Who is this person?
This person is the author of Just Mercy. He is a lawyer who defends people on death row. When Chapter 1 begins, he is still a law student visiting his first prisoner.
Who is Bryan Stevenson?
At the end of Bryan's first visit with Henry, the guard put the handcuffs on too tight. Bryan asked the guard to loosen them. The guard refused. Then Henry did something completely unexpected that stopped even the guard from pushing him. What did Henry do?
Henry began to sing.
This word describes a person who is said to have done something wrong — but has not yet been proven guilty in court.
What is accused?
This is the name for the government's lawyer — the person whose job is to prove that the defendant is guilty.
What is the prosecutor?
Stevenson's most famous quote from Just Mercy appears in Chapter 12 — but it applies to everything in Chapters 1–3. Complete this quote:
"Each of us is more than _______ ."
"Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done."
This person is a man on death row in Chapter 1. He has not spoken to anyone outside the prison in over two years. When Bryan visits him, he grabs Bryan's hands and says "Thank you, man. This is great news."
Who is Henry?
When Bryan told Henry that he would not face an execution date for at least one year, Henry reacted with joy and relief. But this news sounds terrible — he is still on death row. Why was Henry so happy?
Henry had been living in terror every single day for over two years. He had not allowed his family to visit because he was afraid they would arrive and he would already have an execution date. The news meant he could finally let his family come see him. One year of safety felt like great news compared to what he had been living with.
This is the official punishment a person receives after being found guilty of a crime — for example, five years in prison or the death penalty.
What is a sentence?
This is a deal between the prosecutor and the defendant. The defendant agrees to say "I did it" in exchange for a lighter sentence — rather than going to trial and risking a much heavier punishment.
What is a plea bargain?
Stevenson writes that the opposite of poverty is not wealth. What does he say the opposite of poverty actually is — and what does he mean?
Stevenson says the opposite of poverty is justice. He means that poor people do not simply need money — they need equal access to fair legal protection, fair treatment, and equal human dignity. Without justice, wealth alone does not fix the structural problems poor people face.
An eighteen-year-old white woman who was shot and killed in a dry-cleaning store in Monroeville, Alabama in November 1986.
Who is Ronda Morrison?
In Chapter 2, Stevenson spends many pages describing Walter McMillian's life — his business, his family, his community — BEFORE he tells us about the crime Walter was accused of. What is the name of the rhetorical strategy Stevenson is using — and why does he make this choice?
Stevenson uses biographical restoration
This word describes the moment when Bryan Stevenson truly sees his clients — getting close enough to understand their lives, their trauma, and their humanity. Stevenson argues this is the beginning of justice.
What is proximity?
This is the name for the extra punishment a defendant risks if they choose to go to trial and lose. It is so large — sometimes three to five times the plea offer — that many innocent people accept guilty pleas just to avoid it.
What is the trial penalty?
The essential question for Week 1 of our unit is: "What does justice actually mean in America?" Using evidence from Chapters 1–3, answer this question in two sentences.
In Chapters 1–3, justice in America appears to mean convicting someone quickly to satisfy community pressure — not finding the truth. The investigation of Walter McMillian continued even after Ralph Myers could not identify him, showing that the system prioritized a conviction over accuracy.
This person was the judge assigned to Walter McMillian's case. Before the trial even began, he made an unusual and controversial decision — he moved Walter from the county jail to death row, even though Walter had not yet been convicted of anything. This decision sent a clear message about how the case would be handled.
Who is Judge Robert E. Lee Key?
In Chapter 3, Ralph Myers accused Walter McMillian of the murder. Police arranged a meeting between Myers and Walter in a store to see if Myers could identify Walter. What happened — and why does this moment matter for understanding the investigation?
In Chapter 3, Ralph Myers accused Walter McMillian of the murder. Police arranged a meeting between Myers and Walter in a store to see if Myers could identify Walter. What happened — and why does this moment matter for understanding the investigation?
This term describes what happens when a lawyer provided by the government does not have enough time or resources to prepare a real defense for their client — because they are carrying too many cases at once.
What is inadequate counsel?
Michelle Alexander argues that this is the most invisible point in the legal system where racial bias enters — because it happens in private, before the courtroom, and almost no one reviews it. It is the prosecutor's power to decide what charges to file and how aggressively to pursue a case.
What is prosecutorial discretion?
The essential question "Who gets to write the narrative — and who gets erased?" is directly connected to what Stevenson does in Chapters 1–3. How does Stevenson's narrative choice — rather than a legal brief or a policy paper — answer this question? Use one specific example from Chapters 1–3.
By writing a memoir, Stevenson gives Walter McMillian and Henry the right to have their full stories told — not just their charges or their convictions. A legal brief would reduce Walter to his case number. A policy paper would reduce him to a statistic. The memoir restores his name, his biography, and his humanity — which is exactly what the legal system erased. When Stevenson describes Henry singing, he is writing something no court document would ever record — and that is the point
This person was a client of Stevenson's who was thirteen years old when he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a non-homicidal offense. While incarcerated, he developed an unusual and powerful relationship with the victim of his crime — who eventually became a public advocate for his release.
Who is Ian Manuel?
In Chapter 11, Bryan Stevenson witnesses the execution of his client Herbert Richardson. After the execution ends, Stevenson describes sitting in his car unable to move or speak. He eventually does one specific thing before he is able to drive away.
Stevenson calls his mother
This is the rhetorical strategy Stevenson uses throughout Chapters 1–3 — showing a person's full life, family, and character BEFORE telling the reader about their crime or conviction. It argues that no person should be reduced to their worst moment or their charge.
What is humanization?
Explain how these three mechanisms — prosecutorial discretion, the plea bargain system, and inadequate counsel — work together as a chain. Use a specific example from our reading to show how all three can affect one defendant before they ever reach a courtroom.
The prosecutor uses prosecutorial discretion to file the most serious possible charge against a poor defendant. The trial penalty from the plea bargain system is so large that the defendant — who cannot afford bail and is already in jail — cannot afford to risk going to trial. Their public defender has too many cases to prepare a real defense, so they advise taking the deal. In Walter's case, the prosecutor charged him with capital murder without strong evidence, his lawyer did not investigate, and the pressure of the death penalty made fighting back almost impossible. All three mechanisms worked together before any jury heard any evidence."
se ALL THREE essential questions — What does justice mean in America? How do race, class, and education impact the system? Who gets to write the narrative? — and connect each one to a different specific moment from Chapters 1–3 of Just Mercy
What does justice mean in America? — When Ralph Myers could not identify Walter in the store and the investigation continued anyway, it showed that justice in America sometimes means producing a conviction that satisfies the community rather than finding the truth.
How do race, class, and education impact the system? — Walter's interracial relationship with Karen Kelly made him a racial target in Monroe County before any investigation began. His race determined that he would be seen as dangerous — not his actions, not the evidence.
Who gets to write the narrative? — When Henry began to sing as the guard pushed him out of the room, Stevenson wrote that moment into the record. No court document, no case file, no official account of Henry's time on death row would ever include that song. By including it, Stevenson gave Henry back his narrative — his humanity, his voice, his dignity — which the legal system had erased