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Alex Fang

Professor Lasley

CTW I

15 November 2018

LENS Essay: ​Just Mercy​ by Bryan Stevenson

Growing up in a low-income family, then transitioning to a college with a majority

middle to high socioeconomic class, I found it difficult to conform to college life. I grew

up working early in my childhood years and I gained a sense of maturity that no other

student would’ve experience. However overtime throughout high school, I found it hard

to conform with a different culture of having the luxury and money to purchase things.

For example, in my family we only buy new shoes when our current pair is completely

worn out. We don’t buy other shoes but rather clean them and polish them to make

them seem new. On the contrary, other families splurge on shoes and other recreational

items. Like the narrator in the this novel, Bryan Stevenson, I find it troubling to conform

to environments not like mine. Amy Robillard the author of, ​It’s Time for Class: Toward a

More Complex Pedagogy of Narrative​ asserts that time is perceived differently by

different people; he describes time being on death row compared to being a black man

in the 20th century. She also emphasizes the relevance of personal narratives and

utilizes it as a frame to understanding our past. Robillard lastly demonstrates how the

differences between different economic classes and how it affect a person. In his novel,

Just Mercy, ​Bryan Stevenson uses himself as the main character - a Harvard graduate

lawyer who was inspired to fight against social injustice - to show through his
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experiences he realizes that understanding people through themes of time, personal

narratives, and class were important in his own journey of self-discovery.

One concept that Stevenson focuses on in his novel is the relationship between

time and racial class. Stevenson recounts his encounter with a prisoner, named Henry,

on death row and drawing similarities to this encounter with being a black man in the

South. He recalls Henry telling him, “I’m not going to have an execution date anytime in

the next year? No, sir...Thank you, man. I mean really, thank you!” (10). When Henry

expresses his relief to Stevenson, Stevenson’s only reaction is shock because he came

to the realization of how bad death row inmates are treated and misinterpreted in the

system. The idea of being “free” is alien to Henry and black people in society. Robillard

states that one’s perception of time is based on their class and we see how time on

death row is much skewed compared on those who are white and free from prison. This

concept of being in jail shows resemblance to society during this time. It would seem

that society in itself is a jail where blacks are prisoners and the prison guards are the

white people controlling them. Robillard point out that depending on how time is viewed

also contributes to the successes and downfalls a person has. Immediately we notice

that Stevenson at the time found a sense of connection with Henry. Rather than

dissociating himself with Henry, he identifies him as a death row inmate which therefore

changes his perception to one of more empathy and openness. Because of this,

Stevenson and Henry build a relationship that is mutual and Stevenson works to break

down this barrier of keeping the condemned away from the rest of society. This relates

to being a black man during this time as historically the goal of the criminal justice
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system is to keep the condemned away from the rest of society and not allow black

people to assimilate to society. Hence the strict integration laws such as Jim Crow and

the banning of interracial marriages.

Another concept that Stevenson explores is how broken the justice and court

system is. This can be mirrored through the lack of representation in court due to the

unfair bias of others. Stevenson narrates the story of Walter McMillian, a cotton picker

turned successful businessmen. Walter is from Monroeville, Alabama coincidentally the

birthplace of Harper Lee in ​To Kill a MockingBird​, and found success in the logging

business which earned him a high social and economical status in a majority white

community. However Walter is falsely accused in the case of the death of Vickie

Pittman due to jealousy. Yet Stevenson quotes, “There was no evidence against

McMillian-no evidence except that he was an African American man involved in an

adulterous interracial affair...even if he had no prior criminal history and a good

reputation”(34). Walter was in an interracial affair with a white woman and because of

this, without knowing anything about his life story, he was accused of a murder that had

nothing to do with him. Robillard states the importance of personal narratives within a

classroom in order for teachers to fully understand their students. For Walter to not be

able to represent himself in court is just like a student not being able to express

themselves in a classroom. Stevenson outlines the criminal justice system as a failure

to address social problems and its tendency to actually aggravate these problems

fueling a continuous cycle of violence and incarceration. By using facts of how

expensive the prison system rather than educational funds, the purpose of this is to
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indicate how the justice system is allocating resources towards the advancement of

punishment for those condemned rather than allocating those resources to a solution. In

Walter’s case the investigators already know that a suspect cannot identify him, the

police’s urgency to please the public is evident as they accept any leads no matter how

unlikely they are. We come to realize that the Sheriff Tate doesn’t really care if Walter is

the true murderer or not. Walter’s real motive is to please the public and express his

power. By demonstrating the problems of a racist court system, he suggests the

importance of a public education and how education could mean the difference between

life and death. Being able to represent yourself and having the knowledge to argue for

your case in court shows the importance of personal narratives of not only in a

classroom but also in real life.

Moreover, the topic that intersects both Robillards and Stevenson’s piece is the

effect of socio-economic class had on people’s view on a person. For example in ​Just

Mercy, ​the African Americans are on the lower part of the economic spectrum being the

cotton pickers and/or in jail, probably for a crime they didn’t commit. Social class in

prisons can be compared to social classes in classroom for example. Robillard,

students from a lower income family tend to fall behind in the classroom mainly due to

the fact that they must work and go to school to support themselves sacrificing class

time for work. Middle to upper-class students rarely face this problem and devote most

of their time towards school and develop their skills. Similarly working class students

can be represented as death-row inmates and African Americans who aren’t able to

afford good lawyers and money to support their appeal.

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Another major example is when Stevensons recounts his memories of coming

home after a long day of work. His broken radio in his car begins to work and he takes a

moment to listen next to his apartment. However a few moments later, the Atlanta

Police SWAT car appears and illegally searches Stevensons car and interrogates him.

The officer explains to Stevenson that someone reported a possible burglar, most likely

because Stevenson was a black man. The officer lets Stevenson go and comments,

“We’re going to let you go. You should be happy”(42). This type a response by the

police illustrates their lack of concern for the condemned, black people, and assert their

dominance in the black community. In addition it is the white people’s attempt to

maintain their power and inspire fear into Stevenson despite him being a lawyer.

However this shows that even though Stevenson has a higher privileged status, he

should still be treated as a regular citizen black or white. He is infuriated after the

incident and decided to file a complaint to the police department. However he doesn’t

use his credentials to show his disagreement with biased treatment towards those who

are more educated and privileged in the community. In sharing his experiences as a

powerful person in the community, he gives hope to members of various black

communities to fight for justice and advocate for social reform. Since Stevenson is a

powerful person, the black community can relate to his experiences realizing that this

white oppression could happen to anyone regardless of class bringing legitimacy to their

own experiences.

In conclusion, one can interpret Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy through the lens

of Amy Robillard’s essay. We see the theme of time and how it is perceived differently
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for example with people in prison and people not in prison. In addition we realize the

importance of narratives and how crucial they are in understanding who someone is

especially in a case. Lastly economic class plays a huge role in giving people

advantages or disadvantages even if they choose to use or not use their credentials and

advantages. Just as I am now, I can finally stand up for myself regardless of my

socioeconomic class and has accepted where I am right now.

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Works Cited

College English, Vol. 66, No. 1, Special Issue: The Personal in Academic Writing (Sep.,

2003), pp. 74-92

Hanink, Peter. “Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.”

Punishment & Society​, vol. 20, no. 4, 2017, pp. 523–525.,

doi:10.1177/1462474516685709.

“Just Mercy Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis.” ​LitCharts,​ www. litcharts.com/

lit/just-mercy/chapter-7-justice-denied.

Stevenson, Bryan, author. Just Mercy : a Story of Justice and Redemption. New York

:Spiegel & Grau, 2014. Print.