All of our books in this unit are about race, and even though I haven't read any of them other than Just Mercy, I am making the assumption that they all promote an end to racial injustice in all walks of life. This is a goal that wouldn't be possible if not for people's ability to change, whether it be themselves entirely or just their opinions and actions. Stevenson knows this, and that is why he included the section about Avery Jenkins and one of his correctional officers.
Mr. Jenkins was a prisoner in a southern prison who suffered from mental health issues. He was arrested and sentenced to death for the stabbing murder of an older man, a man he had thought was a demon. When Stevenson went to visit Avery, he was mistreated by one of the correctional officers at the prison, one that is never named and Stevenson had never seen during all of his visits to the prison prior. The officer forced him to strip, even when "lawyers don't have to get strip-searched to come in for legal visits,"(194) and made sure that Stevenson knew that the "truck out in the visitation yard with a lot of bumper stickers, flags, and a gun rack"(196) was his. For reference, the stickers and flags that covered this vehicle were all pro-confederacy and segregation. This treatment was not reserved only for Stevenson, for he treated Avery with the same abusiveness. But, it would not stay like this forever.
For a hearing about whether or not to take Avery Jenkins off of death row, the same officer was the one tasked with bringing him to the courthouse. Over the course of the hearing, during which Stevenson outlined the traumatic and life-threatening experiences Jenkins had during his many years in the foster system, as well as bringing in medical professionals to talk about the effects those experiences could have on people, that correctional officer was watching. He too had been failed by the foster system as a child, and with the truths of Avery's life coming out, he suddenly felt a connection and an understanding of how and why. He knew that Avery had meant no harm, and he knew that there was a man who had gone through even more than he had and had been punished for the disabilities he had sustained. At that moment he had a change of heart. That is what Stevenson's goal for this passage of the book was. To prove that even the most radical of us can change their ways and their opinions. Because if we don't, we are truly lost.
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteI like how clear-cut and straight to the point your blog is. When reading this section, it made me realize that in contemporary times there are still people that support segregation and racism. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware that racism still exists. This passage was sort of a "reality check" in that it reminded that extreme racists still are out there. I'm very lucky in that I haven't had an encounter with someone who mistreated me of my race. And I think because of that, I forget that in some places there are still people that hate colored people. To be quite frank, I think there will always be people like that.
Maxine Asmussen
Hi Maxine,
DeleteI also find it amazing that such ignorant people still exist in our society. It's outrageous to me that people like this can think this way. As for not having seen outright acts of racism like this, I feel like living in New Hampshire has something to do with it. Because there are so few ethnically diverse people compared to many other places in America, there are less chances for outright acts of racism. But then again maybe it's just because people in New Hampshire are more understanding? My money's on the first option.
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job of summarizing Avery's story as well as the author's intentions. I'd like to know what you thought about the issues brought up about Avery's sentence. Do you think that past trauma is what lead Avery down this path?
Hi Brianna,
DeleteThe question you are asking is one I have been thinking about ever since I read this section. I think past trauma had a role to play in his mental health. His mental health caused him to do something that he didn't really know he was doing and probably even he would find repulsive and terrible. So I don't think his experiences led him down this path, but I do think that they led to things that did lead him down an unintentional road of crime.
Sam, how do you think Stevenson is using this story to develop a larger idea about how mercy can be granted? about why it is withheld? Developing the larger conclusion you might draw from this section would be helpful to your analysis.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar chain of thought while reading this section. I loved the way that Stevenson made the guard into a dynamic character, instead of making him the typical antagonistic character that he first appeared to be. I also saw this section as showing that Stevenson was trying to make the point that people are judged too quickly, such as how the court system has been judging black prisoners without knowing the whole story. For me, this gave a different spin on the issues that Stevenson has discussed.
Katie