Racism In 'Just Mercy: A Story Of Justice And Redemption'

A close look at the United States criminal justice system shows unfairness and racism towards minorities, specifically African Americans. This truth is brought under the light by author Bryan Stevenson in his novel Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. For example, a 2010 study found that the youngest children, ages 13 and 14, sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses were African American or Latino (Stevenson 174). The evident racism in the criminal justice system was even compared to the harsh Jim Crow laws according to Professor Michelle Alexander of Ohio State University. She found that both the racism in the system and the Jim Crow laws brought about legal discrimination against African Americans

Human beings have always feared what they don’t understand and, in this case, they started to hate people of different skin color and races as a result of that fear. It’s a common belief that African Americans are constantly involved in some form of trouble. An example of this can be found in Bryan Stevenson’s novel Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Bryan Stevenson is a nationally acclaimed professor and lawyer who challenged the racism in the criminal justice system. Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Stevenson often witnessed acts of racial discrimination from authorities. In one situation, Stevenson became the victim of such discrimination while sitting outside of his Midtown Atlanta apartment listening to music. Authorities soon approached him, accused him of being a thief, and illegally searched his car. At that moment, Stevenson realized that we, as a society, still have a long way to go in accepting the progress African Americans have made and getting rid of negative

The question becomes that, after all the progress we’ve made as a society, why do we still allow racism to exist, especially in our criminal justice system? The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization that promotes changes in sentencing policies and fights against unjust racial practices, conducted a report in July 2009 and found that non-whites made up two-thirds of the people in the US with life sentences (Quigley, “Fourteen Examples of Racism in Criminal Justice System”). Our society is built upon the idea that whites are superior to all other races and, because of this, we may never be able to fully erase racism. However, we can try. Despite what these and other criticisms say, I believe that all humans are equal in all aspects of life, and that race cannot take away a person’s right to live happily and healthily in this world. Although we have come very far, we still have a long way to go. Our efforts will be worth it the day that jail sentences are based on the crime, not the race of the