Just Mercy Essay

The inmates were treated so poorly that they felt they needed to retaliate against the guards. Working in a prison is a possible career choice for me, this book taught me issues that can arise while working in a prison. As a correctional officer, I want to be a productive and effective, I will be friendly with the inmates but not become friends. Treating them with respect will often times result in them giving respect back, which will make them trust and respect your authority. I will be attentive of my surroundings and inmate interactions.

The acclaimed journalist provided readers with his first-hand account of the day to day happenings that transpire inside the penal system from a correctional officer’s point of view. Conover wrote the following: “The bottom line was that you could ‘lay hands on or strike an inmate’ if necessary for self defense, to prevent injury to a person or to property, to quell a disturbance, to enforce compliance with a lawful direction, or to prevent an escape” (Conover, 2000). The second-to-last requirement listed by Conover is one of the most significant pieces of information given to newly appointed officers. It can also be the most dangerous if interpreted too literally and practiced without proper discretion. Conover’s prison chief and senior officers essentially had the perception of “absolute authority” ingrained within them.

Just Mercy (2019) is a powerful and thought-provoking movie directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The movie is set in Monroeville, Alabama in the late 80s/early 90s, and is based on the memoir of Bryan Stevenson, an African American lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, “a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted or unfairly sentenced” as stated by the WealthChoice article Meet the Equal Justice Initiative. The movie follows Stevenson's journey as he seeks to defend Walter McMillian, a wrongfully convicted death row inmate in the state of Alabama. Another key figure in this movie is Eva Ansley, a white woman who co-founded the Equal Justice Initiative with Bryan Stevenson.

In 1968 Robin Woods was convicted of two counts of felony breaking and entering. He was sentenced to 16 years at Maryland Correctional Institute, a maximum-security prison, for his nonviolent crimes. He recalls the atmosphere of MCI being both tense and racially charged. Amid reports of overcrowding and brutality from guards, a severe riot ensued adding an additional charge and 7 more years to Woods’ sentence. Our prison system neglects people’s mental and emotional needs, and treats them with contempt, yet expects respect and obedience in return.

Our criminal justice system is harsh on all the prisoners but especially to the African American prisoners. If our communities, courtrooms, and cell blocks work together, our criminal justice system can be

The Importance of Mercy Just Mercy is a powerful book that explores the flaws of the criminal justice system in America. Written by Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, and social justice activist, The book tells the story of his work defending wrongly convicted people on death row. The book highlights the importance of compassion, empathy, and understanding in the pursuit of true justice. It challenges us to examine their biases about race, class, and the criminal justice system. Mercy is an often overlooked in today's society.

Inmates are constantly violated by cellmates and prison guards, both physically and sexually. Violence is often associated with prison gangs and interpersonal conflict. Prison guards are bribable and all kinds of contrabands including weapon, drug, liquor, tobacco and cell phone can be found in inmates’ hands. Crime within the fence is rampant, only counting those with violent act, 5.8 million reports were made in 2014. If the prison is really what it claims to be, shouldn’t prisoners be serving their time with regret and learning to be obedient?

Along with African-American/Blacks, the Hispanic population is underrepresented at both the state and federal levels while the Caucasian/White population are underrepresented (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2018). This essay will discuss multiple different races and ethinicities to regard their population make up within the prison system. Although race and ethnicity relate to one another they are different. According to Walker et al. (2018), race is defined as the, “major biological divisions of mankind,” for

In doing so, society must fairly treat everyone equally and in no way dehumanize someone. It is expected that society looks past divergence and does not let cultural stigma dictate their actions towards

In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, he writes to illustrate the injustices of the judicial system to its readers. To do so, Stevenson utilizes multiple writing styles that provide variety and helps keep the reader engaged in the topic. Such methods of his include the use of anecdotes from his personal experiences, statistics, and specific facts that apply to cases Stevenson had worked on as well as specific facts that pertain to particular states. The most prominent writing tool that Stevenson included in Just Mercy is the incorporation of anecdotes from cases that he himself had worked on as a nonprofit lawyer defending those who were unrightfully sentenced to die in prison.

Provide training to all prison staff on mental health issues. Training should reinforce staff understanding of mental disorders, raise awareness on human rights, challenge stigmatizing attitudes and encourage mental health promotion for guards and inmates. In addition, prison health workers need more specialized skills to identify and manage the prisoners’ mental health. According to HM Prison Probation & Service (2018), prison staff ‘keep those sentenced to prison in custody, helping them lead law-abiding and useful lives, both while they are in prison and after they are released.’ It believes that prison staff will play a huge part in the life of an offender, helping them to learn and develop new skills (HM Prison Probation & Service,

Davis specifies that the lack of accountability for inappropriate behavior is caused by faulty administrative action as she explains, “Grievance or investigatory procedures, where they exist, are often ineffectual...” (78). Since women’s prisons were established, sexual abuse has been used as a form of punishment, although this is not formally acknowledged by prison officials, it is undeniable that women’s prison staff more than oftentimes engage in sexual

Sadly, because this nation and this world are corrupt and unethical, the equality we are striving for may never be a reality. Nevertheless, total equality is not necessarily in society’s best interest. When stripped of any and all the things which make us diverse, individuals lose their identity. What we, as the human race, have seemed to have forgotten is our differences are not a disgrace, a curse, or an abomination; instead, our differences are what define us as individuals. They give us our strength and individuality; our differences allow us to accomplish more as a collective than a world full of Da Vincis or Einsteins ever could.

We must follow Martin Luther King Jr. in his endless endeavor to achieve equality. It is our duty as human beings to be kind and fair.

We Are Mercy Mercy is an abstract concept that humans have created. Without its creation, our society would have fallen apart long ago. Different people around the world have diverse ideas of mercy cluttered in their minds, nevertheless we all know mercy when we see it. Mercy is giving forgiveness or love even when it's in your power to harm.