I'm reposting your summer reading assignment here, and you should leave your blog posts attached to this entry.
Over the
summer, each of you will select one book of choice that you will read, and you
will be held accountable for that text when we return in August. The chart below lists your choices. There will be no output associated with the
book of choice, although there will be meetings in the fall to discuss
them. There will also be incentives (re:
prizes) for anyone who manages to read all seven books independently over the
course of the 2017-18 school year.
|
Teacher
|
Book Title
|
Author
|
|
Dougherty
|
The Sun is Also a Star
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Nicola Yoon
|
|
Hennessey
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So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
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Jon Ronson
|
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Landsman
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Assassin’s Apprentice
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Robin Hobb
|
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Meadows
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All the Pretty Horses
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Cormac McCarthy
|
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Rayburn
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The Golem and the Jinni
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Helene Wecker
|
|
Sheridan
|
Ready Player One
|
Ernest Cline
|
You
will also read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan
Stevenson. For this text you will have a
written assignment, and its requirements are below.
BEFORE reading, please thoughtfully address
the following:
·
What
are the arguments for and against capital punishment (the death penalty)?
·
Research.
How do the laws regarding capital punishment vary from state to state in our
country? How do other countries around
the world punish the worst offenders?
Analyze and evaluate statistics regarding age, gender, race,
socioeconomic status, and so on.
·
What
is your stance on capital punishment?
AFTER reading (and in the same paper),
please thoughtfully address the following:
·
What
do Stevenson identify as the primary problems associated with the current
American justice system? In your written
response, take a stance that includes a proposed solution to addressing the
problems you feel are most pertinent.
·
Whose
story did you find most compelling in Stevenson’s text? Why?
·
How
has reading this text shaped, changed, or reinforced your opinions about
capital punishment?
·
Thorough
annotations of Just Mercy.
·
A
written response to Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, We Need to Talk About an Injustice, on Rayburn’s blog (no matter
which English teacher you are assigned), www.rayburnenglish.blogspot.com, by 10 p.m. on Wednesday, August 9,
2016. This should be a minimum of 250
words.
·
A
paper between 750-1,000 words that addresses the elements listed in the box on
the previous side. This will be due on the first day of school and must be
submitted in hard copy.
·
Intelligent
conversations about both your readings when we return to school in August.
87 comments:
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk brings out a concept that many of us have talked about and may be personally affected by, the injustice of the system due to race and wealth. Stevenson however, brings it up in a way that we may have not looked at it, and by presenting facts about situations that he has closely worked with, Bryan Stevenson connects race and wealth to capital punishment. Capital punishment is only legal in certain states. However, capital punishment being limited to a specific amount of states does not take away from the fact that Hispanics and Blacks are still more likely to receive this punishment than white people are.
In our nation, “white privilege” is something that exists and has caused a tremendous amount of injustices to occur. Being white and/or rich means that you are less likely to be punished for a crime than if you were black, Hispanic, or poor. As a nation, we believe we have made progress. Progress in decreasing all types of inequalities that exist whether they are based on one’s economic status, race, gender, etc. When we compare ourselves to other countries, there are only a couple of countries in the world with the death penalty and the U.S. is one of them. How is it that other countries look up to the U.S. if it is one of the only countries in the world with such an unusual punishment? Not only does the death penalty single out the U.S., it also brings out the fact that white people and rich people are not receiving the same punishments as those who are non-whites and poor because they do not have the privileges and resources that the white and rich have. There is a great injustice when it comes to properly punishing people because the system favors the white and the rich. This injustice of the system is something that many do not want to acknowledge which leads to endless injustices occurring regarding blacks and Hispanics. People need to challenge these injustices, so race and socioeconomic status are not determining factors of how culpable someone is.
Injustice in the American criminal justice system unfortunately continues to exist, and it is frequently perpetrated by the prejudice and discrimination originating from preconceived notions of a particular group of people. In his TED talk “We need to talk about injustice,” Bryan Stevenson focuses on how the inequity of the justice system specifically and disproportionately tends to affect African Americans and poor people more than any other group. Unfortunately though, it is not especially surprising to hear about how, especially in the south, African Americans tend to constitute the majority of inmates in prison since microaggressions and prejudice play out in everyday life and in the courtroom. It is infuriating to consider how prejudice has led to the indictment and imprisonment of innocent people, as was the case for Walter McMillian who was wrongly accused of a murder he could not have possibly committed. Microaggressions and blatant discrimination also occur more often than they should, as evidenced by Stevenson’s personal account of being questioned for listening to music in his car or for being yelled at because of his presence in a courtroom in which he had every right to be in, which he describes in his book Just Mercy. These lamentable realities make the identity and character of the United States exceptionally clear. The American criminal justice system desperately needs reform so that people of color, lower socioeconomic status or those suffering from a mental disability receive a fair trial and true justice in order to stop the consistent marginalization and stigma associated with people affected by these conditions of life. Although Stevenson gave this TED talk about five years ago, the themes he discusses continue to remain relevant, especially since even today, it is difficult to get the United States and its political leaders to admit and talk about historical mistakes and societal problems currently affecting the country. Racism and prejudice, among other issues, are characteristic of modern American society, and they continues to unfairly affect the justice system, proving that the United States needs reform and regulations to curtail injustice.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk is amazing and eye opening to say the least. Stevenson takes on a rather unique and interesting approach to the concept of criminal justice. We are demonstrated how in a lot of criminal cases, people are judged based on their identity, most of which are things that they do not have control over such as wealth and race. Stevenson particularly chooses to discuss those that are poor and african american. He questions whether the circumstances and consequences would be different if the people on trial were white and wealthy. He takes these thoughts into action when he is representing a young 14 year old male who is on trial. He questions the judge and asks him to think of the situation in one where the boy was white, and if he would see the trial the same. This makes the judge upset as well as other people in the court. This sparks to the problem with society today as stated by Stevenson. People are not willing to discuss the bias present that unknowingly causes there to be injustice in the criminal system. The unwillingness to address this problem is the reason why there continues to be a higher percentage of african americans and people living in poverty in prisons today. Stevenson believes that this problem should be addressed and fixed because it is no coincidence that those who are poor and of color are more likely to be in jail. Stevenson believed that identity is everything, but that in some cases our identity is also the reason why we are victims of injustice.
Identity is Bryan Stevenson Ted talk is what revolves his whole entire argument. Identity is based on the interior of ones personality, but Stevenson specifically says it's the inner emotion and the inner personality that creates the identity that can make a difference. This was an idea I had recognized before watching the Ted talk, but after watching the talk I understood that having the specific right identity can then change great mistakes. Our court and justice systems have proven to be ineffective regarding how we judge and convict those who commit a crime. There are times when doing the right thing is difficult but Stevenson conveys that once we are able to accept that doing the right thing even when it's the hard thing is ideal then we begin to create our own identity. Our own identity because having the ability states earlier is presented as rare and unique and Stevenson lets us know that it is what leads to change. He also brings up the fact that the United States has the highest incarceration rate. Just hearing that makes you question why that is and if we really have so many bad people on our country. Theses questions start to be answered when Stevenson states the contrast between the poor and guilty and the rich and guilty. Society fails to capture how much we actually fall into theses two things in our heads during our trials etc. one must assume that if that person is rich and wealthy then he or she is of good heart because they possibly don't have reason to do wrong. Then we face a he or she that is poor and steals etc and the society must think well he or she is bad and a harm to our society. We fail to think well this person has to do this crime to live or have something to share unlike the rich man or woman who has all. This whole idea again revolves around Stevenson main point:identity. How one is and how we choose to be determines how our society is and how we convict others. Continuing his talk Stevenson brings up a more complex idea such as humanity. Do people deserve to die or do we deserve to kill ? This made me think that possibly the death penalty and death role is not the issue but in reality us because don't think we are ready or will ever be ready to decide weather someone gets to live or die. There is too much bias on race, gender, and more, and one can never truly understand another person if they have never been through what they have been through or as Stevenson says it, full humanity can't happen unless opened to suffering. Which is something I agree with because going through tough times and difficult situations crests humble hearts as preserving creates ambition and conviction; the right kind of identity. Now it is not a surprise that people don't like to talk about their problems much less the problems of others if they are much worse then their own, but Bryan speaks on how this can become an issue in our courts and in daily life. When one decides to not talk about problems one then tends to ignore them and that ignorance affects those who face the terror of injustice. It might be hard to admit that we as citizens of this country are at fault for such errors of wrong conviction,but this Ted talk implies that accepting truth is hard but must be done so one can see our true mistakes. Ignorance is sometimes on purpose and other times on accident,but regardless the effect is the same. This Ted talk had a very interesting point and it was the idea that leaves you to think how much our society needs to change and it's the idea of a mind and heart connection. There must be a balnce between how much we feel and how much we think critically about something. When that balance is established and one sees the light and the darkness and feel the same and views them the same then the true identity is created. The right kind of identity is established and the right justice system can begin to be established as well.
Bryan Stevenson brings to attention that we need to stop avoiding and refusing to talk about our problems to solve the injustice that he talks about in his TED talk. We as a nation ignore our problems, which lead to the weakness in our identity. This is caused by the problems of failing to acknowledge the poor more and letting injustice continue. Typically the ones the bottom of the social triangle have no voice and are being affected by the criminal justice system; compared to the wealthy, the poor are seen as less in this system. Most times it's whites vs colored people and the whites have more benefit due to our flaw of failing to acknowledge one as more than their appearance and economic status. White people tend to escape severe punishment compared to a black person, which is known as "white privilege". Stevenson explains the statistics of the people on the death row and how most of them are people of color. People are judge by their identity such as race and weath. A way to solve this problem is by realizing the good in people instead of just their identity and appearance. It will help those being treated unfairly and help see the potential that they have within them. We need to take a step away from materialism and being biased and focus on the idea of changing our criminal justice system and identity as a nation to drive away from the negative views that we have and to keep the injustice from happening over and over.
The obvious argument against the death penalty is what gives us as human beings the right to decide when the life of another human being should end. Now many of these human beings on trial have committed henious crimes but at the end of the day they are human beings and why should another human being get to decide when to kill one human being. It contradicts, but of course the argument for the death penalty is an eye for an eye; if one person kills than they should be killed too. Out of the 50 states in the United States, 31 have capital punishment as a legal option. Worldwide only 23 countries as of 2016 have enforced capital punishment ( deathpenaltyinfo.org). During Bryan Stevenson's TED talk, Stevenson talks about how when he visited Germany they did not use capital punishment, now due to their dark history this is no surprise, however they are not alone in the world for only 23 countries do not share their lack of a death penalty. Now another argument that Stevenson brings up in his TED talk is how the justice system in America favors white people. Now while many believe this statement to be true, it is not the only advantage some people get in court, for many people have an upper edge due to their economic status and fame. An example of this could be the trial of O.J. Simpson who was tried for murder and during the trial many believe enough evidence was presented to find him guilty, however, he was acquitted of all charges, and many believe it to be due to who he was. It is hard to argue that had it been any other person with less fame, regardless of race, would have been found guilty. In his TED talk, Stevenson talks about how people must come together to combat this type of injustice that still occurs in courts in America today. Now with Simpson recently being granted parole, it is interesting to see a man who many believe is guitly have an opportunity to walk free. Now Simpson's case was a rare case in terms of a minory ethnic person being given special treatment due to wealth but this injustice is not rare. Returning to the topic of capital punishment, I personally do not agree with it. In the TED talk Stevenson asks, "what gives a judge the power to make a child an adult?" Well I ask, "what gives a court the power to decide when a person's life should end?" At the end of the day I believe the worst crimes should be punished with life in prison like Germany and many other countries in the world do.
Nothing in the world gives us the right to decide a person's life and whether they should live or die, Stevenson brings major attention to this conflict of how the US's so called "Justice System" is deeply flawed in punishing "criminals" who may not have even actually have been guilty in the first place and deciding on whether they should spend the rest of their lives in prison or attain the death penalty. In a conversation that Stevenson had with a German citizen, they had clearly stated that Germany does not have the death penalty because of the nation's history. If they had announced that they would now have executions for criminals, it would only bring back the terrible identity of Germany's history and how it would destroy the nation. With the Us allowing for these executions to exist in the nation, it would only make others perceive americans as evil as those before. The discrimination and injustice present in the system ends up destroying not only the reputation and identity of the nation, but those who are convicted as well. Whether innocent or guilty, the identity of those who are put under judgment is tainted with crimes that they many have not even done, effectively applying negative views towards not only of the defendant, but also the defendants background, especially colored and economically low backgrounds. Those of color and economically low backgrounds are more at risk of being incarcerated. The justice system is conflicting with small communities of those of color and receive a disadvantage in court because they are unable to receive better views from the audience and are falsely believed to be guilty and sentenced to the death penalty. unfortunately, the conflict still exist today as more and more innocents are sentenced. One can only hope that the system changes and the victims can be saved from false accusations.
Bryan Stevenson brings to my attention that when we see something or someone being done unfair, we should defend them and make the person giving them unfair treatment to think about their actions in a different way. In our world today, people are still being judged by the color and social class. Being rich and white lets those people have more advantages than those who are black and poor, which is known as "white privilege." When Bryan Stevenson was in the courtroom with the 14 year old, he brought attention to the judge and the audience that "what if he was white" and this immediately had upset the judge and the people inside the court room. They all had something to say about his comment, which automatically gave Stevenson a good point in the comment he said because everyone in the courtroom started talking. We need to start speaking up for one another and not keep quiet in an unfair situation. We cannot be afraid to stand up for others because we are all equal. It is unfair for those of color and that are poor to have an even greater disadvantage in the courtroom because of their background. I'm glad that Bryan Stevenson is doing what he is doing because it's unfair for one to be treated less than others because of their identity. Not everyone has it easy, we all have made mistakes and we shouldn't be reminded of them every single day. This TED talk only makes me want to tell people that we cannot continue to falsely believe that the people who are of color and poor to be automatically guilty. We should be able to change the bias people have created towards those of colors which cause greater injustice in the criminal system. Our identity is what makes us, us, but sometimes our identity can be the reason why we are treated unfairly and witnesses to injustice.
Bryan Stevenson's TED talk, "We Need to Talk About an Injustice", has made me question why have I not been informed about this topic at school before or simply heard someone speak of it. I am horrified about the thought that children as young as thirteen years old are being trialled as adults for life imprisonment. The amount of unfairness we proceed to allow in our own country by sympathizing the rich and guilty, rather than the poor and innocent. As a developed country that should set an example for those that look up to our accomplishments, we fail to confront the corruption in our system of justice. As a country we are unwilling to talk about the injustice between race and wealth so that we will not offend others. We keep introducing new technology in order to shadow our failure as a society. In matter of fact, uneducated videos on social media receive millions of views within a matter of days, yet this informational discussion only received 672 thousand views in the last five years. Stevenson challenges the system by bringing the idea that poverty is justice; color should not define the amount of rights that they receive. As a country we should re-identify ourselves by finding alternatives on how to help those in jail, rather then determining ourselves to have control over ones life over their past mistakes. Stevenson points out that we should do more for the ones in jail rather then less. We get carried away by the death penalty by shaming them away and deciding wether or not these people deserve to die for their crimes. The fact that this topic is not talked about often, makes people decide to not care for it because they think it is not their problem. However, it is! We must come together to talk about these topics in order to reach humanity in us and make some progress. We must realize that our humanity depends on others humanity. Dignity must be respected by law no matter what the situation is.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk is one that all Americans should watch watch given the political climate of the United States and the fact that a majority of people in positions of power in this country identify with the statement, “Make America Great Again”. Despite that fact that Stevenson does not fully explain how people of color and the impoverished were forced into being disadvantaged when it comes to the outcome of the criminal justice system, he does state that it is due to the fact that the entire history of the US is ignored by white people of high socioeconomic status who have the most potential to correct a system that is said to be centered on fairness yet goes against that everyday. Examples of this corruption that Stevenson provides are the alarmingly high rates at which African Americans are incarcerated in comparison with white people, the fact that children are tried as adults and sometimes charged with life sentences without parole, and the disenfranchisement of people in certain states just because of a criminal conviction, and when people say the want to “make america great again” it really means they envision an America where our blood stained and tear ridden history repeats itself. A history where white people kidnapped, killed, enslaved, disenfranchised and stole from people whose only real difference from them was an increase in melanin. Stevenson wants a future where people learn from our history, how it still affects us, how it puts some at a disadvantage and others at an advantage when it comes to the justice system and in society in general. He explains that fixing this severe injustice will be difficult, but he also explains that it is something that must be done for the sake of humanity and that we have got to be “brave, brave, brave.”
Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk in two words: honest and straightforward. People tend to forget how much history has shaped the future since the 1880’s. That “future” is now. The injustices accounted years ago are still being talked about to this day, yet the injustice of our government's criminal justice system today has done nothing but terrorize those who are of color, those who are of low-income families, those who have no wish to become something they are not based off what another person says. Stevenson mentions how technology is shadowing the abuse and the struggle that the world is encountering because the positive outweighs the bad. But should that be the way life is lived? Should technology really be the highlight of our country? “We the people” have to learn about the injustices of the world by the fact acting laws that are passed, the news, and sometimes, horrifically, but not surprisingly, social media. We are aware what is happening based on the technologies that we the ones hiding away the truths of what is really going on with the world we live in. The facts and statistics Stevenson is able to provide shows how much he is trying to get everyone’s attention, so a change can be sparked throughout many communities. In the beginning of his TED Talk, Stevenson states that the ideas of the people who do TED talks become “meaningful.” The fact that Stevenson has to talk for TED in order for himself to feel like what he has to say about the injustices of our government's criminal justice system should say something. That “something” is the understanding that not everyone listens until you do it in the most popular way, so that everyone can hear you and fully understand that what you say does mean something. At the end of this TED talk, Stevenson finishes with “Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.” This high-strong statement is not just for listeners, but for those who are threatened by the government's corrupt criminal justice system facing life in prison without parole or, even the most threatening of them all, death row. Stevenson is talking to those people in specific, because Stevenson and among others, people are trying to find the justice they truly need.
Bryan Stevenson brings to our attention that we need to stop avoiding our problems within our community and to speak up and, fight for justice to those who truly deserve it, in which he mentions in his TED talk. As a Nation we tend to ignore the problems that usually make us weak all together. This results in the problems of failing to acknowledge the poor and letting injustice continue within our Nation. In many cases people of color and people who are poor have less to say and are condemned to a longer time in jail in the criminal justice system. And those who are wealthy, and are white seem superior and get less jail time, just because they're in the upper class. Many times lawyers see how a judge treats their client based on their skin color, as much as they fight for justice many judges are stereotypical and will go with the "traditional punishment ". The community notices the injustice, and it triggers a community as a whole causing violence. Many times with colored people, they're fighting for justice within their race and white people violate their beliefs causing tension, and making colored people the cause of all problems, but that's not the case. White people tend to escape punishment compared to a black person, which is known as "white privilege". Stevenson explains how the people on the death row are mostly people of color. People get judge by their money and race. A way to end all problems is by everyone hearing people's stories and realizing who they actually are. It will help those being treated unfairly and help seek justice once in for all. Our Nation as whole needs to stop stereotyping people and focus on the big issues we have. The criminal justice systems needs to be something that is spoken of in a positive way and not a negative. Everyone in the world needs justice, equality, and peace. No one deserves to be treated unfairly by the way they look or their economic status. Stevenson sends a clear message to everyone in his Ted talk, everyone should fight for their rights and everyone should have justice.
The United States was founded with the thought of becoming “a land of opportunity”. However, as time passed on, we have lost sight of the struggles each one of us had to endure to get to the position we have reached today. Our country has for centuries been divided based on wars, race, and decisions. Due to those internal tensions that haunt our past and pertain to our future, our society has struggled to come together even in the darkest of times. In Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, We Need to Talk About an Injustice, his opening words were “Always do the right thing even when the right thing is the hard thing.” As a lawyer, Stevenson has seen numerous cases of incarcerated men and women, young and old, who are sentenced to wait and die in prison or through the death penalty. Throughout Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, he referred back to a single word: IDENTITY. Stevenson posed the question instead of asking the sensible question of whether people deserve to die due to their actions, do we deserve to kill? The United States, since the Cold War, has taken the role as a superpower as well as the world’s police power adding on to the thought that we must be the epitome of justice, justifying death. Stevenson stated, "We don’t like to talk about our history.", but when a woman in Germany said, " there is no way with our history we could ever engage in the systematic killing of human beings [referring back to the death penalty]”, it kindled the idea that a country tainted with the mass genocide of millions of Jews and other innocent lives can learn from their nations horrors and errors. We, as a society, must take initiative and open a conversation and become more aware on the rapid increase of incarceration rates as well as death penalties. We cannot fully ascribe to an identity if we are not more aware of poverty, race and misery. Our nation to become better and excel through our education and opportunities we must be courageous and embrace challenges. Like Bryan Stevenson’s final words, we will not be judged by the latest technology, designs or reason but through the character of society in its treatment of the poor and incarcerated.
The most important idea that Bryan Stevenson brought up was the idea of identity. I found it incredibly refreshing that he was willing to criticize the identity of the United States of America when this country is generally seen as this shining beacon of hope and freedom. The U.S. often portrays itself as the most powerful, noble, and just country out there, yet Stevenson sheds light on several dark truths that are pushed under the rug. Something that he brings up is the idea of wealth and race as factors of guilt rather than actual culpability, which is something I find terrifyingly accurate. I think people have become particularly vocal about this issue, especially with the increasingly powerful Black Lives Matter movement, yet people still ignore that blatant racism is denying people access to not only justice, but basic human rights as well. The United States refuses to acknowledge the sins of its past and instead continues to wear this facade that puts the U.S. as this all righteous power that can do no wrong. It's basically like this: if the United States was a person, he would have such a God complex. This leads to the next point which is that the U.S.believes that they are justified in deciding who deserves to die through the use of the death penalty. Stevenson remarks that when discussing capital punishment, people often ask the question do people deserve to die for the crimes they’ve committed when really, the question we should be asking is do we deserve to kill? However, no one really asks this question since it's so much easier to pin the blame of this murder of the person who committed the crime rather than face the fact that through capital punishment, we, as a country, are killers. In a way, we’ve become no better than the people we sentence to death. Far too many innocent people are convicted for this kind of activity to ever be sensible, yet we still find a way to justify murder. To ignore the obvious faults the death penalty has is not only irresponsible, but careless. I thought about how the scholar from Germany said that they would never engage in systematic killing because of their country’s history and it occurred to me that there is a reason why the United States is okay with this punishment. It’s not because we didn’t kill people the way Germany did because that’s not true. We’ve been murdering people since the 1600s, starting with native genocide and continuing on with the countless murders of slaves and people of color. It’s because America is not ashamed of its past. There is an element of remorse that America lacks and that is the reason why the U.S. is okay with the death penalty. We, as a country, need to build up the courage to face the problems of both our past and present head on or else things will never get better. As Stevenson said, we have to be brave, brave, brave.
The common phrase from The Code of Hammurabi is "You take an eye for an eye." This ancient phrase has become outdated in which Stevenson talks about how the identity of the nation needs to become more courageous and take a stand for what is right. This brings up the idea that it takes more courage to forgive your enemies than to actually punish them for their wrongdoings. One of the key moments that stands out to me is when Stevenson's grandmother takes him out back and tells him "You need to always stand up for what is right no matter how hard it may be." Late in his speech he talks about how he has set up all these goals to change the justice system in many ways and he goes on a rant to Rosa Parks about the steps he is going to take in order to accomplish those goals and Parks repeats to him, "Oh honey you're going to be tired tired tired" and Cars repeats to him, "You're going to have to be brave brave brave". His identity in taking the harder, more difficult career path in order to fight for the social injustice in the south was influenced by his childhood very similar to how these children's lives are influenced by one wrong decision in their childhoods. Stevenson ultimately wants to help influence not only the viewer, but also the nation to be courageous because even though it might be tough, if we do not stand tall for those who cannot then we have truly lost our sense of moral and humanity.
Bryan Stevenson TED talk " We need to talk about an injustice" Stevenson discusses about how the powerless and powerful are treated differently in the criminal justice. In his talked he talked about how the low income people are more likely to be discriminated against and how this discrimination is continued through the criminal justice system from the point of arrest through sentencing. Also how individuals from poor backgrounds particularly those from black minority ethnic groups are being affected. The reason to this is because the criminal justice system is a system that works for their own benefit of power, Stevenson States "they treat you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent". Meaning that not every punishment fits the crime committed by the individual. There is an abundance of evidence that exposes and proves this today. The stories Stevenson shares with the readers in his book Just Mercy they are able to see how innocent people faced tremendous injustice. This reality mankind doesn't want to change, expresses how mankind does not want to accept the truth. In how our society has become more racially biased and the truth of injustice we make human beings go through. Moreover my perspective to Stevenson view of death row. I believe that our flawed practice of the capital punishment is something inhumane because I feel that every person should have the right and fair punishment based to their crime. Not to what we believe but what is right because we tend to believe that we should display our own kind of justice. When in reality we are just hurting back and not making justice. To add on we the society need to change our relationship with the law in order to persevere certain behaviors from leaders that are not making a change .
Brayan Stevenson left a strong impression on me with his talk on injustice. His voice was very calm and it was easy for me to understand why he chose to talk about the criminal justice system in America. I was surprised on how he learned more about the purpose of identity from his grandmother rather than law school. It shows how he was molded to be this person to stand up for others who have been misjudged, misheard, or not given a chance to speak for themselves. As a child he was taught how identity is powerful and should not be taken from another person. His focus on the criminal justice is necessary because 1 out of 9 people who are given the death penalty have been found to be innocent form their charges. I was also astonished to hear that the United States is the only country to allow children to be imprisoned for life without parole. If I was Bryan Stevenson in a courtroom defending a young boy, I would be shocked to even see the boy in a courtroom. I can see why people are losing their identity when children are being tried in a courtroom and given life in prison without parole. I do not agree that children should be treated like adults in a courtroom, but should understand the consequences of that crime in a different way. Children should never be given the death penalty no matter the crime because they haven’t even lived their lives. I do have a different opinion for adults. They should, in some circumstances, be given the death penalty. Adults have more knowledge of how life and justice work and should understand that the death penalty is necessary to those who have committed major crimes. Justice is similar to the saying of “an eye for an eye”. A murderer deserves death but a child does not.
Identity is defined as the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Bryan Stevenson focuses his talk, "We Need to Talk About an Injustice," on the power of identity and the fact that our identity as a nation is at risk. America was meant to be a land of opportunity and refuge for those in need, but it has become the country with the highest number of incarcerated people in the WORLD. Jails are trying to be kept full so that they won’t lose their funding, but are people being fairly detained? Probably not if they have colored skin or are impoverished. Stevenson brings up the fact that “wealth not culpability shapes the outcome,” and that’s where the injustice comes in. The system favors those who are powerful, and the rest of us are too scared to speak up because of the oppression that has continued to be a part of America’s history. As Americans, we should all be willing to accept the challenges of confrontation because it won’t ever be easy, but it’s the capacity of contribution that brings hope to those who aren’t willing to stand up for themselves. Humanity depends on everyone to do their part. Now on to the death penalty. I used to think of the death penalty as being dependent of the crime because I had no knowledge of the implications or the process. But Stevenson said that even a killer isn’t JUST a killer. There is always more to people than what we see, and he posed the question, “do we deserve to kill?” Who gave us the right to decide when we should take away someone’s life solely based on their actions. There is always another way out of things but people are too ignorant to consider another way around them. That injustice and lack of consideration only fosters more people victimized by crime. Also, the fact that our country will put KIDS in prison for LIFE without parole, I mean COME ON, they’re kids for heaven’s sake! They are in their prime time and it’s a time to learn and grow, but these kids are being denied the opportunity to even try. This country has gone in the opposite direction of prosperity, and yet people don’t say anything about it. This is where saving our humanity through compassion and justice comes in in order to stop turning people into something they’re not because we don’t actually have the magical powers to do that.
Bryan Stevenson beautifully and articulately brings up several critical points regarding the harsh truths of our nation’s past and its succeeding identity. He outrightly brings to light the difficult truth that “wealth not culpability shapes outcomes”. This of course implies that the privileged can and will remain unscathed in today’s society. This created a disconnect as Stevenson explains between our nations past and present. If the privileged can do as they please without repercussions, is this nation truly committed to upholding that “all men are created equal” therefore guaranteed all the same “freedom, liberty and justice”? These difficult questions are exactly the ones that cause an uproar in today’s society. Stevenson acknowledges the collective difficulty we find in talking about race, poverty and their subsequent effects on our lives. I’ll even admit that up until recently I found myself having difficulty in learning about my own oppression. Nonetheless, educating ourselves is most certainly the best first step in effecting change. Stevenson brings up his own example to showcase this. He explains that when he was in Germany discussing capital punishment his German colleagues clearly understood that given their nation’s history they could never even fathom having such a punishment. This is the disconnect that the U.S. is dealing with currently. The fact that all the statistics Stevenson presented about mass incarceration and its connections to POC and socioeconomic status even exist prove there is much more work to be done. At the beginning of his talk, Stevenson talks about inflicting your words with humanity to reach something bigger than yourself. This message stuck to the back of my head throughout his talk because it truly did compel me that much more to listen to what he was arguing. I was particularly impacted when he brought up the fact that our humanity depends on every single other persons. This is the mind and heart connection that he so implores us to find, for this is what will ultimately save our humanity.
Stevenson starts off the talk with his past and a conversation he had with his grandmother. It reveals to the audience how he grew up to shape his ideas and have the need to help others. One quote that really stuck out that his grandmother said was “do the right thing even if the right thing is hard.” This line reveals how Stevenson now does all he can to bring justice to those who were wrongly convicted. In his talk he speaks about poverty and race since these are major factors on what decides if a person must go to jail. He brings up how the U.S incarcerates many people who have not done any wrong and that the prejudices of people are what doom them to life in prison. This reveals the wrong of the justice system and how unwilling they are to help those type of people even if they are innocent. Stevenson also reveals how the U.S turns a blind eye on the wrongs of the death penalty and how it should not exist due to the history of the U.S, which people tend to ignore. He speaks about the justice he tries to bring to innocent people even though it is not the easiest, and he keeps pushing forward. He pushes forward despite how difficult it might be because he believes people have the right for a fair trial and that people shouldn’t suffer due to being a person of color or poor. Stevenson brings to the audience’s attention that the people of the U.S should be aware of the injustice and make a changes to stop it. I agree with Stevenson on how people need to become more aware of how the justice system really is and that it is not all that it seems. There are major problems with the justice system that many people tend to ignore because they are not affected by it. There is a large amount of incarcerated people in jail, which is not only adults but children as well. Having children sentenced to many years in prison is not only wrong but cruel as well since they no longer get to have a childhood. The justice system needs plenty of changes that might take many years but as long as there are people to challenge injustice, changes can be made
We are the home of the brave. However, the nation is in an unbalanced scale where many are too brave to accept the faults that this nation has, and some are not brave enough to speak up for these faults. Bryan Stevenson is different though, he acknowledges these faults and he highlights them, so that our nation can no longer be a “disconnect” between the rich and the poor, the white and the color, and the proud and the humble. Throughout his TED talk, Bryan Stevenson, goes about the injustice of our justice system, but he does so with a growth mindset. He believes that poverty, ethnicity, and location are seen as factors by the law to have enough evidence to lock someone up. He believes that these factors are being seen as the big picture, when really they are not the real reason why someone should be on death penalty. Identity is not taken into consideration, hope is not taken into consideration, and will is not taken into consideration. Someone’s identity is not formed by ONE act, and who they can become is never seen if they are identified with one label. Hope is not mentioned in the courtroom, the hope to change, to learn, and to forgive that we have mistaken. No I am not talking about a “killer” committing one or two mistakes and being forgiven, but rather I am talking about the mistakes that are made by the court. The innocent being sentenced to life in prison, the innocent being killed in an electric chair. Where is the hope to change? The will to change? The will to accept that our court rooms have a place to grow, that our judges are not always right, and overall that the home of the brave cannot become the land where faults are not acknowledged.
Bryant Castro
As a child we are made to believe that we live in a fun and free world. This idea starts to slowly fade away as people try and manipulate the judicial system. Bryan Stevenson is known to be a lawyer fighting against injustices within the community. During his TED talk, he spoke a lot about identity and the history of racial hate that continues to repeat itself. A phrase that really stood out to me was " the opposite of poverty isn't wealth..it's justice". Throughout time the black society has suffered inequality due to widespread racism. When a crime was committed by a wealthy white man he would easily get away with it, but blacks would instantly get incarcerated with poor judgment. Wealth indeed does separate people, but it creates even greater problems when the wealthy try to alter "justice". Money and power have the potential to change or even ruin justice for racial minorities. If racial problems involving false accusations and poor judgement are left ignored, America won't represent "freedom" anymore, it'll kindle fear on non whites. Bryan stevenson's grandmother made him feel special and promise to never do drugs or alcohol. He has kept his promise and stayed away from all drugs to be the good person his grandmother wished for him to be. Influences, experiences, and people help form one's identidy. He uses the chance to speak to the world through TED talk to inform people of how it's up to them to stand up and protect the community. Injustice in the justice system not only affects those in court, or in the crime scene, it affects the future and the community.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk emphasizes on the idea of the damage the justice system has caused not only to the victims but also in our nation. Stevenson begins with the concept of identity and what that means to him. Identity is not based on appearance or assumptions but is instead a label that is given based on where a person comes from and the impact they want to have on other people, as well as the values they live by. He also mentions how, “rich and guilty treats you better than poor and innocent”, shows the failure of the justice system to fulfill what the constitution states by saying, “All men are created equal”, and instead focuses on wealth and social status to decide the faith of those on trial. These people placed in unfair trials are people put behind bars and taken from the society based not on whether they are guilty or innocent, but because of what neighborhood they live and the color of their skin. Our country follows stereotypes that deny the liberty of those incarcerated and denies the right to a fair trial to those who do not meet the standards of “white and rich”. Also, Stevenson brings up an important point in mentioning how even with the history of the slaves and people who suffered due to an injustice, the justice system still decides to punish and execute people unfairly, even by treating a child as an adult in court. Finally, Stevenson strongly believes that “the opposite of poverty is justice” and we have seen this statement because there is this idea that social classes is what determines the faith of a person and decides on when their life could be taken away through the death penalty. The United States continues to spend money on many detention facilities nationwide and does not address the problem directly through using that money for counseling and helping the mental health of those incarcerated or fix the conditions inside these facilities. Our nation depicts these jails and the justice system as a way to obtain a profit and does not follow the guidelines of “The land of the free” and Stevenson encourages us to be “brave, brave, brave” and not be a follower and instead be a leader for the innocent.
Bryan Stevenson acknowledges the idea of identity in our society. The criminal justice system also plays a role in our identity as a country, revealing how we deal with criminals in various ways. I was shocked to hear that children as young as 14 could be sent to life without parole as any other adult who might have committed the same crime. Stevenson is representing a child for a crime he committed, but it does not feel right to imprison someone so young. We as humans don't have the right to decide one's life or death, yet the justice system continues to punish people who may not even be guilty. There is so much inequality in the American society that even the poor and the colored are vulnerable to the justice system, especially when there are people who have not committed a crime. However, Americans do not take into consideration the lives of the others because they simply do not know the person and it is not their burden. We ignore the injustice and carry on with our lives which is an issue regarding our identity as a country. Stevenson compares us to Germany where they do not have the death penalty because it was a cruel punishment. Several states in America have this penalty which makes us sound cruel to our citizens, especially if the person is not guilty of a crime. We as a country do not realize the corruption that continues to grow as time passes or perhaps we do realize it, but we choose not to look into it because it is the way our criminal justice system should work. I am terrified that this injustice will continue, I am also surprised that I have not heard of this issue until now. Our identity is not only important to us as individuals, but as a country and the many innocent lives. We are all human, so “do we deserve to kill?”
Bryan Stevenson brings out points that many of us fail to recognize or acknowledge. People tend to be ignorant on race, inequality, and the justice system in America and act like everything is fine or just do not want to discuss these matters because it does not involve them. Stevenson's TED talk is something everyone should watch because what he explains and discusses is something people should be more aware of. This is a nation based on freedom and liberty, but we are locking up people based on their race and by the most simplest mistakes. Stevenson states how we do not help the victimized in situations and instead just lock up or even kill the offender because people do not want to take the time to put into people and make things right since it is easier for one to just get rid of what caused the problem instead of actually fixing the cause. People seem to be quick to label others and feel like they already have someone figured out with just knowing one part of someone's life, but they fail to realize that one is not defined by one error they have made not matter how big or small. Stevenson said how if someone lies, "they're not just a liar," and if someone kills, "[they're] not just a killer" because one does not automatically identify with just one part of their lives or with just crime. I have noticed that society does not quickly label a person as amazing when they do a random act of kindness, but once someone slips up and breaks a rule, they are considered a threat to society, and this is mainly towards people of color. There have been times where a person of color has committed one crime, and they are either sentenced to life in jail or death while someone who is white is labeled as mentally unstable and are sent to get mental help instead of thrown in jail like any other person who has committed a crime. I believe that what Stevenson has discussed is something we all should be talking about more often because it seems that race and inequality have become problems and no one seems to be finding solutions in making things better.
Bryan Stevenson has allowed himself to engage with people that aren't fortunate enough to have a second chance when ordered to be punished for their crime. Bryan Stevenson looks up to his grandmother as a powerful and hopeful women. When Bryan Stevenson was younger his grandmother once told him that “you could do anything you want to do.” Later in life Bryan Stevenson made the choice to become a successful lawyer and help the people in low income communities and many young people of color who have been sent to death row. Bryan wanted to get them out of their problems and help them build an identity. Over the past 40 years the amount of people in jail have changed significantly, but the most absurd thing about it is that they are mainly men of color who come from poor places. Bryan Stevenson believes that “wealth, not culpability shapes outcomes.” It’s hard for many poor people to receive the kind of help that a more wealthy person receives in the courtroom. Bryan Stevenson wants us to change the way we look at the punishments that young people are receiving and look for alternatives so that we won’t have to be so cruel to a human being. This TED talk opens our minds to the other side of the world, many times we are so attached to the technology around us. That we never have the time to look at the other side of innovation, which is poverty, suffering, and abuse.
-Diego Alvarez
Bryan Stevenson’s speech acknowledges the truth about the injustice within today's justice system. Throughout the nation individuals of color and poverty fall victim to police brutality. These victims are forced to endure cruel treatment from law enforcements, many being wrongly convicted of crimes they never committed. Stevenson brings awareness to the fact our nation fails to notice that people are more likely to be treated better if they were “rich and guilty” than if they were “poor and innocent”. He states that young people of color are more likely to be given harsh sentences than those who are white. Imagine, children the same age as your siblings, being blamed for acts they never committed. The thought of such a thing leaves you to think how can someone ruin the life of an innocent child, but soon you realize that this isn't the first time the United States has a history of such inhuman treatment. In Stevensons speech he begins to explain that our nation would rather blind themselves of the truth, than to learn from their past. The U.S has a dark history in which people of color were being forced into enduring such cruel treatment from white people, and sadly today history remains to repeat itself. Bryan talks about about how Germany refuses to allow the death penalty to function in their nation, given their history the idea of ending someone's life is the most inhuman thing to ever do. The fact that other countries, who have gone through similar issues of immoral treatment towards individuals, refuse to continue such acts is ultimately embarrassing for the United States. The U.S is a nation that many hope to find sanctuary, yet that doesn't happen because of the fact that they will be judged and treated just as they were from where they fled. This country should be a prime example of justice to other countries, we should be the ones to show them that the past is the past, but the future will be better. However that is not the case, Bryan Stevenson's Ted Talk brings about the social issues our country faces, and the solutions to ending an era of injustice. -Kassandra Garcia
We live in the land of the free, but we are the country with the most incarcerated individuals, and with the most people on death row. Bryan Stevenson brings up this topic in his TED talk because it is what he is fighting against. He does believe in that when someone has done something wrong it is only fair to punish them and have them be away from the world and society for a while, but he does not believe in someone deciding the end of someone's life. He brings up a case of his where he had to be a lawyer for a 13 year old kid that was sentenced for life in prison. He says that one night he sent the court a letter where if they could judge a kid like an adult, then he, Bryan Stevenson, could say that the kid is an old rich white man. He said this because in this world money is power, and sometimes when a wealthy individual steps into the box, well then the rules can get manipulated and the rules can get even more bent by the persons race. It's ridiculous but it's true, "we have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than poor and innocent", says Bryan Stevenson, he also says that "34% of the black males in Alabama have lost the right to vote" all because they are of the minority group and since this 34% isn't rich, well they are nothing to worry about according to the judicial system. Sadly most of the people in this country and the world don't know if these injustices because we are too attached to our technology and our own problems that we don't look into the problems of others like we should. The inequality in this world has not decreased much and in Bryan Stevensons TED talk our minds open up and realize that inequality exists even in the places where they shouldn't. Stevenson says one of the things his grandmother always wanted him to do through out his life was to "do the right thing, even if the right thing is the hard thing", Stevenson decided to keep doing this and taking up the challenge of speaking out what he thought about the injustices in the judicial system. What Bryan Stevenson learned from his grandmother is something we should all implement into our lives.
Bryan Stevenson argues how people don't worry about what goes on around them. They tend to ignore racism, discrimination, abuse, injustice and focus in unimportant things that don't benefit our society. People of color tend to have fewer rights than everyone else which is disappointing because we are all people we are all humans. Color and race should not determine who's more important or who is better or who should get the most help. Its sad to see how thirteen year olds are being charged as adults like that shouldn't be happening doesn't matter how big or small the crime is. That's why Stevenson's grandmother told him he has the potential to help the society. We all gotta stand up for those who are being silenced those who are treated unfairly with no explanation. We should be focusing on how cruel our world has been and is turning into. We should not watch the world be torn into pieces. We can't lay back and see in front of us how people are being treated or charged. Stevenson inspires people to do something to open their eyes and not watch the world be torn. Racism, color, background, race, and ethnicity shouldn't determine who's more important and who is more powerful we are all humans we are all the same we are not different from each other. People should realize that we are all living in the same world we all have a place here in our society. We are all trying to live and be safe where we are. Stevenson makes the point clear how wealth matters to people and how that unfairly determines who is getting helped the most and who has a better opportunity which it shouldn't be that way. I don't know why people are so cruel if we are all the same we are humans and color should never matter. This TED talk informs us about how our society is and how unfair people are being charged. It opened my eyes and made me realize how you never hear people talking about topics like this you never hear things like this going around people ignore this especially if it doesn't have to do with them it shouldn't be that way we should be more informed and we should try to help our society.
- Evelyn Peralta
My relatives from Mexico always tell me that I am lucky to live in the United States. According to them, there are many advantages to being born and raised in such a diverse and powerful country. As a young American, I partly agree with their statement. I agree with the fact that I have advantages; I am exposed to a diverse living style and cultures. However, I do not believe I am lucky to live in the United States. For most, the United States looks like a paradise where all dreams are achieved, but it is not. Ever since I can remember the United States has had multiple problems but instead of solving them, we ignore them and focus on other irrelevant issues such as Hollywood breakups. In Bryan Stevenson’s, “We Need to Talk About an Injustice” TED talk, he informs people about the unfairness behind today’s justice system. Stevenson mentions how the United States is the only country in the world where 13-year olds are sentenced to die in prison. This statement frustrates me because I cannot believe that a child is punished in this cruel way. At 13 years old, I was attending weekly volleyball practices and planning to see the One Direction movie with my friends. At this age, I wanted to take advantage of the little freedom my parents were giving me. Unfortunately, this freedom is taken away at this age. Stevenson also proposes the question, “Do we [people] deserve to kill?” Personally I believe people do not deserve to kill, for this reason I am against the monstrous punishment of sentencing people to die in prison. The reason why I believe this is because one does not get to decide when and how to take someone’s life.
Bryan Stevenson's TED talk about injustice in America is just a reality check to everyone in America. Stevenson brings up in this TED talk that injustice sadly still us a thing in our justice system and that most of it comes from scenarios dealing with race, and Stevenson's argument points out that the truth is in our justice system if you are not white or wealthy you will more then likely be punished in a a lot more critically then usual. Stevenson backs up this argument by telling us about a case he had, where a African American 14 year old boy was being sentenced to a long sentence in prison, and points out that with out any hesitation the judge of this court case automatically makes this young boy; who is not ready what so ever; into a man. Stevenson tells us that he pointed out how crazy this action was and was automatically bombarded by this judge when walking into the court room because the judge and many others in the room did not want to believe the harsh reality of our justice system. Stevenson also speaks about how in Germany they do not have the death penalty and that if they did many would oppose of that because of their history, because say there was someone that was jewish and had the death penalty everyone would be angry that Germany would once again be killing jewish people. In America the same exact thing is actually happening, but no one is saying anything. Stevenson tells us that America is slowly leaning back to the slavery days and is angry that no one is saying anything. Stevenson brings an argument to the table that everyone is scared to touch up on, but in this argument he makes sure he Is honest and gets to the point so that everyone knows the truth and how damaged or criminal justice system is.
Injustice is everywhere, but it is up to us as a society and as a whole to recognize and not turn a blind eye when we are confronted with the topic. Bryan Stevenson does a wonderful job highlighting and pinpointing at the fact that injustice has corrupted this country then and now. In his TED talk, Stevenson stated that "the opposite of poverty is not wealth, but justice" which is a hard fact that many of us ignore. America is a rich mans' vision but a poor mans' prison. Ultimately, the less privileged you are the more inclined you are to be exposed to the injustices in this country because in the eyes of the corrupt, you are easier to blame being that you are of no fortune, you are equivalent to no value which is detrimental to our society. It is truly astonishing that because of someones race or background, it determines the type of punishment the person will receive. Throughout his TED talk, the factors Stevenson mentioned in regards to wealth and race only made me divert to the Brock Turner case, where he was given only two months for rape, and his back story was that he was a swimmer at Stanford University, but a black male faced the death penalty for a crime he did not commit, and thousands of black males are doing hard times in prison for weed possession have a back story of a mugshot and become labeled as a thug. We have to do better as a country. Instead of opening our eyes I believe it is time to open our mouths and let our voices perform for true justice. We continuously learn history so that the horrors that happened then will not happen again and I believe that Stevenson is trying to get us to realize that. Our system is corrupt and built off of racism, prejudice, and abused power, so it is our duty as people to turn and flip that around, but how can we if we are allowing our system to throw children in the death penalty, hindering their opportunities of developing and not giving them the help they need to grow and mature. Our change begins with us, and as Stevenson stated, "The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned."
In Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, We Need to Talk About an Injustice, he shares his very strong thoughts about the death penalty and also the way people decide on how someone is going get punished for what they have done. Stevenson starts off with telling us the how the identity of one can decided a lot. Someone who is white and wealthy has a better chance with getting a smaller punishment than African American who lives in poverty. Sometimes people forget that where someone comes from or how they look like has an effect on their lives. He believes that the identity of someone can lead them to having a more chance in an unfair trial. For example, he had a case with an African American 14 year old male who was sentenced to life in prison. The judge saw this boy and gave him such a long sentence because she considered him a man which he was not ready for. Stevenson put up a fight for this case because he deserve more. He wrote to the judge what if he was white male who worked in a corporate would his sentence be different. Stevenson does not agree with how the court decisions because we should see people for more than their actions. He even mentions that a murder is not just a murder. As a society, we do not acknowledge this problem of injustice and Stevenson is just trying to get his point across to us and bring us to reality.
-Abby Estrada
Identity is power. Bryan Stevenson conveys this simple message throughout his TED talk. The Justice System itself is a prime example of hypocrisy. It is suppose to serve the very purpose of of finding fairness in crimes committed, but instead it opposes the it’s own definition. The system seems to be be corrupted by judgement of class, race, and other elements that may put a person at disadvantage. African-American, Latino, or any other race besides white seems to take upon a higher risk of injustice due to their identity. They are not as trusted as the whites are, which comes into terms that the Justice System is corrupted by racism in a way. I feel enraged that my own kind is being unfairly judged due to their race, why should race determine the innocence or the level of punishment for a person? Our country is crumbling down to a state of hypocrisy because we are wrongfully convicting people based on their physical identity. I used to feel safe with the authority and “justice” that existed, but now I see that at any point I could be convicted for something I didn’t do and all being because I am Hispanic. This begins to create fear, how are we to say we live in a country of freedom, when in many cases freedom is taken away from the wrong people. Race is not the only issue, it is poverty as well. People are being judged based on their economic status. It is viewed as if you are poor it would make you more desperate for resources, which is used to convict them of any crime close to them. Stevenson said something interesting where he mentioned that the opposite of poverty is justice. Interesting how the Law’s duty is to protect human rights but they tend to only protect those that they view worthy of protection. Our country will never reach the true meaning of Justice until everyone learns how to respect other’s identity.
Throughout Bryan Stevenson's TED talk I continued to rethink and try to answer " Do people deserve to die for the crimes they have committed?" and most importantly " but do we deserve to kill?" Stevenson does argue these questions by stating one of nine people on death row are proven innocent of a crime they were accused of. Revealing that the power to execute someone should be well thought out with compelling and concrete evidence in which the person who committed the crime is 100%, without a doubt guilty. There should not be cases in which someone like Bryan Stevenson has to spend countless years of investigating, and convincing the court of one mans innocence, such as Walter McMillian. It makes me question why is this punishment still emplaced when there are situations in which men are later proven innocent on death row? Why hasn't this power been taken away from the judges and juries? Why do some teach others not to kill, but there are also people who believe that justice is served through capital punishment? Stevenson wants communities to speak up and take initiative of the injustice in our communities, because if we continue to ignore problems such as these, and shy away from talking about our history, than we will never learn how to move forward, and we will continue to let history rewrite itself. For example, Bryan Stevenson reveals the 38% of black men have lost their right to vote in Alabama, violating the 15th amendment. Little by little actions such as these will continue to grow if we continue to remain silent.
In Bryan Stevenson's TED talk "We Need To Talk About Injustice" Stevenson brings light to the harsh truth about the justice system. Stevenson states that the justice system is biased based on race and wealth. Stevenson states that the justice system "treats you better if you're rich and guilty than poor and innocent". There's already a problem here we are all separated based on our wealth the rich tend to lean towards other rich people and poor tend the lean towards other poor people. Stevenson's comment also revolves around race where the rich is mostly white and the poor is mostly black. Racism is another thing that separates us as a society it's not hard to state that racism is still a thing today in 2017. Stevenson states that wealth and race determines the outcome of a punishment in the justice system. Stevenson had a case of a young African American boy who was given a harsh punishment and charged as an adult. Stevenson then wrote to the court asking if the punishment would've been different if the boy's identity was different. This note sparked a lot of controversy in the court for those who thought the punishment was justified. Throughout Stevenson's TED talk he constantly reminds us that identity is power and how we represent ourselves can have an impact on decisions. How we represent ourselves can also be what separates us some can represent themselves powerfully from how they look and others not so much therefore we shouldn't look at race or wealth while determining a punishment in the justice system Stevenson states that we all need to be treated equally I order to get the justice everyone deserves also if we change our mindsets we can all thrive as a nation
Bryan Stevenson starts of his TED talk by introducing the concept of identity, where he learned it, and what it means. As a foundation of his talk, Stevenson shares that, from his own family, he has learned to “always do the right thing even when the right thing is the hard thing.” This lesson clearly shaped Stevenson and his nonprofit work at the EJI, as he kept taking on as many cases as he could with the limited money and energy he and his coworkers had. Moreover, Stevenson explained his general goal, to motivate people and “get them to do the things they don't think they can do.” With this message, Stevenson segwayed into the criminal justice system to talk about its ironic injustice. It was very eye-opening to hear Stevenson talk about the clear correlation between incarceration and poor people as well as people of color. The prejudices that we as a society hold against these people are so harsh and undeserving, yet they still happen, sometimes on purpose and sometimes without awareness. Part of the problem is, as Stevenson mentioned, people think other’s problems are not their problems, which is a common misconception. Even though humans have the unusual power of sending someone as young as 13 to be killed in a jail, I believe humans also have the power to fight for these people or even just bring awareness about their existence, encouraging others to do the same, much like Bryan Stevenson has done during his career. Even in the changing society like the one we live in today, what we call justice is not always just. Empathy, which Stevenson brings up, is key to a more fair understanding of how the criminal justice system works and how it treats the people in it because it allows us to understand not only the progress we are making, but the suffering our society has gone through to get where we are. Like Stevenson says, “all of our survival is tied to the survival of everyone,” meaning our actions against someone else are actions that will impact the rest of society through influence, and more people need to become aware of this within our criminal justice system as well as our social interactions daily.
In Bryan Stevenson, TED talk he highlights the importance and how identity has changed over time. He explains to the audience the wise words his grandmother told him that soon changed his perspective on life " You need to always stand up for what is right no matter how hard it may be". He explain through his speech over a incident he faced of a" young14 yr African American" who was facing adult charges. He found this hysterically funny because within the "Criminal of Justice" one would expect justice to be serve equally and fair to the person but this young boy was unfairly trial all due to his race. Yes, if one commits a crime they should do the time, but is it gonna be driven to the point to where even a ticket can lead to you loosing your freedom for amount you have or the shade of your skin.This angered Stevenson because nothing was fair about this trial this boy was facing of life in prison without parol due to ignorant malicious people that let their pride get in front of their morals. He also explains how "wealth shapes the outcome" and how they would treat you better " if u were rich and guilty than if u were poor and innocent". This brought Stevenson to the point of exhaustion that he knew that a change had to be made and that humanity was lost and needed someone to open everyone eyes again. He did this by writing a motion where he exclaimed how if it was a white seventy year old man then all fair game would be given and a pardon would have probably been given. He also mocked the judges authority by saying how hysterical it was on how he changed this boy into a man with his words and how Stevenson apparently needed the power to comprehend his was of thinking. Stevenson motion cause an out roar in his community that many were affected that they showed up to the court to express their emotional stress they receive from the reality Stevenson was speaking. He revealed within his TED talk how when reality is confronted every seeks to deny the reality and will do anything in their power to obtain their own self desire. Race or the money should never determine the outcome of your mistake and everyone should be treated fair under the law and should share the same feeling of compassion towards one another. Stevenson was a spark to creating a flame to reveal to those in power how "the land of dreams" has turned to the "the land of the rich and white" by excluding the rest by doing anything their power to remain the head of the body. Revealing to us how we have to stand tall and fight and how we're "going have to be brave brave brave" to restore the peace and equality this country needs in order to prosper and be united.
Bryan steven's TED talk brings up the idea that people often tend to shut out information that opens them up to the harsh reality that is plaguing our nation. Stevenson explains, in a personal level through his work, how most people tend to shy away from information that makes them feel unconfortable. Rather than taking the information and putting it to action, we rather begin to argue and simply talk about the issue and hope for someone else to put it to action and just follow. This is because we naturally do not want to hear something wrong with our "great" country, or rather most do not want to see the reality in which we live in. We have the notion that when information is given in large number that someone else will start the path to success. We are trapped in something called the bystander effect where most people do not want to start helping because they have the mindset that others will begin to grow and do more, and so on. This mindset unfortionally makes it so that nothing is happening with the information and thus the issue at hand continues with out a resolution.
-Jorge Cardenas
Bryan Stevenson speaks over what many refuse to converse about. In a technological world where everyone worries more about the latest innovation rather than the poverty surrounding them, it becomes easy to brush over those “disconnected problems”. Stevenson introduces the issue of identity through a sweet story involving his grandmother. Essentially, his grandmother tells him he is special and should follow three guidelines she sets for him; one of them being to resist drinking alcohol. Although he was challenged and asked to drink beer, Stevenson, around 50 years old, has still not taken a sip of alcohol in his life. It is more than just a healthy choice, it reflects the importance of identity. Of course he could drink if he wanted to, but he emphasizes that keeping true to one’s self outweighs the easy way out. Although he resists to drink for his identity, the United States has not refrained from isolating those in need of help, which is what truly identifies a country’s power and values. Society as a whole seems to put those in the upper class on a pedestal and treat them as though they are the purest and greatest people of our society. When disaster strikes and those that live in affluence, commonly white, commit a crime, the justice system seems to do anything in it’s power to set them free. On the other hand, when the same scenario happens with a poor person of color, the opposite seems to take place. Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk enlightens one’s view on the justice system the United States uses and the errors it is prone to make and lives it can potentially ruin.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk brings up multiple important moral questions, that are rarely talked about. He says that our society is not used to talking about our problems, and I think that he is right. Our society is so focused on happiness and our own problems that we forget about the large problems at hand. In Stevenson's anecdote where he wrote a crazy motion for a case he had involving a “14 years old, a young, poor black kid,” and wanted to try his client as a rich, white, corporate executive because he was tired of the injustice in the court system. When he finally arrives in front of the judge and other members of the courthouse, they become angry that Stevenson has made the case an issue of race, poverty, and inequality. They become offended that Stevenson does not think their justice system is just and fair. However, these are the talks that we should be having when a fourteen year old is being tried as an adult. If he were to be tried as a juvenile, then his record would be sealed after he turns eighteen and the punishments would not be as severe. Yet being tried as an adult means that this one mistake he had when he was fourteen will stay with him for the rest of his life. He will not have the opportunity to have a second chance, and if it is a felony then that affects what jobs he can get, where he can live, etc. There are obvious injustice and bias in our justice system that has to be discussed. It will be awkward and will bring up topics that we are not comfortable talking about but is necessary. We cannot keep systematically killing people for their crimes and have a disproportionate and large jail population that is biased towards minorities and the poor. It is easy not to talk about it and be ignorant to the fact when it does not affect us. Yet, we have to speak up and act on our principles when it affects too many people, and there is a clear injustice.
In Bryan Stevenson, TED talk he emphasizes the truth about the Justice system that everyone continues to hide even though it is damaging our community as a whole. Stevenson brings up the fact that the Justice system has actually turned into the opposite of what it stand for, yet many still believe that what the Justice system is doing with jail inmates is in no way cruel or unusual. His main point is that the death penalty is not a form of justice, but instead divides the society into two groups: those who agree with the death penalty and those who disagree. In addition to the separation Stevenson highlights race and wealth in his comment, “ [The justice system] treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.” This was a comment that really stood out to me because ever since I was a little girl I was taught the bad guys are the ones who go to jail. Now at age 17 why is it that society has taught me that you can get away with anything as long as you're a rich white male. Why is it that if a Hispanic male or an African American male is judged by the Justice system ten times harsher than if they were a white male. At age 17 I have heard about innocent people who have been given life in jail or have been put to death because of their skin color or because of how much they earn or that a minor can be given life in jail for a mistake they made as a child. How can some people just stand there and witness the injustice brought on by the Justice system? This question angers me because how can the society depended on a system that only contains flaws and “mistakes”. The harsh reality is that many like the poor, disadvantaged, and the “weak” are at times put down for disagreeing with those who are superior because that is the society in which we leave in. Stevenson highlights that we need to first fix the errors that have been brought on by the Justice system in order to grow as a society.
In Bryan Stevenson’s “We need to talk about an injustice” he creatively ties in problems of the injustice within the death penalty and identity. Through his TED talk we begin to realize how important the idea of identity really is. He mentions how everything has an identity and how some things are seen as more important or heard and/or acknowledged when their identity is strong and powerful. For example, Stevenson brings up this topic of the death penalty system that we see within The United States. He emphasizes how it is only done in The United States because of its history. The country has dealt with segregation, slavery, and apartheid whereas in other countries the discrimination is different. The reason for this being that our country involves a variety of races, for it is the land of opportunity. He mentions the African American race and how they deal with the most discrimination because of their history. It has not only affected them in the past, but until this day they continue to deal with this condescendence from white people in our country. When both the topic of the death penalty and the topic of identity comes together it becomes an issue. Where African Americans deal with harsher punishments and consequences because of their race and because they lack wealth. Bryan Stevenson mentions one case where he was in court with a 14 year old boy who was charged with adult charges because he was not privileged. It seems as though we ignore the continuation of this unfair system because of the effort it will take to fix it. We simply stand and watch as if it is not our problem until we are the ones involved.
In Bryan Stevenson's Ted talk, he focuses his attention on how unjust our society really is. We think all prisoners in death row are guilty but, “one out of nine” are innocent. We quickly judge someone by who they are or of what we think, we blind ourselves from reality. Innocent people are incarcerated and put to death without having a fair trial, and nobody pays any attention to that. We center our attention on what we think matters the most and distract our gaze on real problems. Stevenson talked about the truth of the justice system, something that surprises me to think, what else is there to uncover. People assume everyone in jail are bad but, inequality and injustice happens so often, not every prisoner is guilty. In Los Angeles, “fifty to sixty percent” of colored men are in jail or prison. People judge by race and do not notice the reality of what happened. They focus their eyesight on what they believe rather than the truth, causing pain and unfairness to the innocent. Having an increase on prisoners does not mean a safer environment, its an increase of inequality and injustice. The rich are treated better even if they are guilty, than poor and innocent. Wealth can “shape outcomes” to their favor leaving the poor with the weight of the charge on their shoulders. Yet nobody starts to protest on the streets. Politics have made us believe unjust sentences are not our problem but having this president elected or an other problem should be our concern. But we should investigate for ourselves and take off the blind mask the government gave us and speak for those who are innocent and behind bars, who crave for freedom.
Bryan Stevenson introduces his TED Talk by talking about the power of identity. Of there being a need to create the right identity in order to influence others. His position on the influence a person has over the other, is given by an anecdote of the conversation he once had with his grandmother. The three things his grandmother asked him to do were accomplished by the adulation Stevenson had towards his grandmother, and the matriarchal position his grandmother had in his family. Those three things: to love his mother, “to always do the right thing even If the right thing is the hard thing,” and to not drink alcohol. Following the three steps his grandmother told him to follow, helped Stevenson to be the men he is to this day. His mentioning of us humans not making the problems that are out in society not be the problems for anyone. The problems such as murder, rape, assault, human and drug trafficking, and even terrorism, are existing problems before anyone’s era of terror. The terror living within the presence of all humans is basically something that anyone grows up with. As Stevenson said, “we don’t like to talk about our problems… we don’t like to talk about our history.” Part of that history includes race and in which some people have a hard time talking about. Not being aware of the ignorance faced when ignoring topics that can greatly affect the future of an early generation. Thus adding on to “what we love is shadowed… [and human] identity is at risk”. In order for a person to be human, a person must pay attention to all of the struggles a human can possibly face. As “our humanity depends on everyone’s humanity,” the judgment of each character and even the justification for what anyone has done should not be based of their “technology, design, and intellectuality”. For “the opposite of poverty to not be wealth [but] justice”. The imbalances within the justice system is created when the wealthy have the power to initiate or end anything. Based on a person’s background, an injustice can be faced when they fall under the wrong influences or are living in communities already facing injustices. There is a strong need for someone to take them under a wing and lead them to the right path. For Stevenson, he is one of the few to have an empowering identity. He has been brave and kept his eyes on the price: the bound towards justice.
Bryan Stevenson brings up a series of moral questions and especially reciprocates the question of "Do we have the right to kill someone for any crimes committed". The compelling argument of the death penalty brings to mind as to whether or not the death penalty should be allowed even when the convicted is a child. Stevenson challenges the world to think as to whether or not the US has the right to execute prisoners on death row. The journalist from Germany made a very pressing argument, "We could never have the death penalty in Germany... with our history... it would be unconscionable". Now, they are referring to the persecution of Jews and its Nazi ties. Their response brings to mind that the United States also have no right to decide whether people die or not due to its atrocious act of genocide of the natives. I agree with Stevenson's argument due to my belief that no one has the right to decide whether one should die. It seems impractical and immoral. Additionally, only the United States has the death penalty allowing for other countries to denounce it. I believe that the death penalty is ruthless and brings about even more rancor than there already is. Furthermore, Stevenson states that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the whole world. The United States is supposed to be somewhere where you can achieve dreams and creates opportunities for social mobility; however, it seems that the country prefers to oppress rather than to help its citizens. Stevenson also states that one of nine people are wrongly sent to death row leaving time to contemplate if the criminal justice system is really fair. Stevenson touches sensible points that people try to avoid because they do not want to talk about it for the reason that "it's none of our business" or "it is not our problem, do not worry about it".
Bryan Stevenson's Ted Talk, "We need to talk about injustice" is very eye opening because you learn a lot of things that one is aware of but we don't really pay attention to. Some of the facts and statistics presented during his ted talk are used as evidence to prove the inequality and injustice in the criminal justice system. For example, Stevenson stated that 2.3 million people are in jail and that the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. He also mentioned how 1 in every 3 black men between the ages of 18-25 are in jail or probation. These two connect because race and identity has a big impact on these numbers and the injustice there is today in prisons and the injustice in the criminal justice system plays a big role on the outcomes. "Wealth shapes outcomes" is a very important statement that Stevenson makes because if one is more wealthy, they are more likely to get treated fairly in contrast to someone that comes from a low income community and has a different identity. Also, it is shocking how the United States is the only country in the world where 13 year olds can be sentenced to life in prision. It is shocking because it continues to show how unjust the system is and how very little is taken into consideration when dealing with children. Another very important quote that he mentions is " we don't like to talk about our problems" and it is very true because most times, the system tries to hide things they don't want other people to see and it has an outcome of having so many injustices in the system. Lastly, he mentions that the opposite of poverty is not wealth, it's actually justice. One that is poor does not have the choice of being treated right or not. Those who are wealthy have the benefit of automatically getting treated right. Although it is unfair, it is the reality that continues to happen to this day and these are some of the reasons why our criminal justice system is so unfair and why some of the innocent people are being incarcerated for something they are not culpable of.
Bryan Stevenson talks about racial issues in the United States that deserve to be spread and dealt with. He believes that the United States is a country that desires to evolve and be a leader in innovation and technology for other countries. Despite this, the United States is one of the few countries that has the death penalty and is also biased with the death penalty. Stevenson states that people of color in the United States are for more likely to get life without parole and the death penalty in the United States. How can we wish for our country to evolve if this injustice continues? Without dealing with these issues first, we cannot evolve and continue to be a leader for other countries. If we do not deal with this issue our minds could be considered simplistic due to having the desire to move on past regular humanity without considering actual humans first. Compassion and justice are all apart of the system of evolving in order to be a true world leader. There is no greater injustice than sending someone to prison or deciding whether they live or not based off of their socioeconomic status. Stevenson holds identity to be a very important aspect of oneself and places heavy emphasis upon identity. Stevenson believes that America has not created a very good identity for itself due to the injustice of the death penalty and its tendency to affect people of color. A great identity is something earned not given and we must work to achieve the identity of justice, fairness, and advancing humanity.
As we move through life, one of the main issues we're dealing with in today's society is the justice system and how unfair it has become as the decades have passed. Many people are on probation because of their wealth and race. In fact, as Bryan Stevenson said "60% of young men of color are on probation." Life would be better if we were rich and guilty. This has been brought about as a result of what is called "white privilege". This is basically the whole idea of white people having more benefits than other people of different skin tones which brings out the issue of racism. In Stevenson's TED talk, this is the whole concept of identity. We, the people, cannot control the wealth and race we're born into. By talking about wealth and race, Bryan Stevenson finds a way to connect both of these ideas to highlight the unfairness of capital punishment. Capital punishment is legal in 31 states and if you notice the news over the years, you would start to notice the trend that hispanics, blacks, and most minorities tend to be put on trial for capital punishment more than the white population. However, it does not stop there. Over the decades, we have seen inequality issues decreasing, but it is not fully gone and this is what Bryan Stevenson is doing which is fighting for those who are in trial to be heard. He took part of a case with a 14 year old color boy and he asked the judge if he would looked at the case different if this young boy was white. This really upset the judge because in a way he questioned his authority and he also upset the court in general. What Bryan Stevenson is trying to hit is that our identity is everything and he's trying to prevent from being a reason we are victims of injustice.
In Bryan Stevenson TED talk, he describes the importance of having an identity and how you would want others to view you. A person’s ability to be passionate about what they believe in, encourages others to be open to a different mindset and see that their is more to change in the world in order to help others. The idea of being able to decide someone’s fate give a person a lot of power. The number of people incarcerated has increased drastically by being biased of a persons status or on their race. By being open to learn about the lives and struggles of outsiders in our society it shows it gives people a chance to not be oblivious to those that have less than them. Many times injustice is shown in the courtroom despite how serious the situation might affect one life because of the limited resources presented to them. In addition, a person can never really be defined as bad because their might be a reason behind their behavior or another side to them that is not really shown at first. This demonstrates how their is always more to a person and should not be defined by a single action. By having the death penalty it allows people to go against their morals and also takes away the ability for people to makeup their mistakes. In all, the focus of a persons one choice should not give the ability to the people punishing the criminals into criminals themselves.
The quote by Reinhold Niebuhr “love is the motive, but justice is the instrument” is the quote for thought in Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy. Essentially, love is starting point and in order to achieve the desired outcome, we must have justice: the bridge between motivation and outcome. One of the central arguments present in Stevenson’s TED talk is identity and how the identity of the justice system and of the United States must change in order to have harmony. Stevenson states that the United States current identity stems from the positive of the country: the innovation, the creativity, the entertainment. Yes, we are that country with that one company named after a fruit that was founded in Cupertino, California, and we are that country that is considered a superpower; however, Stevenson believes that it cannot all be positive; our past cannot just trail behind us like a shadow that we know is always there, yet we rarely ever stop to think about it. All the innovation, the creativity, the entertainment, and the intellect is great, but it should not be the identity of our country. As Stevenson says, “ultimately, you judge the character of a society,” by how we treat those who are at a disadvantage when it comes to the justice system: those who have a low socioeconomic status, are of a certain race, or are incarcerated. Socioeconomic status should not put anyone at an advantage nor a disadvantage and neither should race. Acknowledging our past as a country and acknowledging the current flaws within our justice system is the first step to redefining our identity and bringing an end to injustice in the American criminal justice system. Stevenson puts it best “that our visions, technology, and design and entertainment and creativity have to married with visions of humanity, compassion, and justice.” The coexistence of the good and the bad makes it easier to move forward : to have harmony, not just by overlooking our past and current flaws within the criminal justice system living happily ever after, but by actually acknowledging it and having the ideas of our minds “fueled by the conviction of our hearts:” to make things work and to be the country we should be. Once we make justice live up to its title, we can use it as an instrument, a bridge: to help us achieve balance, to redefine the old and create a better identity for ourselves. A country not defined by injustice, discrimination, degradation, and fear but instead a country motivated by love with justice as its guide to a redefined image.
In Bryan Stevenson’s Ted Talk “ We need to talk about an injustice” he explains about his working job in jails and prisons and in death row being that those places are not a place to be at just because of the way people talk about it makes someone like Bryan Stevenson a brave man to go and help out people with not having the right to be free and having the right to parole. Also he brings up that TED has an Identity and I do agree with that because TED does have an identity by having all types of people come and talk about different issues all around the world and making a difference. Having him talk about the power of identity makes it more powerful by the way he explains it. “I would go and spend time with her, it would be difficult to get her time and attention.” This sentence he said made me think of people in jail and in death row would think if no one would help them making them stay in there until they die. “The second thing i want you to promise me is that you’ll always do the right thing even when the right thing is the hard thing” He also talked about how the justice system has an identity to help out people that have more money than others and I agree with that also thinking that the government has an identity to help out people that “matter more” just because they have more ways to get help. Having Bryan Stevenson talk about this matter makes it more important for us as american s and a family to help out our community to make this world a not diverse place to be in.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk was very eye opening. At first I was I hated the fact that the video was half an hour, but at the end I wished I had watched it sooner. It brought to my attention a very serious problem we have in our nation’s correctional system. It was shocking to learn that 13 year old kids can be sentenced to such harsh sentences. I strongly agree with his view that wealth and race have a lot to do with the outcome of trials. Another fact that was very eye opening for me that there is almost as many people who are unable to vote today as there was pre-voting rights act thanks to the laws of certain states that automatically disenfranchise convicts. Really makes you think whether or not we're moving forward as a society. Furthermore, his talk was made more personal thanks to his addition of cases he’s personally worked on. The fact that he was able to get the judge to rethink what his verdict with questioning whether it would stay the same if the boy was white. I was also surprised when he said that his grandmother was the child of former slaves, because it put into perspective how recently that dark chapter of history was put to an end. It reminded me we are barely moving forward, with plenty more progress to be made. In the end, I have a newfound admiration for Mr. Stevenson, and now think the 30 minutes the video lasted were very worthwhile.
We as people do not have the right to decide who lives and who dies no matter what they have done because that is not our decision to make. In Bryan Stevenson's "We need to talk about injustice" he focuses on identity and how it plays a huge role in society and our justice system and how it affects the minority. This Ted talk brings up many questions as to why minorities and the poor are more likely to be incarcerated? The fact is that race and wealth can play a huge role in our justice system the poor will suffer in the hands of the rich and wealthy it is ultimately inevitable. America has the largest number of people incarcerated and the system treats you way better if you are "rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent it is sad to see that our system is so corrupt. The injustice that many people have to face everyday is unacceptable, Stevenson wants the people who have been treated with injustice to speak up and take action otherwise things will never change and the rich and powerful will go unpunished. He also brings up how kids as young as thirteen are being trialed as adults being sent to life in prison with no parole it brings up the question should kids be trialed as an adult and sent to an adult prison where they can be rapped or abused for their size. Not only do we incarcerate so many people but we execute many people as well with capital punishment more often than not their are are some people on death row who come out to be innocent so why have we not taken this power away from judges and juries so that we can focus more on going deeper into peoples cases to find out if they really are innocent or guilty the money used to execute someone can be used to better hep their case. Nobody should be able to determine who lives and who dies because no one deserves that kind of power over another beings life.
In Bryan Stevenson's TED talk , he shares his experience in working in jails and with inmates who are in death row shows and once you are in there , life becomes hell and you would be lucky enough if you had a strong lawyer to get you out . When he said about how 1 out of 9 people who are convicted in death row , one of those people are innocent while the other are actually guilty . This got me and made me realize that our justice system is really broken and that sadly there is nothing that can be done for it to be changed . In addition , when he mentions that he had a talk with his grandmother and she said to always do the right thing even when the hard thing is hard , it made realize that someone like him is doing whatever it takes to prove these peoples innocence and also not give up even when things get hard . Similarly , he makes a us see that our own government should not even be trusted for it is corrupt and has only helped those who are wealthy and treat them with respect whereas those who are poor , get mistreated and live in poverty . lastly , Stevenson taking a stand in this makes me realize how we need more people like him because he is one of the few who are trying to prove how corrupt the system is and also make the world a better place .
Bryan Stevenson discusses the amoral justice system and how justice is solely based on the identity of a person. This system allows for crime sentences to be imposed differently due to the way one is identified in society. Once a serious crime is committed the person of wrongdoing is sentenced to life imprisonment or death penalty, and a majority of the people sentenced are those of color. Our society allows this cycle of people being wrongly accused based off their physical identity because they cannot relate to the issues faced. The truth is if a problem is not our own then we do not demonstrate a state of interest to resolve the issue since we will not gain anything from our effort. We continuously allow for lives to be sentenced to prison and death by not advocating for a fair trial. The justice system favors those of a superior racial and economic status contrast to those of color and in poverty. We do not have empathy for those who face injustice because we cannot relate to that injustice. Everyone does not experience the same prejudice remarks as those who are identified differently from ourselves, so we chose to ignore this difference. We do not consider our differences to be similarities since we do not engage with other people's issues in order to end them. The justice system uses its power to sentence innocent lives to death which is horrific. The death penalty is believed to contain those who are a threat to society even though in some cases there are people who are ethical and not deserve that sentence. The way one is identified can determine the justice that is served to them, so we must advocate for change in order to have justice be served to everyone.
Bryan Stevenson mostly talks about identity and how it has shaped the lives of many people dealing with poverty, race and segregation. He also talks about the United States and how shocking it is that a 13 year old child can die in prison. This shows injustice because it reveals how "the politics of fear and anger made us believe that's it's not our problem" .. this statement is shown to be false because it made us believe that we don't have the power of voice to speak up for our rights. It is also to be shown that society will treat you much better if you are rich and guilty than poor and innocent, even though it's unfair, it still continues to happen in our world everyday. Which basically conveys the topic of identity. He also talks about death penalty and I personally think it's cruel and unfair to children who are being treated as adults and can't get much of a say. Which moves onto the case that Stevenson took with a 14 year old boy who was African American and he thought maybe the judge will treat the case differently if he was young white boy. The judge was pretty furious about the way he was taking his job and questioning his authority as a judge. Overall, African Americans deal with a lot of discrimination everyday and we as people need to create the power of identity. "When we create the right kind of identity we can say things to the world around us that they don't actually believe makes sense, we can get them to do things that they don't think they can do."
Bryan Stevenson brings up the hard hard truth that most people may be unaware of. He brings attention to the unlawful justice system that is evident in our society. The statement that he made that most resonated with me was his explanation of the difference between criminals who are rich and guilty and criminals who are poor and innocent. This really stuck out to me because I have never heard a truer statement relating to the justice system. Those with money are given less severe punishments than those with very little wealth, which are seen as lowly criminals. This difference in identity and how the court perceives these people are what Bryan Stevenson is trying to bring attention to and ultimately bring about a change in our society. His knowledge and experience of these injustices firsthand is what drives him to push for change, and this change will not come without the assistance of like-minded individuals.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk is very impactful and inspirational. He gives us a unique perspective to look at in America’s justice system. “I believe identity is at risk”, Stevenson emphasizes on this concept because of how unfairly the justice system works in America. As humans it is suppose that we should have fair punishments , and not have to worry about the skin color in a courthouse . Stevenson brings out the idea that someone who is rich and white would get less of punishment in the courtroom in comparison to someone who is poor and African American. Why should the color of your skin determine the harsh conditions one may receive? He also mentions how people of color are most likely to receive death penalty rather than someone who is white. Although it is the harsh truth, that is how many cases in America come to rationalize. There are many people of color who are wrongly accused of their actions and receive the death penalty. For example, Stevenson was working on case for 14 year old African American male. This 14 year old was charged as an adult and life in prison. A young adolescent was charged as an adult. The judge decided that “ he’s been certified as an adult when he is not”, Stevenson explain. As teenagers we make many mistakes, but we can learn from them. Having a 14 year old be convicted harshly in such an inhumane way and is outrageous. In today’s society a white male in a crime of a wrongdoing may not be punished as long as a male of color, because to their identity. In the past and in today's society, race has and is a topic in which many people have strong opinions about. It should not be this way. We are all human. The way we look should not determine our future. Everyone deserves a chance, and those who are of color should not be wrongly convicted because of who they are.
-Elida
"...but do we deserve to kill?" When Bryan Stevenson said this, I had to pause the video and think for a second. Why is it that others get to choose whether someone gets to live or not? I understand that some of these prisoners under death row committed murder, and that the victim wants justice, but getting it by doing the same thing will not bring back the victim. This ted talk made me realize, apart from his book, about the many injustices in the criminal justice system, which is ironic considering the word "justice" is in the term. I was aware of the many difficulties African-Americans go through and have gone through in the past, but seeing the facts and how race is taken in when it comes to punishment makes it clear that our country is not improving as much as we think. Mr. Stevenson mentions how our identity shapes and affects the way the world sees us, and how that affects the way we see ourselves, and this is important to me because I believe that no one can make a person feel inferior without their consent, not even our justice system. I learned from this ted talk that it takes the motivation and courageous efforts to be able to make a difference, even if that difference is small and only affects one person.
"This country is very different today than it was 30 years ago..The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration" states Bryan Stevenson himself. Over the years politics has changed its point of view in race, religion, and status. Yet, it fails to support its own people. Incarceration is common in the African American community due to the lack of commitment the government shows to its people. The government find the easy way out. They'd rather throw people into jail rather than making a change. There's many factors that go into this, but personally I believe the government should at least try to make a change. Where they can offer school, safe shelter, and even food. We, the people, tend to blame kids parents if they end up in trouble, but its not. It is mainly the governments fault. They do not pay attention to the communities poverty and injustice leading people to follow a cycle. The cycle to survival. Everyone wants assurance. If it means doing the bad thing, so be it. Bryan Stevenson used his uncle as his example. He states that as a 50 year old man, he has never taken a sip of alcohol because he knows what the outcome is. His uncle has been in and out of jail because he possibly intakes alcohol to forget his problems. Sometimes the world feels smaller and unjust when one feels lonely. The government has led this mindset to be passed down in the lower communities. They do not commit to taking action to change its environment in order for change in conduct. The country has failed to provide a support system for ALL its people because they want the easy way out.
Bryan Stevenson's talk starts by stating how coming to TED has been energizing to him being always in jails or in prisons, it shows the distinct identity it has, an identity that is able to make a change in the world by making people take action in their lives. To him this is a very important thing have ,an identity in which people follow you, for example like his grandmother who was able to stop him from drinking alcohol or to always do the right thing just because of the powerful identity his grandmother had it made him follow the promises he made her Stevenson then proceeds to talk about the criminal justice system of the United States and how the situation is not that great. Being the country with the most people incarcerated, many who are kids,people around simply don't care. Many innocent people in death row shows how there is something very wrong with the system, and is not any better than the holocaust where many were dying without anyone lifting a finger for help. We cannot help improve this conditions if we are not able to change our identity and start caring for our surroundings and more for the poor and unprivileged who are the main victims of this horrendous act. The only way we are able going to defeat this is injustice is by start caring of what is going on around us. The main problem with our society is that we don't care what is happening to this people because it is not happening to us so we just simply ignore it as nothing. This ignorance is causing many innocent lives if we don't start doing something now. The journey is not going to be easy at all but people have to be courageous in order to be victorious. Also this is not journey you will go alone you need others there for you and you for them in order to prevail. We must do this so we can be remembered not by our advances but for how we treated the poor.
Bryan stevenson's TED talk
In Bryan Stevenson's TED talk, he touches on problems, us humans mortify ourselves on. Considering some hard truths about america's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines. Which involves the government playing a role in this “problem.” Bryan Stevenson's touches on us humans failing to reconcile or unite on the issues that make us be fearful to speak up.
“We have a system of justice in this country that treat you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent.” Emphasizes how people in this country think, which makes it a critical problem touching on racial profiling or injustice in our society. “My state of Alabama, like a number of states, actually permanently disenfranchised you if you have a criminal conviction. Right now in Alabama, 34% of the black male population has permanently lost the right to vote.” The sad reality that wealth and race, not capability shaping outcomes is what makes our justice system unfair. It's not fair that money or race gets to decide the fate that an individual will live. The thing is we don't get to choose in what economic status we want to be born on. It's unfair for someone who is born poor or a different color to receive the same opportunities as a wealthy man. It's as if the country itself is shutting down all doors and are forcing poor individuals to resort to unwanted means like revenge/crime. Also the fact that the United States is the only country to put in jail for death 13 year olds is cruelty, it's as if we have lost hope in humanity.
Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk underscores the abundance of controversies seen in society by not renouncing the obstacles that are presented when confronting them like others. In most cases, one is unwilling to abnegate the “fear and anger” presented in society which proposes the thought of being avertible, yet we have to understand that these issues are inevitable since were constantly revolved around them. Such gap existing in the way our race approaches justice makes us “disconnected” since issues such as these requires unity. We fail to reconcile and embrace the challenges presented in life ultimately disobeying our identity and most importantly on each other, for “our humanity depends on everyone’s humanity”. Stevenson proclaims that a foundation is necessary to advocate for the devastation the justice system has done. It has presented itself as favoring the wealth class which “shapes outcomes” not “culpability” ultimately leaving despair on society. Not willing to “commit ourselves” emphasizes how we are not inclined “to a process of truth and reconciliation” which highlights the uneasiness beneath us ultimately stagnating our process to reforming a change. Stevenson’s anecdote of Jimmy emphasizing “keep your eyes on the prize, hold on” demonstrates the igniter behind to keep on hoping. Jimmy emphasizing “hold on” unveils an epiphany for everyone on how the road towards innovation will not be easy, but with time one will get to see the true identity of the human race as unity becomes visible.
Value is generally subjective and as the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” but how do you determine the value of life? On paper, it is blatantly clear that a man’s life is the same as any other’s, yet minorities are often treated as less than their fellow white Americans (which in the context of the USA is the majority). But what sets apart the minority Americans to the majorities is wealth. As Bryan Stevenson said, “We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent.” Disgust is among the sentiments that should be expressed upon hearing that statement because it is the truth. Abuse of the legal system has been far too normalized, we live in a society where most accept that those with money hold all the power despite their actions. Stevenson’s passion is evident by the role he has taken in creating justice in a world of injustice. He voluntarily chose to aid the less fortunate despite the lack of monetary compensation for his work. The path he has chosen in his line of work is extremely commendable; law is one of the highest paying majors to take yet he has chosen to give back to his home in Alabama. Stevenson’s average clientele are harrowing; children are being convicted to early deaths despite the wealthy nesting in their perches above the law. These children’s lives are worth no less than those considered the one percent yet due to their circumstances of birth a misdemeanor could hold similar consequences to and adult committing grave atrocities. And when thrown in court these children are essentially condemned to a fate worse than death. Stevenson is truly a man of merit to take on all opposition presented to him in his line of work. People such as Stevenson carry the fire of the founding fathers of America.
In society today our justice system is still broken and the chances for hope for equality and justice is diminishing as time pass and becomes history .In Bryan Stevenson TED Talk:We need to talk about injustice , Stevenson touches on the topic about the United States does not reconcile its past on the inequality in our justice system , in over all out come has hurt us as whole nation .Stevenson uses a statistics of the number of one out of nine people that are in death row who are founded innocent after they dead. In some ways are shocking to some members of society because many of us put confidence in justice system to make the right choice , which will hopefully effect out society in a beneficial way .In reality the ugly truth is , our justice system has worsen over the course of decades have passed on through out our history.Another example that Stevenson uses in his TED Talk is the amount of people that were documented incarserated in 1972 was only 300,000 people in the United States and now our modern days we have 2.3 million people incarcerated in our prisons.Only in our countrie all around the world has much a broken justice system .In my opinion is devastating because I don't have the confidence in our system anymore that I personally had before I had gotten well know how the justice system works and how it is broken and fails to serve its purpose to us now .
Bryan Stevenson raises a topic of racial injustice to light, however through a different perspective within the law that many people are not really aware about. Stevenson showcases how the majority of people who are sentenced to capital punishment, whether it be death or life in prison with out parole, are majorly Hispanics and Blacks. Stevenson illustrates this to the viewer and reader providing facts and case that he was involved with illustrating how many of the people sentenced to capital punishment were poorly represented, had their sentenced over turned by the judge, or sentenced despite the lack of proper evidence. This problem illustrated how not only does "white privileged" exist in society, however it also exist in the law were it should not be. This is true to how can one be innocent till proven guilty when many people were accused solely based off their skin color or how could one receive a fair trial when one's sentenced is changed by the judge to capital punishment due to their skin color along with many other racial injustices that such fair and just law has. thus Stevenson, brings to light a side of racial injustice that has been happening for years now illustrating a dark and unacknowledged side the law. alongside how despite the promised help few actually helped out in supporting and actualizing Stevenson's plan to help all those people poorly represented sentenced to capital punishment.
Bryan Stevenson is like any other advocator. This video was in 2012 but it sort of relates a lot through the events of this country. His dedication and credential of knowing the people of his that change history is very approving. It shows the audience how much dedication he has with his life. With starting the speech about his grandmother (a women with history of what this country did) to using the example of one of his speeches in Germany emphasizes how his skill in telling the audience the differences of point of view. He speaks to the audience what he goes through, what he fights, which is justice. He gives out statistics that people (majority) already knows. How injustice the laws and incarceration of US citizens. It surprising that even though this is a TED Talk, the views is low. When Stevenson brings out the point of view of the German student about they saying that their country is glad to not have the death penalty, I was clapping in front of the screen. Stevenson talks about something that not a lot of people talk about, which is that the United States does not talk about their history. They brush it off as if nothing they name building after people who fought for justice, but doesn't really truly apologize for what they truly have done. Knowing the history in Germany, I was glad that Stevenson brought a great point how corrupt the higher power does to the innocent. I would like to know what he is thinking about (his opinion) on what is going on right now in this country through these past five years.
-Claudia (Ash) Arizmendi
What is up guys, it's Ana here! My reaction to Bryan Stevenson's TED talk video? Well I thoroughly enjoyed it. Something that really connected with me was the idea that identity is REALLY important. In relation to Stevenson's speech, identity determines the path laid out to you by the good ol' criminal justice system. I say "laid out to you" because as Stevenson himself states, the criminal justice system, "treats you much better if you're rich...". So pretty much, the CJS (criminal justice system) gets to decide whether you walk on hot coal or on a nice soft carpet that tickles your toes and makes you feel all nice and bubbly inside. As Stevenson explained this, all I could help but do was nod my head. He continues on to talk about controversial topics such as the death penalty and treating underage people like adults in the court room. "Do we deserve to kill?". This really made me think. Why? Because I, to be honest, am on board with killing people for their crimes! Or at least I thought I was. As I said, those words got me thinking. Because, I mean, if someone gets the death penalty, they must have done something really, really, really bad. Right? And the he said one more think that had my pantaloons in a twist... are those people really just murderers, thieves, etc? As a society we tend to look mostly at only the dark side if things. Why? Well, as Stevenson also explains: We. Are. Afraid. We twist and turn in our skin at the thought of having to talk about skin color, gender, income. All those things shaping our identity. I know I do. At least most of the time. Stevenson says, "We have to believe things we haven't seen". We must have hope. We must be brave, brave, brave. Fearless. Because if we do not talk about our unjust criminal "justice" system, we will only continue to see more darkness. And more and more of us, humans, will fall victims to an unfair treatment. Yay, let's hope that was at least 250 words. I even went over two minutes. Oops.
Mr Stevenson identifies the main problem with the American justice system as there being too many people incarcerated. He stated that the United States has about 7.2 million people incarcerated and many people out of that 7.2 million are on death row. While stating things about the judicial system, he states that 50-60% of men who live in LA, Philadelphia, Baltimore are young African American men. When he brings up this concept, it makes us think about how the world really is today. It makes us really want to take a look at how the prison systems actually work. When Stevenson chose to talk about his 14 year old client, it made sense because many young people go through that on a daily basis. The judicial system is so corrupt when it comes to African American and latinos. When it comes to Caucasian people, they don't suffer as much as the other people would. People think of Caucasian people as "white and privileged" and many people would agree with the judicial system being step 1. When people say they are "white and privileged", it makes people think why can't they be privileged too? But it is all based on how many races were treated back then. When Stevenson brought us how Germany can never have the death penalty again because of the tragedy it has went through, it makes you think of why the United States has it even though is has went through many tragedies too? My thoughts on capital punishment would be that if anyone should go through capital punishment, it should go through all races and not just one.
I agree with Mr. Stevenson in that as a country we have to defend the poor, discriminated, and disadvantaged partially due to the national adherence to the values of natural intrinsic rights, equality, and justice that are not only espoused by Americans but propagated internationally by our country and international organizations and if we are to be at the forefront of representing the good of humanity than we cannot continue sustaining a system that contains errors and too easily violates the rights of Americans at the expense of injustice. Bryan states that “The death penalty in America is defined by error. For every 9 people who have been executed we’ve actually identified one innocent person who’s been exonerated and released from death row. In aviation, we would never let people fly on airplanes if for every 9 planes that took off one would crash, but somehow we can insulate ourselves from this problem.” (8:37) Bryan makes a tactful analogy to reveal the magnitude of error that exists in one of the darkest parts of our justice system and makes clear the tragedy of having one innocent American for every nine Americans on death row and is right in making this analogy because it is morally repugnant to have an innocent American sitting in death row and an eventual release from death row and/or monetary compensation cannot justifiably reimburse a lack of justice because justice delayed is justice denied. I also agree with Mr. Stevenson in that one’s identity can have implications on one’s actions partially due to the larger societal view of one’s identity and, on the larger scale, that our country’s identity needs to be reformed by facing the past and present reality of our justice system and counteracting the injustice that is slowly beginning to characterize the identity of the United States as one of cruelty and hypocrisy. Bryan explains some of the tragic problems in our judicial processes such as the aforementioned 1 for every 9 statistic as well as the fact “The United States is the only country where we sentence 13-year-old children to die in prison. We have life imprisonment without parole for kids in this country…...Only country in the world.” (17:37) as well as the historical detail of terrorism beginning long before 9/11 against African Americans after the Reconstruction era. Overall, using humble language and lax body language, Bryan presents a compelling argument on how America’s justice system is negatively affecting minority communities and not only corrupting their identity but the identity of our country and argues that to move forward, we must point out evil where we see it and create a better world through our convictions towards equality, rights, and justice.
In Bryan Stevensons TED Talk, he speaks about his time working in jails and gives awareness about people being mistreated and put on death row. During his talk, he says "There is power in identity." By saying this, I believe that there is so much power that a community can have based on their own beliefs, race, or experiences shared. Although it can be corny, I believe that identity gives people the ability to make a bigger impact on society and create change positively. Stevenson also shared that 7 million people are put on probation,making me believe it is most likely because of the stereotypes that society has given us. They make us scared of other innocent beings. Also, his talk made me realize how much society hasn't evolved as much as we believe it has/wish it has. In our history, people have been in fear of being lynched and now people are in fear of being put on death row. Stevenson then talks about how 50-60% of people in jail or prison are either people of color or suffer from poverty. It shows how no matter what we do, racism continues to destroy many lives and take them. It also shocked me to learn that kids can be at risk of being put on death row. It shows how some people are merciless and refuse to be open minded. Although manu have committed serious crimes, people should not have to end their lives for it.
Bryan Stevenson's Ted talk helps shine a light on a subject alot of people are afraid to touch on. Stevenson's argument was all about injustices and the why and how it occurs. One of the most important parts of the Ted talk was the inclusion of the janitor. The janitor, being proud of Stevenson for fighting in a case as a lawyer, stated his intention of entering the courtroom to someone who in society's eyes would be seen as someone with higher status than the janitor. The person who was confronting the janitor was a white sheriff who was offended by the entrance of the janitor. The sheriff showing disrespect to the African American janitor shows injustice because the janitor has as much of a right as the sheriff to be able to be present in the courtroom, yet the sheriff still looks down at the janitor. That is just one of the many different types of injusticeshe's he describes in the Ted talk. Stevenson also includes the topic of poverty in his argument; he says he does not believe the opposite of poverty is wealth. He believes hope could nullify the negative effects the higher class people have against the lower class people. Of course there are many injustice acts against those who are affected by poverty such as more wealthy people having an advantage on better schools just to put an example out there. Stevenson also talks about death row and how horrible this punishment really is. He states one in every nine people sentenced to death row is innocent. He proceded to compare that to the daily service of air travel; he said one mistake in death row out of nine could be the equivalent of one out of every nine air planes crashing. This inlightens the thought of injustice acts being connected with death row. As an example to further discuss his argument, Stevenson talks about his experience an opinion from Germany about the death penalty. Stevenson says Germany cannot and does not support that penalty because it is not just to take someone's life. The argument Stevenson tries to show us how many different countries dont adopt this practice because people cannot be stripped of their life. Stevenson even includesure a joke injustice in the story he was telling of his grandmother; he was devastated when he came to realize this comedic injustice. Overall Stevenson argues and talks about the different injustices there are in the world aND he sheds light to help increase the number of people who are trying to make a difference to stop these injustices. He gives hope to others to break the social norm and improve life.
Bryan Stevenson's TED talk on injustice is truly interestingas it reformed my view of what injustice is in its purest form. Before the TED talk I believed injustice to be a crime of some sort or wrongdoing directed towards another being, human or otherwise. However Mr. Stevenson pointed out many intricacies that I found to be rather fascinating. For example unjustness can be caused by a society that by not doing anything to help those in need and only supporting those who are more advantaged or wealthy is indirectly contributing to the injustice that is ripe within the aforementioned community. The path of convience taken by many, in which they ignore the plight of those less fortunate, causes them to be guilty of cultivating injustice through inaction. Society of course has always had this problem, dating back to ancient times when a rich and powerful noble of a village or kingdom was able to openly harass peasants because the peasants themselves were to afraid of the consequence of their actions to punish the misdoings a man with sociopolitical weight on his back. They, like people of today's society took they path of convenience and ignorance because the right thing to do was the hard thing to do. The general public chooses to look the other way in the face unfairness and focus on more encompassing matters such entertainment or innovation just as Mr. Stevenson stated. It didn't occur to me that by interlacing the darkness of modern society such as rampant injustice to the ideas and successes of a community it is able to truly be dealt with because it becomes apart of a society's identity as a whole. Since identity is created by the many individuals within the general public it becomes their duty to eliminate all that plagues their community due to the fact that injustice is now apart of themselves rather than some disconnected piece apart from them. Bryan Stevenson opened my eyes to essence of unjustness paving the way for myself to further explore a concept I thought to be plain and simple. From his presentation I found a statement that ringed true. Even when the sun shines brightly on you, doesn't mean that a shadow has not been cast. By focusing on what's good one can become ignorant to the injustice going on right behind their backs even as they are the source of it.
Bryan Stevenson's TED talk changed my view on injustice in this world. I could tell that he was passionate about this topic because of the knowledge he had about what was going on and the career that he decided to pursue. The criminal justice system is more favorable towards rich white people than colored people living in poverty. The irony is that the criminal justice system is supposed to be equal to all disregarding their race and economic status. Stevenson stated that the "United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world." This video was taken on March 2012, and I imagine that the system only got worse and more people got thrown in jail. He also states that a third of black men aged 18-30 are in jail, probation, or parole. This statistic did not take me by surprise because I knew that colored people were at a disadvantage under the criminal justice system. I meditated on it though, and it surprised me that most of those black men were affected by the criminal justice system and because of their skin color and their personal identity, they could have gotten an unfair trial. He said that there is more justice for someone that is rich and guilty as opposed to someone that is poor and innocent. The rich and guilty could probably get more "justice" because they can afford a good lawyer, but I do not think that economic status should define how good the justice system is on them. Stevenson also touched on the topic of the death penalty. An idea that stuck to me was when he went to Germany and gave the same speech and a person stood up and commented on it. There is no death penalty in Germany due to their history, but that does not seem to stop the United States. He also added that our identity is at risk because of the death penalty. The United States came from slavery and segregation, and the death penalty still shows that we are still having problems regarding race and segregation, putting at risk our identity.
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