Bryan Stevenson writes in Just Mercy about his childhood and the racial, economic and social inequality that shaped him as a lawyer. Stevenson believes that a society that is more just and encourages mercy can help people become more compassionate towards each other. He meets people who were falsely convicted, or have received harsh sentences. Racial discrimination is increased when people are treated as if they do not belong to society. For example, the condemned. They create a gap in between them and everyone else. Stevenson stresses that it is important to listen and learn about the individual stories of inmates. By understanding each person’s life and experience, Stevenson believes it will help to foster empathy. Stevenson has been influenced by his grandmother’s influence on his life ever since he was young. He was raised by his grandmother who would protect him from harm, whether it be emotional or physical. Stevenson’s grandma would tell him that he couldn’t fully understand important issues from afar. To understand a situation, Stevenson would need to dig deeper to grasp the concept. She may have meant this either in a political sense or just to describe their everyday life, as there was much racial discrimination at the time. It was something he carried with him when he went on to become a lawyer. Bryan used his grandmother’s ideas to understand all the details of each case when he became a lawyer who represented death row prisoners. Stevenson’s grandmother had instilled empathy into him. Stevenson wanted a world with equal representation for all people in the court system and not racial discrimination. This is what drove him to pursue his studies. He begins to understand his passion when he meets his first death row prisoners. His grandmother’s words come to play, and he recognizes that each person on death-row has a unique story to share but was just misrepresented. “Finally… I’ve learned that we cannot measure our commitments to justice, to our society, to the rule-of-law, to equality, or to our commitments to fairness and equality by how well we treat the wealthy, the powerful and those in positions of respect. Stevenson explains that we can measure our character by how we deal with the poor, those who are disfavored, those in prison, or the accused. He emphasizes his commitment by repeating “commitment”. His career changed after meeting death row inmates. His grandmother’s lessons became more apparent. It made him want to know more and to prepare himself for the life-changing experiences he was about to encounter. Stevenson makes friends with the inmates to learn more about them. Stevenson and Henry, a first-time inmate he had met, grew close immediately during their first meeting. In sharing their stories they were in a position to have an open conversation, free of judgement. This is more than any lawyer could have had at the time with a person on death rows. He says “I am amazed at his happiness. We began to chat. I relaxed, too. We began to talk. Stevenson was a nervous, new intern when he went to his first appointment with an inmate. He didn’t know what he would encounter. However, through the conversation sparked by their shared age they began to relate. He could not imagine someone his age on death row. He then mentions that Henry is “relaxed”, which implies they are both becoming more comfortable together, leading to a reduction in tension. He continues to say “we” as a way of showing that the two are alike. By using “we”, he can empathize and relate to Henry. Stevenson demonstrates empathy by recognizing the emotions of others. Herbert Richardson contacted Stevenson after learning of the scheduled execution. Stevenson is worried. “I still had to figure out the best approach to take with condemned people when they hear of an imminent execution.” I wanted a reassuring message like, “Don’t be worried,” but that was an impossible request. News about a scheduled death was unimaginably frightening. Although ‘Sorry,’ did not seem right either it was all I could come up with” (72). It shows how sympathetic Stevenson is to even plan out the next thing to say, or to worry about what would be appropriate to say. Stevenson acknowledges Richardson’s experience as being “unimaginably worrying” but still shows sympathy. This was a unique characteristic of Stevenson’s at the time. Stevenson is a unique lawyer because of this. Stevenson could be more than a mere lawyer to Walter McMillian after they met. McMillian lost his reputation as a black, successful businessman living in a low-income community after he was found guilty of murder. Walter was a mixed bag of emotions while Stevenson and he were discussing his case. Stevenson made him laugh, even though he was depressed at times. Walter’s humor was not a failure, says Stevenson. The laughter felt different today. The laughter today was liberating. Stevenson’s care and empathy towards Walter helped him to build a strong relationship. When he ends with “laughter liberation”, he reinforces the happiness and friendship that resulted from the outcome of the case. Stevenson closes by recognizing that denying empathy is denying humanity. Stevenson put in a lot of work on each case and it has resulted in a relationship with Walter that is now a reality. He said, “We have all been broken by something. All of us have hurt others and experienced hurt. We all have brokenness in common, even though our brokenness may not be the same. We can choose. We have a decision to make. We can either deny that we are broken, refuse to be compassionate, and deny ourselves humanity. Stevenson uses the word “we” to unify society. Stevenson does this to reinforce the notion that people are all alike and that every action is just a tiny part of a person. He breaks down the prejudice and uses a word like “we”, which he says is part of “humanness”. The book shows how empathy is an important part of human nature. Bryan Stevenson is the author of Just Mercy. It’s a book that focuses on racial and economic injustices that exist in our society. Stevenson’s ideology about racial injustice has been shaped by his experiences as a child and lawyer. It was this that motivated Stevenson to become a lawyer to help those who had been wrongfully convicted.
