just mercy study guide

What was the significance of Antonio Nunez of South Central LA?

"At 14, Antonio became the youngest person in the US condemned to die in prison for a crime in which no one was physically injured

What did Stevenson mean when he said Judge Norton was "locked into a maintenance role"?

"Custodian for the system who was unlikely to overturn the previous judgment"

When the police accosted Stevenson outside of his home in Atlanta, in what way did they break the law?

"Opening objects in a parked vehicle was so incredibly illegal that I realized he wasn't paying any attention to the rules"(41).

What were the impressions that Henry made on Bryan?

- "He was a young, neatly groomed African American man with short hair." - Bryan was sent to tell Henry that his execution date was being moved until within the next year - Altered perception of human potential, redemption, and hopefulness - Grateful to talk to him - Lost in conversation/ talked for three hours - Experienced his song as a precious gift

Describe what is meant by a "super-predator"?

- "Influential criminologists predicted a coming wave of "super-predators" with whom the juvenile justice system would be unable to cope" - Focused on black and brown children, expected to have guns instead of lunches in their elementary schools

How does the U.S. compare to other nations as far as rate of incarceration?

- "Today was have the highest rate of incarceration in the world. The prison population has increased from 300,000 people in the early 1970's to 2.3 million people today." - One in every fifteen people born in the United States in 2001 is expected to go to jail or prison

What happened after Stevenson got an affidavit with Houston's testimony?

- Affidavit: a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court - Darnell Houston was arrested for perjury with no investigation

How was Charlie's story resolved?

- Agreed to send him to a nearby juvenile facility - He wouldn't be sent to adult prison - He was adopted by the Jennings family

Explain a "mitigation narrative".

- Contextualizes poor decisions or violent behavior - Uncovers things about someone's background that no one has previously discovered—things that might be hard to discuss but critically important (abuse, neglect, abandonment, etc.)

Which absurd events occurred to one of EJI's clients, George Daniel?

- False competency examination - Given death penalty - Brain damage in a car accident - Arrested and charged for capital murder

How did Stevenson react to his interaction with the police in Atlanta?

- First instinct was to run - Filed a complaint but didn't say he was an attorney - He had done everything but say "I'm a lawyer"

When Walter supposedly committed the alleged murder at Jackson Cleaners, where was he?

- He was at a fish fry at his house - There were at least a dozen church parishioners at the house all morning with Walter and his family on the day Ronda Morrison was murdered.

Why did Ian desire the photographs from his photoshoot?

- He was in solitary confinement for 14.5 years, didn't have much else, so the photos meant a lot to him - He wanted to show the world that he was alive - He wanted to look at the photos and feel alive

Stevenson makes a convincing argument about the arrested development of a young teen sentenced to life in prison who is permanently damaged by the trauma of a terrible childhood and a violent prison experience. In fact, when he visits Joe, he cuts short his update on Joe's case in front of the US Supreme Court. Instead, what did they talk about?

- Joe wrote a poem - Permanently scarred from childhood - Stevenson argued that Joe was too young and his brain wasn't developed enough

What issues have contributed to the claim that America's prisons have become "warehouses for the mentally ill"?

- Misguided drug policies, excessive sentencing - Avery Jenkins

Why is the name of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women ironic?

Named after a woman who promoted education of prisoners and humane conditions of confinement; Tutwiler was extremely overcrowded

What kind of writing is Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy?

Non-fiction (not on test)

Was Walter McMillian able to sue and seek compensation for being wrongfully charged and imprisoned on death row?

Not given compensation

What issues did Stevenson and Eva Ansley encounter when opening their non-profit law center?

- Nonprofit for free, quality legal services to condemned men and women on death row Alabama - First director resigned - University of Alabama School of Law withdrew their support and promise of office space - Hard to find full-time lawyers for less than $25,000 a year - Denied funding from state legislator - No support from state - Had to raise money for themselves

What was a "rule 32 petition" and what happened after Stevenson filed one on behalf of Walter?

- Put a case back in a trial court with the opportunity to present new evidence and obtain discovery, including access to the State's files - Required to include claims that were not raised at trial or on appeal and could not have been raised at trial or on appeal - Started receiving bomb threats

Describe the significance of the witnesses at the first day of Walter's new evidentiary hearing.

- Ralph Myers admits to his lies - All the witnesses corroborate Ralph's statement

According to Bryan Stevenson, what was the most likely reason Walter McMillian was accused of the murder of Ronda Morrison?

- Relationship with a white girl ( Karen Kelly) → fears of interracial sex have deep roots in the United States - They desperately needed an arrest - "African American man involvde in an adulterous interracial affair, which meant he was reckless and possibly dangerous, even if he had no prior criminal history and a good reputation. Maybe that was evidence enough"(34).

In what ways did jury trials in the South fail to live up to the 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

- Right to a speedy and public trial - Unfair jury and lack of evidence

Why was the use of the electric chair discontinued to carry out sentences of capital punishment?

- Rise of the lethal injection, issues with electric chair - Less painful death - Instances where the person was still alive/ their heart was still beating

What is the significance of W.E.B. Dubois's short story "Of the Coming of John"?

- Stevenson felt he was the hope of the community, like John - John was supported by his community to become a teacher for black students who weren't allowed in public schools, judge closed his school and judge's son groped John's sister, John reacted violently and then was lynched

Why is it ironic that Stevenson frequently represented teens who had committed violent crimes?

- Stevenson writes that his involvement in the cases of youth guilty of violent crimes is "ironic." - He tells the story of his grandfather, who, at the age of 86, was murdered by two teenage boys who were robbing his house. - Done something so "pointlessly destructive" as killing an elderly man who was in no condition to stop the robbery or fight back - Understanding these crimes required understanding the history of the young people involved.

Joe Sullivan was sentenced to life in prison Florida at age 13 for sexual assault. Even after all that Bryan Stevenson has seen and experienced, how was his first visit with Joe shocking?

- The wheelchair gets stuck in the cage - It feels like he is talking to a young child

Why do you think Stevenson included stories of children, like Charlie, who had been incarcerated in an adult prison?

- To show how unfair and cruel it was for a child to go to adult prison, abuse and danger - Show the crimes that put children in adult prison

What issues did Stevenson experience in Alabama while representing death row clients?

- Too many clients - Not enough time or resources to help everyone - Didn't have computers, lawbooks, or any other lawyers on staff - Richardson - "What's the point of all that other stuff if you're not going to help people like me?"(73)

What media event changed the way people of Monroeville and everyone else viewed Walther's case leading to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case?

60 minutes coverage of the case

unexpected advocate

Baigre

In 2005, the Supreme Court made a significant ruling regarding the death penalty. What was it?

Ban on juvenile death penalties was influenced by recent scientific discoveries.

Paul Farmer, the renowned physician who has spent his life trying to cure the world's sickest and poorest people, once quoted writer Thomas Merton to Stevenson. Dr. Farmer said, "We are bodies of broken bones." In what ways are we all broken?

His brokenness is a result of not being able to help the people he wants to help

What were the human rights abuses that the Attica prison riots of the 1970s revealed?

Cruel practices within prisons such as solitary confinement, sweatboxes, electric cattle prods as violations of the prison's rule, hitching posts

After their arrest, where were Walter McMillian and Ralph Myers held as pretrial detainees?

Death row

How did Stevenson and the EJI's goals differ from the ABI's?

EJI just wanted to free Walter, ABI was focused on finding the real killer

How did the issues change or not change from Day 1 to Day 2 of Walter's new evidentiary hearing?

First day = Walter's supporters, second day = state supporters, dogs, not letting people in

What surprised Stevenson about the correctional officer with the truck that contained pro-Confederate bumper stickers?

He was an orphan and eventually supported Stevenson when he saw the work he was doing

Why is Bryan cautious about swimming in the water? Was his wariness metaphorical or foreshadowing?

He was scared of sharks, metaphorical for white jurors

When Bryan Stevenson goes to Sweden to receive the Olaf Palme International Human Rights Award for the EJI, he describes the Swedish criminal justice system. How is it compared to the US criminal justice system?

More humane and focused on rehabilitation

What is the "collateral consequences of incarcerating women"?

Most are mothers, kids are now vulnerable and at-risk

What is the concept of proximity?

Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.

What was the most convincing evidence in Walter's new trial?

Ralph's testimony that he lied the first time

What is the "prison-industrial complex"?

Rapidly expanding "prison-industrial complex" allowed prison to "[become] the answer to everything," including childhood emotional disturbance, mental illness, addiction, and poverty.

Bryan Stevenson certainly is a stonecatcher. What does this mean?

Reference to stoning people, Bryan Stevenson protected people, "catches stones"

What is the tone captured in this passage at the end of Chapter 11: "As he walked to the car, Walter raised his arms and gently moved them up and down as if he meant to take flight. He looked at me and said, 'I feel like a bird, I feel like a bird.'"

Walter feels free and relieved

What is Monroe County, home of Walter McMillian, famous for?

Where To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was written

In Chapter 12 Stevenson, what were the cases of women charged with capital murder for the death of their children?

Women were charged for murder of their stillborn children

elements of trina garrets case was the judge not able to

all above (mental illness)