Just Mercy
Welcome back readers! I've finally finished reading the book and I loved it. Unfortunately this means this is my last blog post. I wanted to touch on the relevance of this book and similar issues that are going on in present times. Then, I wanted to commence my final thoughts on the book and issues and questions it has raised.
In chapter fourteen, there was one sentence that could relate to a whole lot of crimes committed today. The line was, "they didn't have to kill him"(267). It was talking about Stevenson's grandparents, where his grandfather was murdered at eighty-six years old over a black and white tv robbery. He described this as a senseless murder. This made me think of the recent event of George Floyd. He was held down, knee on his neck in a cruel and unusual arrest. He was killed. This also senseless murder sparked outrage around the United States. It was indeed a senseless murder. Floyd attempted to ask the officer on top of me to get off because he was unable to breathe; however, the officer stayed put. The New York Times states in an article, "video shows officers taking a series of actions that violated the policies of the Minneapolis Police Department and turned fatal, leaving Mr. Floyd unable to breathe, even as he and onlookers called out for help(Hill)." A tragic death that left people saying, they didn't have to kill him. An act of unnecessary aggression, just like in Stevenson's grandfathers murder. Stevenson talks about many more cases he had, where you can find similar or the same things happening in present times.
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| George Floyd |
The next thing I wanted to do was discuss the book as a whole and give my final thoughts on it. Throughout the book, many past and present issues were pressed on. The most talked about issues were racial problems in the justice system, children being tried as adults, and mentally ill people being condemned to die. Reading this book made me question, how many more people have been falsely imprisoned due to their racial background? Actually, it made me question a lot more than one thing. My viewpoints on certain subjects were swayed. I supported the death penalty fully before reading this book. Now, after reading about people who were on death row and some innocent people whom were killed on it, really made me rethink some things. I'm not going to lie, I still do support the death penalty; however, if the person is mentally ill or doesn't have a fair trial then it's wrong. I know, that's uncontrollable about who chooses their fate but I can't not support the death penalty when it deserves to be given. The book honestly got me conflicted with my own thoughts, which honestly amazes me. To have one singular book have me have to re-think something I've believed in my whole life, it just proves to be an amazing story.
Works Cited
"George Floyd: What Happened in the Final Moments of His Life." BCC News, 16 July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52861726. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Hill, Evan. "How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody." New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. New York, Spiegel & Grau, 2014.
Hi Ashlee!
ReplyDeleteI loved this blog post you wrote. I think it was your best one yet. You really explained your ideas well here, and brought new perspectives to the table. I liked the part where you connected Stevenson's grandfather who was murdered, to George Floyd. I also thought your description of George Floyd was well written. Expressing your opinion on the death penalty was interesting to hear. Lastly, I think you bring the vital point that people in the police force, especially officer Tate, just stood back and watched an innocent mans life be taken, even though he didn't do anything. Are you going to read another book similar to this topic now that you have finished Just Mercy?
-Cailey:)
Ashlee, I also shared your experience of having my book change a lot of my viewpoints. I've always been aware of racism and discrimination in America, but my book "Race" showed me information of how these problems in America came to be. The sad reality of a lot of injustice is that they are human nature, inherited from our ancestors in ancient civilizations. But that doesn't mean that we can't change. Human nature can be overcome, and with enough education we all can learn tolerance. Great post.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashlee!
ReplyDeleteI loved your last blog post! I have overall really enjoyed following you as you wrote these posts throughout our blogging unit! I think this post has been the best one out of all of them. You were able to bring in lots of new ideas and angels when expression your opinion on the death penalty, which was a nice addition to your post. It was interesting to hear how your thoughts have been swayed a bit. I would have to agree with you on them. My question for you though is, if any man who was put on death row that has a mental illness, should they be taken off? What extend would make them stay on the death row when having a mental illness?
I think your point about the relevance of the book to current events is a thoughtful one. There are certainly senseless actions taken everyday, and, just as your discuss with Officer Tate, it's very hard to understand the motivation behind them.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashlee! Good work on your last blog post! I think you brought up some really interesting topics. It's super cool how the book was able to sway your opinion on the death penalty. As someone who doesn't believe in the death penalty it was interesting for me to read your thoughts about the topic. For me, the deciding factor against it is just what you were saying. Because injustice is so common in the American justice system, I would not be able to live with myself if I supported something that put an innocent person to death. And even if this person is innocent I would rather have them rot away in a cell for the rest of their life than get out easy. Nevertheless, I think it is really great how you are so openminded about the topic, and how you were able to let the book sway your opinion!
ReplyDeleteHi Ashlee,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your blog post and think you do a really good job at keeping your readers engaged and wanting to read more. I also enjoyed how you connected and compared a current event that is causing a lot of discussion and making changes in our world. I think we should look at the part of Goreg Floyds case where he was targeted and treated with injustice due to his skin color. In the line “They didn’t need to kill him” referring to Stevensons grandfather being murdered by teenage boys this line was trying to say the two boys didn’t need to murder a 86 year old man who couldn’t defend himself it was pointless, when we look at the Floyd case he didn’t need to die either, but he died for a sperate reason because he was black. This point is also a very important topic seen in this book. I appreciate that you stayed true to your beliefs and didn’t back down even though the majority of people may disagree.
-Sincerely Kate