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.
