Inequality In Just Mercy

Inequality continues to affect people in different communities around the globe. It is difficult for many to realize the severity and extreme reality of these situations because they are not given prominence in media and they are not seen as often around certain communities. That is why I believe there is such a huge importance in being aware and reading books such as Just Mercy. Growing up in a large African American and latino population while being caucasian, I felt as if I was much more aware of these issues as compared to those living in less diverse communities. To my surprise, there are always people in worse situations than one can imagine. In Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, he brings attention to the history of the United States

Bryan Stevenson provides evidence throughout his book that supports the statement that the poor are also victims of unequal treatment. In the very beginning of the book he writes, “Capital punishment means ‘them without the capital get the punishment.’ We can’t help people on death row without help from people like [Bryan Stevenson] you” (Stevenson 6). This character was referring to a lack of money from people receiving the “punishment” from the court. The poor were being treated unequally and after looking at the those on death row, Bryan Stevenson could attest that they were in fact almost all poor prisoners. It’s unfortunate, but this tends to happen even in today’s society when the poor are unable to pay for proper representation in court. With a lack of representation, and poorly appointed officials, many suffer the tragedy of being sentenced to death. Knowing these outcomes, many family members that I have known have given up on their loved ones once they were sent to prison. It’s discouraging to see someone have so much power over another life, whether they are “qualified” or not, being many officials in the past have proven to not be worthy of their

Women, for example, who could not afford health care suffered intensely in bad situations; for instance, when their children died unexpectedly (Stevenson 233). It is awful enough to lose a child after giving birth, but like the woman described in this book, many poor women often have huge obstacles to overcome in addition to their birth. Within Just Mercy, there was a story about a family who lost their home and jobs to a storm, causing a number of different issues. During these series of events, the mother discovered she was pregnant. With the lack of prenatal care over the course of her pregnancy, she delivered a stillborn child. Since they had no money for medical costs they decided to keep the death of the child amongst family members. Unfortunately, after police found out about the buried child, the mother was arrested for murder and it took months of testing to prove that the mother did not if fact kill her own child. It is saddening to see these type of situations happen all over the United States. Government money is being put into places such as prisons, and taking away from funding for things such as medical insurance. Many people, including these women, are suffering because they are unable to receive the proper medical attention they