Course Catalog > Arts & Culture > Liberal Arts

Good-Bye Atticus Finch—The American Justice System according to Bryan Stevenson NEW!

Just Mercy is Bryan Stevenson's 2014 best-selling book about inequities in the American legal system for the poor, people of color on death row, the mentally ill and children. Just Mercy is an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer's coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, an inquiry into the nature of mercy, and an inspiring argument for compassion based on a true understanding of justice. In these pages, participants will meet Walter McMillan, Trina Garnett, Avery Jenkins, and many other poor, powerless Americans whose lives were forever and tragically altered by their encounters with the courts. They will examine the new wave of urban district attorneys who are working to reshape criminal justice in American cities, and to address mass incarceration and racial inequities in the justice system, with the support of majorities in those cities. Much of Just Mercy takes place in Monroeville, Alabama, hometown of author Harper Lee, where her 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is also set. Ms. Lee introduced us to Atticus Finch, an idealistic and moving symbol of fair and impartial justice. Students will analyze and discuss Stevenson's portrait of a system that falls far short of these ideals, and his vision of how we can breathe life into these ideals in our time.

Some Title