Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Read With Us: Book Discussion Week 2

Welcome to the second Read With Us book discussion post!


Some details regarding the discussion and how it will work: Please join the discussion by leaving a comment here on the blog. I'll (hopefully) be responding to your comments directly IN the comments, so please do check back once in a while to see how the discussion is going this week. Please feel free to respond to other commenters as well. We realize that this is not the most ideal discussion format and that it's somewhat cumbersome and a little awkward -- but it's the most reasonable way we could think of for our beta test.

Kym offered us wine and homemade brownies, but since this is a morning meeting (well, I'm publishing it in the early am), I've got coffee, an assortment of teas, and pastries for you. Grab a mug of your favorite stimulant beverage, make yourselves at home in the living room in MD, and we'll get started. Last week Kym started off the discussion, and today I'll be continuing where she left off, talking about the middle third of the book, specifically Chapters 6-11. 


In these chapters, the reader gets more heartbreaking stories of how injustice has been perpetrated when we learn about 14-year-old Charlie who was held in an Alabama jail on capital murder charges. Charlie went through a horrifying experience when his mother's drunken boyfriend beat her into unconsciousness and Charlie shot him. Stevenson succeeded in getting Charlie relocated and eventually introduced him to a couple who supported him and financed his college education.

It's not only minorities and minors that experience unjust incarceration. We also read about 52-year-old Trina Garnett, a mentally ill woman who has served 38 years in prison. She is one of nearly 500 people in Pennsylvania who have been condemned to mandatory life imprisonment without parole for crimes they were accused of committing as minors between 13-17 years of age. It is the largest population of child offenders condemned to die in prison in any single jurisdiction in the world. This was simply shocking to me. Today more than 50 percent of prison inmates have a diagnosed mental illness, a rate nearly five times greater than that of the general adult population. Stevenson argues that we get angry when people fail to recognize the need for thoughtful and compassionate assistance when it comes to the physically disabled, but because mental disabilities aren't visible in the same way, we tend to be dismissive of the needs of the mentally disabled and are quick to judge their deficits and failures.

This part of the book also tells of setbacks and ultimately good news of a sort in the case of Walter McMillian. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals denies McMillian's appeal, but eventually, 60 Minutes covers the case. They do not portray the county and the prosecution very favorably, but the heightened awareness of the case convinces the Monroe County District Attorney to bring in the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to reinvestigate the case. They find strong evidence of McMillian's innocence and the DA agrees to drop all charges against Walter. The court rules in his favor and after six long years on death row, Walter becomes a free man.

The following questions are simply meant as a way to start the discussion. We don't want this to feel like high school where good books can be analyzed to the point that you don't enjoy them anymore, so please feel free to answer any questions you wish and ignore those you don't, offer your general opinions and comments. We value all of them and thank you for your input!

1.  Is justice being served when children and the mentally ill are sentenced to die in prison? If prison is not the answer for children and the mentally ill, how should society deal with them and carry out justice for both the victim and the perpetrator when crimes are committed?

2.  Walter’s unfair incarceration took a permanent toll on him and his family. Did Walter finally obtain justice? Do you think this case represents the best, the worst, or some combination of our justice system?

3.  In light of Stevenson’s many examples of injustice, an obvious question is how state and federal governments ought to reform their criminal justice systems to eradicate such tragedies and prevent future ones from occurring. While policy reform is certainly essential, a theme of Stevenson’s stories is that the injustices are a product of a set of deeper cultural norms. How do we begin to change these?

In case you are interested, the EJI website has a "Get Involved" link that I've been perusing. I can't read this book and not begin to take some small steps toward justice for all. If you have any other suggestions for possible actions, they would be very welcome.

29 comments:

  1. I was aware of the high incidence of mental illness among the prison population, but I had no idea there were so many minors serving life sentences. That, to me, is a major issue. It's now known that the brain (and especially executive functioning, which oversees decision making) isn't fully developed until early in a person's 20s, so there is no reason we should be imprisoning children for the rest of their lives for poor decisions they've made before they're fully capable of understanding the full consequences of those decisions.

    As to Walter McMillian, I am glad that he was finally released, but I don't think he received justice. Some might point to his case and say that it's an example of the justice system working, but if it truly worked, an innocent man would never have ended up in jail or prison to begin with. Aside from the illegal things that happened in his case, it's representative of the larger issues within the system that disproportionately affect non-white defendants. The criminal justice system, like so much of our society, is still heavily steeped in a system of white supremacy. It's a fact that people of color are regularly subjected to more serious charges and harsher punishments than white people charged with the same crimes. This is the bigger issue that we need to change, but it can't only be about the criminal justice system -- I'm convinced that it needs to be part of a bigger process of dismantling all the effects of white supremacy in our society.

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    1. It seems that mental institutions and juvenile detention facilities would better serve both the mentally ill and minors, but of course those cost money. New Jersey has made attempts to relieve overcrowding at its juvenile correctional facilities, but juveniles 14 or older can still be classified as adults. I agree with you that juveniles should not be imprisoned for life without parole, but it still happens.

      And the overarching issue of perceived white supremacy affects so many aspects of life, for people of all colors. It took generations to get to this point, and I think it's going to take generations to change and dismantle, but we have to try and take whatever steps we can.

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    2. Yes, money is always an issue. But how much money could we save by not incarcerating people who don't need to be incarcerated? If we treated mental illness properly, it stands to reason that some of the people in prisons might not get there in the first place.

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  2. Your first question is one that has haunted me since reading Just Mercy - what do we as a society do? First, I think that the stigma of having mental health issues is the root of any real discussion taking place about fixing it. Adding to the prison population of those with mental health issues - the homeless adds more to this problem with 25% having severe mental health issues and 45% having "any mental illness." If those numbers aren't enough for us to address as a nation, I don't know what can.

    I agree with Sarah about Walter McMillian - he might have been released, but he did not receive justice. The number of stories Bryan shares that are hauntingly similar are horrifying. Our justice system does is not working when so many innocent people are caught in a system they cannot get out of.

    The third question is the hardest, I think. Things (Specifically 3 Strikes Laws) that were implemented that should have been used as intended have been bastardized to incarcerate POC at an exponential rate. I am horrified that I supported this law. Also, legal assistance to those who need it needs to change dramatically - I don't think lawyers should work for free, but there must be a better way to help people who need legal assistance. Also, the concept of bail needs to be dramatically revamped - how many people are languishing in prison because they cannot post bail? Is there nothing else we can implement? Why do other nations not have this issue? And, finally - For Profit Prisons have done more for increasing incarceration rates. They need to be outlawed, permanently.

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    1. I am also left with more questions than answers after reading Just Mercy. Change is needed in so many areas, and like Sarah stated above, the notion of white supremacy seems to underlie so much. But we must make the changes we can, and like you said last week, this begins at the ballot box.

      To answer one of your questions, ~500,000 people are being held because they can not post bail. There is some good news on this subject; there are organizations, courts, judges, and bipartisan legislators all working for bail reform. It's happening on many fronts and this may begin to address some of the inequality in the justice system: https://theappeal.org/bail-reform-explained-4abb73dd2e8a/

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    2. I am listening to Kendi's How to be an Antiracist and it is powerful and astounding and inspiring! He has an incredible way of inviting you in and then helps you look at your thoughts and your beliefs and then goes down the path to becoming antiracist with you. These thoughts tie in so well with all the inequality from Just Mercy.

      And, thank you for the link to bail reform! :)

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    3. I think dealing with the issue of bail is one place where we could reasonable make a difference. Plenty of people end up staying in jail because they can't make bail, and then they lose work/wages or even their jobs because they're there.

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    4. Kat -- I think a lot of us have supported/do support "tough" laws on crime . . . because we've been "convinced" that crime is a bigger issue than it really is. Which is appalling.

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    5. It really is Kym, and this book brings that clearly into focus. So, I have begun paying more attention to candidates platforms on criminal justice reform (and how many don't have much to say about it...)

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  3. I spent most of my career working with individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness and I am so saddened and angry that over the past 20 years the "care & treatment" of the mentally ill has primarily moved to the prison system. The reason behind this change had to do with money, it is cheaper to keep someone in prison and give them medication that to develop the individual treatment plans that people need. Mental illness is complex and so is its treatment. Although some of the state institutions were not providing adequate treatment, most of them were providing excellent and humane treatment for those with mental illness. It is almost impossible to obtain that kind of treatment today. I worked for an excellent state run facility, one of the best. Our facility was closed to save money and at the same time, the local jail opened a large mental health wing because it would be "cost effective" to move these people to the prison system.
    It is wrong to convict children to life in prison. Their brains are not fully developed. Children who commit violent crimes need treatment, not punishment.
    I do not think that Walter obtained justice, he was wrongly imprisoned and I can't imagine his ordeal or how it affected his life and the lives of those who loved him.
    The changes needed are many and complex, but I think a good place to begin is to stop objectifying people, they are not the crimes they may or may not have committed, they are human beings and no matter what, must be treated with dignity and compassion.

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    1. With your mental health background, I was hoping you would offer your opinion, Debbie. Sadly, it's as I feared. Your last sentence speaks volumes and I don't personally understand why it is often so hard to recognize and treat people with the same dignity and compassion we would like to receive.

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    2. I, too, was eager to hear what you had to say on this issue, Debbie. It breaks my heart to think that people who might helped with treatment are wallowing behind bars. Do you think things are changing at all (in any way) regarding mental health? Is there any hope that things may change in this area????

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  4. One of the lines from the book continues to haunt me . . . "Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done." That is true for every one of us -- but especially true for children. The people Bryan talks about who were incarcerated as children had so many strikes against them from the get-go: mental health issues, developmental delays, absent parents PLUS the issues all kids/teens face (peer pressure, lack of fully developed executive function, etc.). It is an outrage that kids be sentenced to life in prison. Unfortunately, I don't have any answers to go along with my outrage.

    Another point I think bears bringing up is that (most? all?) the kids Bryan talks about in the book DID commit serious crimes - unlike Walter McMillian, who did not. How do we deal with that? What do we do with kids who have made terrible choices at such young ages; kids who (often) are dealing with so much . . . life . . . already? It's completely overwhelming to me. I can't imagine that trying them as adults and/or putting them in prison for the rest of their lives is effective. Are there ANY models or programs that are trying to go about this another way?

    Just FYI . . . in the mid-90s, Michigan opened a huge for-profit prison specifically to house young prisoners. The then-governor called it the "Punk Prison" -- and it was built not far from where my cabin is in northern Michigan. It closed in the early 2000s because it was too costly to run and neglected the health and educational needs of the kids housed there. (I heard recently that it's going to be re-opened -- this time to house immigrants convicted of crimes, and it will still be run by a for-profit organization.)

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    1. Oh, I remember that prison. For profit anything having to do with detaining anyone should be flat out illegal.

      And, I don't know what the answer is for children - but I don't think it is locking them up and throwing away the key. We seem to want to be a "Christian nation" yet, not really when it comes to anything that would at all be Christ-like. I think there should be second chance for everyone - because "Each of us is (so much) more than the worst thing we've ever done."

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    2. That's pretty much what I'm left with, Kym, more questions than answers, especially where children are concerned. They did commit serious crimes, but like you ask, what do we do when justice needs to be served but the children are victims of their circumstances? There is a lot here and I haven't read it all, but the EJI website has a whole section on children in prison: https://eji.org/children-prison
      There is also this: https://www.penalreform.org/blog/successful-challenge-to-life-without-parole-for-children/
      In 2016, the US Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v Louisiana that people currently serving life sentences for offences they committed as juveniles must either be considered for parole or re-sentenced. This may be a start to not dooming children to life in prison for terrible choices they have made as minors.

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  5. And another thing . . . I think Walter McMillian got as much justice as was possible, given the completely UNJUST circumstances of his arrest, his "trial," and his sentence. I mean . . . that isn't a lot of justice, y'know? But given his rotten situation on death row, he did get some justice in the end; he got the best Bryan Stevenson and his team could deliver. His story is just heartbreaking.

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    1. And, that is one of the many reasons why this book was not one I could just sit and devour in a single sitting. So much heartache and anger and so many thoughts to process.

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  6. Long story short - I agree with all of you! Sadly, there are no easy answers. and not enough Bryan Stevenson's to go around (case in point - Rodney Reed in Texas - it sounds so much like McMillian's case! https://justice4rodneyreed.org/2019/08/12/stop-the-november-20-2019-execution-of-rodney-reed/). It seems like the only people in the whole process who like the way things are are the for-profit prison companies.

    Pantsuit Politics did two excellent podcasts about criminal justice reform back in March.
    http://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/show-archives/2019/3/25/the-mueller-report-and-criminal-justice-reform (the criminal justice part starts at 24:21 ... and btw - can you believe it's been nearly EIGHT months since the Mueller report dropped?! ... and gets really good around minute 40)
    http://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/show-archives/2019/3/21/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-criminal-justice-reform
    I think figuring out what we want to accomplish with the process - I hope beyond "punishment" (which as parents we all understand is one of the worst ways to (re)form behavior), we can get to forgiveness and compassion and treating everyone involved like human beings deserving of dignity and respect is a good way to start. But even reinstating basic rights of citizenship (voting, getting a job, buying a home) to folks who have served their sentence IS a hard lift right now.

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    1. I thought I had a decent understanding of the criminal justice system after reading this book, but there are so many aspects and unanswered questions. I thank you for the links to Rodney Reed and criminal justice reform from Pantsuit Politics. I clearly need to read more, understand more, and make educated decisions when I vote. We may be preaching to the choir here, but I think understanding and preaching are important.

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    2. We may be preaching to the choir here, but I think understanding and preaching are important. YES YES YES!!!

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  7. I've read through your comments and really enjoyed them - it seems like the conversation is working in this format this week. I literally just finished reading The Nickel Boys and I think it's an excellent fictional companion to Just Mercy. Heartbreaking to read about children in prison, that's for sure.

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  8. I am amazed at how LITTLE I knew about the injustice of financially poor POC , teens and mentally ill people when it came to getting and receiving a fair trial. I have no answers on how to fix the system at all but I hope that maybe more light could/would be shed to all the people who were like me and unaware of the issues at hand.

    I believe a rigorous overhaul of how our society, health care system and educational system deals with mental health would be a start. More people need to be involved in raising children and spotting a child who is crying for help whether they are depressed or acting out. Too quickly the labels are placed and the die is set for a 'troubled' teen who then cannot break out of labels placed on them.


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    1. It took generations to get to this point and it will take generations to overhaul and change societal attitudes towards human dignity, fairness, equality, and justice. The current political climate isn't helping at all, but I feel like whatever small changes we can begin to make by even becoming more aware of the issues are something we must do. We can all learn to be better and do better, bit by bit.

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  9. I can't offer much that hasn't been said but have been following the Rodney Reed case this last week as well. I think your last comment here Bonny is spot on and something to work on each and every day!

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    1. Just imagine all of us (plus many others, even if we are in the minority) working on this together each and every day. Change will happen!

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  10. I have worked with children, young mothers and men of all ages in detention centers and I have no answers... just anguish and anger. I definitely think today's media: music and movies and social tools add a lot of fuel to this ever growing situation...coupled with greed and money (that the power structure reaps!). Bottom line tho, is to not give up...and that's more of a pep talk for me...
    tbc...

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    1. It's good to hear from someone who has experience and has worked with people in detention centers. I'm not surprised that there are no easy answers, as difficult situations almost always require complicated, complex, and well-considered answers. Thank you for the pep talk; we all need to remember to not give up.

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  11. Poverty, a bad education system, not giving people the aid they need (single parents, the mentally ill, needed drug rehab, etc.) is the cause of the incarceration "problem". We allow it to happen because the people most affected are POC as well as others who live on the fringes of society. I have not read the book, but I have been reading the posts and comments you've shared. Honore is right in that we must never give up or give in to acceptance of this nightmare.

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    1. And I think you are right with your analysis and never giving in or giving up. Thank you, Margene!

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