Here’s another book we’re looking at for Whole-School Read this summer. It’s the YA version, which explains a lot of vocabulary and leaves out a lot of hate-speech. It was an interesting (maybe bordering on fascinating) look at the injustices of the American justice system, particularly how it deals with the poor and people of color. Bryan Stevenson is a tireless crusader for the voiceless in the system: people who are unjustly sentenced to life imprisonment or forced to live out their incarceration on death row.
It showed me that I have some clear biases (like, “do the crime and do the time” kinds of biases, and I’m less likely to immediately lean toward mercy, which I was a little suprised to learn about myself) that made me uncomfortable. I think that’s the point: we shouldn’t be comfortable in the current system. It needs a whole lot of fixing.
I haven’t read the original version, and I don’t know if I will, but reading this was one of those “good for me” learning experiences. The people Mr. Stevenson has worked to help are real. Some of them, really ill. Some of them have significant mitigating circumstances (that no judgment or mercy can quickly solve). This is happening in the world I live in, and I should — ought to — be more aware.