Justice Mercy 1

 How did John Evans Die?

• Electrocution from “Yellow Mama”

• Shot by Russ Canan

• Ran over by a police car

• Lynched by the police

What is the author’s purpose for including the story about his own encounter with the police in chapter two?

• The story is meant to illustrate that the lack of justice in our system is the result of a few bad people, such as the specific officers described, rather than a broader social problem.

• The use of a narrative structure presents a case study featuring a clearly innocent victim, to support the claim that “the presumption of guilt [is] assigned to the poor and people of color” (Stevenson 44).

• The details about the aggression of the police support the claim that law enforcement officials almost always act in ways that are “incredibly illegal” (Stevenson 41).

• The incident described was so upsetting to Stevenson that it inspired him to start the Equal Justice Initiative.

Where did Stevenson say that Georgia's death row was in the Introduction?

• By Decatur.

• Near Atlanta.

• Athens.

• Outside of Jackson.

What is the author’s purpose in including the story about Herbert?

• Herbert and McMillian are from the same town and had similar backgrounds, which epitomizes the idea that structural racism impacts entire communities.

• Stevenson is illustrating that the McMillian case is just one example of many of how the vulnerable in society are treated unfairly.

• Herbert’s story includes many details that are sad, in order to grab the reader’s attention and appeal to their emotions so that they will care about an otherwise boring subject.

• Stevenson is exposing unusual cases of extreme injustice in order to demonstrate the occasional problems that can occur when corrupt individuals are involved in a system that is mostly fair.

Which of the following statements from the book BEST describes a theme in this section?

• “We have shot, hanged, gassed, electrocuted and lethally injected hundreds of people to carry out legally sanctioned executions” (Stevenson 15).

• “Spending on jails and prisons by state and federal governments has risen from $6.9 billion in 1980 to nearly $80 billion today” (Stevenson 16).

• “In this book you will learn the story of Walter’s case, which taught me about our system’s disturbing indifference to inaccurate or unreliable verdicts” (Stevenson 17).

• “The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice” (Stevenson 18).

Where did Stevenson say that Georgia's death row was in the Introduction?

• By Decatur.

• Near Atlanta.

• Athens.

• Outside of Jackson.

An assumption or an opinion about someone simply based on that person's membership to a particular group.

• Prejudice

• Discrimination

• Stereotype

• Segregation

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex

• Prejudice

• Segregation

• Discrimination

• Stereotype

a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing

• Discrimination

• Stereotype

• Contempt

• Segregation

kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly

• Liberty

• Dilapidated

• Mercy

• Equity