after several months of care his wife disappeared and he died. Mr. Dill suffered from an intellectual disbility and had been sexually and physically abused as a child. The problem was that courts ouldn't review additional information about his case. But sadly Bryan couldn't save him and he was executed.

Response: The meaning of this quote is that even if someone is wronfully convicted courts don't want to acknowledge that they are wrong and won't even want to consider additional information. In the context of Just Mercy this passage shows haw the law system is already broken and doesn't show any justice regarding to mercy of imprisoned people. This quote relates to systematic injustice and how wrongfully convicted men and women struggle to even have courts review their case once condemned.

"I was working on several of these cases, including one in Gadsen, Alabama, where jail officials had claimed that a 39 year old black man had died of natural causes after being arrested for traffic violations. His family maintains that he was beaten by the police and jail officials who who then denied him his asthema inhaler and medication despite his begging for it." (34)

Context

This passage is talking about a case where Jail officials lied to protect themselves by claiming that a 39 year old black man died of natural causes when he was really beaten to death.

Response

This passage supports the theme of the book because it shows racial injustice and how people of color are treated unfairly. It shows racial injustice because a black man was beaten to death and denied his medicine for a trafic violation when that wouldn't happen to a white person.

Passage: “By the time he was thirteen, he had started abusing drugs and alcohol. By fifteen, he has having seizures and experiencing psychotic episodes. At seventeen, he was left homeless. Avery was in and out of jail until he turned twenty, when in the midst of a psychotic episode he wandered into a strange house, thinking he was being attacked by demons. In the house, he brutally stabbed to death a man he’d believe to be a demon. His lawyers did no investigation of Mr. Jenkins’s history prior to trial, and he was quickly convicted for murder and sentenced to death”. (Page 171)

This passage tells a very sad story of Avery Jenkins. Avery Jenkins was a man who suffered from a serious mental illness and he was sentenced to death for a crime he had committed. Through this chapter Bryan Stevenson investigates Avery Jenkins background and life which contained extreme abuse. The word “Mitigation” in this chapter means the legal responsibility to consider the full humanity of a person (for example the factors that contributed to their actions).

I believe that this chapter most relates to the theme of empathy. This is because it was through empathy that Bryan Stevenson uncovered Avery Jenkins terrible background story and argues for his humanity. This shows how understanding someone’s life and what they are going through is needed to achieve justice.

(Context: this book is referenced in the first chapter of just mercy. It includes “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the story of a black man falsely accused of committing a sexual assault crime against a white woman. Bryan tells this story to Walter as it relates to racial injustice in justice systems.)

Excerpt from “To Kill A Mockingbird” referenced in Just Mercy.

“What is often overlooked (about the story) is that the black man falsely accused in the story was not successfully defended by Atticus. Tom Robinson, the wrongfully accused black defendant, is found guilty… he made a desperate attempt to escape from prison… he is shot 17 times in the back by his captors… it’s harder truths did not take root. (21)”

This relates to the book in the way that the falsely accused are still subjected to capital punishment. In both “Just Mercy” and “To Kill A Mockingbird”, black defendants are treated without mercy, as if there isn’t enough evidence to prove their innocence when really, the people wouldn’t hear it. They are then sent to jails where they are treated as property in inhumane conditions or even death. Even with this book, the truths people didn’t want to face, “didn’t take root” and were overlooked. “To Kill A Mockingbird” relates to “Just Mercy” with themes of racial injustice. I chose this passage because of the way it is so similar to “Just Mercy” and how Bryan teaches it to Walter to show the racial injustice in justice systems.

"just about everybody in here was standing next to him, talking to him, laughing with him. Then the police come along months later, say he killed somebody miles away at the same time we were standing next to him. Then they take you away when you know its a lie."(92)

response:

This passage relates to racial bias. its showing that even people with a clean record, a good reputation, and a alibi ca get accused of murder just because of their background. Walter got accused of a murder that took place miles away because he was black and poor. Even though Walter had an alibi and there was evidence showing white skin under the girls finger nails from fighting the man who killed her, one the white wealthy man accused Walter they didn't hesitate before throwing him in jail.

This passage explains that the cross, which was originally seen as a place of suffering and disgrace, has become a symbol of hope and God’s love because of faith. It reminds people of Jesus’s sacrifice but also offers comfort and hope of eternal life for those who have faith.

In the book “The Old Rugged Cross, “ this passage is significant because it highlights the central metaphor of the entire work. It shows how the book explores the transformation of suffering into meaning and the powerful impact of faith on understanding.

Chapter 7

Justice Denied

"He told us the the sheriff and the ABI had threatened him with the death penalty if he didn't testify against Walter McMillian. He made accusations of official corruption, talked about his involvement in the Vickie Pittman murder, and revealed his earlier attempts to retract his testimony about Walter.

He ultimately admitted that he had never known anything about the Ronda Morrison Murder, had no clue about what happened to her or anything else about the crime....

'You know they'll try to kill you if you actually get to the bottom of everything'" (Stevenson 114).

Themes that are shown in this passage

• Deceit (from the sherriff telling Myers to lie)

• Racism (shown against Walter)

• Justice System Flaws (Walter's case fell through the cracks and the Sherriff and ABI almost got away with arresting a innocent man)

• Truth (more of the lack of truth when Myers lied)

• Humanization (There is a more apparent reason for Myer's deceit in this passage)

• Injustice (Injustice toward everyone, Myers, Bryan and most of all Walter)

Context

Bryan is meeting with Myers and Myers admitts his testimony was a lie. After this passage, Myers details the faked DNA results. Bryan now realizes how ridiculus the case against Walter's is.

Explination

Walter is fighting for his life against a lie. This book details how he fought against everything and against the odds ended trimumphent. Myer's confession to the police started Walter being on the death row on a lie. The injustice of Walter being punished for a absurd lie, and learning the reasoning behind the lie opens up all kinds of ideas against the police.

Walter's case almost slipped through the justice system cracks if Bryan hadn't been there. From the faked DNA results to the judge siding with a absurd story, really shows how much injustice there is in our country.

This passage also ties back to the title of the chapter, Justice Denied. Walter got tied up in the justice system for most of his adult life out of a lie. There is no justice in what happened to Walter. There is no justice toward black people in this book without a fight. What is ment by this is that lawyers like Bryan must work day after day to prove that a person is innocent while in this time period, white people don't need to work as hard to be proven innocent by a jury or judge.