~Alex Pattinson, Class of 2024

Understanding the world just a little bit more

In the book Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, I began to understand the justice system is severely flawed and can be poorly run to the point of charging people with no evidence. Reading Just Mercy allowed me to understand a little more of how the courtroom works. The author gave examples of unjust sentences and charges that occurred in court, which taught that not all decisions that occur in court are fully biased. 

When I started reading Just Mercy, I thought it was just going to be another one of those boring books that we were forced to read. I was very wrong, as the book was actually extremely interesting and I learned a lot from it. I started to understand the justice system a little more, and learned a lot about times when people were wrongly accused due to unjust decisions. I read multiple chapters every day and got into the book quickly. This whole reading experience taught me that not all assignment books are hassles, they can be interesting if you get into them.

The theme I found constantly in this book was Understanding. Stevenson, the main character, is a lawyer who experiences many cases and over time begins to understand the way the courtroom works.  His growing understanding of this topic relates to me, as I also learned a lot about court in this book. The reading changed my perspective on the government and the people within it. Any legal case could have unjust aspects, and that leads to a lot of innocent people in prison. Stevenson sees these flaws and calls them out, making it easier to spot them in other places. A lesson in the book that I will take away is that if something is wrong, say something.

Before reading this book, never would I ever have said: “I can’t wait to read this!” Books aren’t the most appealing thing to me, and it’s hard for me to find a book that is interesting. I decided to get into the book and found that book. That was not appealing whatsoever and was actually very interesting, and it taught me to never judge a book by its cover.