Judging a book off of its cover is something that we all do. Brayan Stevenson is studying law and is getting his major in becoming a lawyer. He gets the opportunity to start a non-profit organization in helping people get off death row and young children get the right punishment instead of life in prisonment. In the 1980s, people viewed black people as a threat. Stevenson is introduced with a case about Walter McMillian, who is accused of murdering a young woman. He is sentenced to death and life in prison. Stevenson gets drawn into this case and starts digging into the details and trying to fix the case. After many years of finding evidence and figuring out that McMillian was forced to say that he had done the murder, Stevenson is shocked. The judges didn’t look into the case, they just saw a black man accused of murder and assumed that he had done it. McMillian would have then spent six years on death row, severely traumatized, lost all of his family, and most importantly his dignity. One misconception led to a man spending his whole life in prison and dealing with the trauma the rest of his life. Stevenson takes on the case of many other death row cases. He sees many investigations about kids being raised without the right adults in their life and end up getting themselves in trouble and spending the rest of their life in prison starting at a very young age. Stevenson goes into court and fixes the unfair punishment for kids, and makes the court rethink how they are punishing people. This book really opens your eyes to the world we live in but also how we see other people in our eyes. Stevenson has a fire that I wish I had. He never lets the judge make the final decision in the cases. McMillian sets himself up for death row in admitting that he killed the woman. The jury decides on the punishment but once Stevenson gets involved in the case it takes a twist. He unfolds the whole truth about the case and saves McMillian's life. Even with the other cases, he uses his whole heart in trying to make these people earn the justice they deserve. Our court system should get the whole truth before sentencing someone to death or life in prison. Children when they are 13 haven’t even matured into their body or developed everything in their head. They are raised in a poor home with abusive, drugs and alcohol all around them and make one poor decision and their life is changed forever. Before the children even realize what they did, they are on their way to spend the rest of their life behind bars. Stevenson uncovers these cases and tries to save as many lives as he can, when he is hurting. He wants justice for all of these people seen as bad guys just because of their color. McMillian fought for justice, his life, and for many other black people. He ended up dying a few years after being released from trauma. He had his whole family waiting at home for him the night he was arrested. We make so many assumptions of people just because of their past. Stevenson says this “The bad things that happen to us don’t define us. It’s just important sometimes that people understand where we’re coming from”. McMillian fought for his freedom. He didn’t let the bad things define him when he stepped in the courtroom. Finishing this book opened my eyes on how I am going to see the future. I know that I have made poor choices, but when I step into the classroom, or up to the race line, my past is going to be there, but I will never let it stop me from going somewhere, just like the story, Just Mercy. ~ Natalie S.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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