Blog Entry #3: Current Events - Just Mercy

 Hello readers and welcome back to my third blog post! I am officially more than halfway through the novel Just Mercy, and I can say it has been a very eye-opening journey. In the last blog post, I discussed the methods of persuasion Stevenson uses throughout the novel, along with his writing style and the appeal to his reader's emotions. 

These past few chapters flew by and we learned more about Walter's case, along with hearing some new stories relating to other children being prosecuted. In Chapter 7, Stevenson had requested an appeal of Walter's conviction, which was denied by Judge Patterson. In Chapter 8, we learned the story of Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, Antonio Nunez, and George Stinney. Their stories are all unique in their own way but are similar in the way that they were all accused of a crime, and were severely punished for it, even when they were just children.

In this blog post, I would like to take the time to focus on the case regarding the juvenile prosecution of a boy named George Stinney. He was a fourteen-year-old Black boy, who was executed by the State of South Carolina for a crime he didn't commit. Three months prior, two young girls had gone missing on their journey to pick flowers. They never returned home and their remains were found in a shallow ditch the next day. George had tried to help find them, and he told one of the adult searchers that he had seen the girls that day and the girls had asked him where they could find flowers. People assumed George had murdered them because he was the last one known to see and have an interaction with them. He was arrested and the Sheriff claimed George had confessed, even though there was no written or signed statement presented. To top it off, George's family fled town leaving him behind in prison. He was sentenced to death and convicted of rape and murder of the girls and had no appeal because his family didn't have the money to pay for it. George was executed in the electric chair eighty-one days after the murder of the girls. The saddest part is that it was later confessed by a white man on his death bed that he murdered the two girls. George was innocent and was punished anyway.

George Stinney

George's case was heartbreaking, and it isn't the only time something like that has happened before. Innocent prisoners have expressed that the system has failed them. Specifically, in recent years, Lorenzo Johnson was framed for a murder he didn't commit. 

Lorenzo Johnson served twenty-two years of a life sentence after he was framed for a murder he didn't commit. Tarajay Williams was murdered outside a bar in Harrisburg, PA and Johnson was in New York at the time. For several months after the murder, police detectives threatened Lorenzo with a murder charge unless he falsely accused a friend of committing the murder and dealing drugs (Flom). Lorenzo refused, and his co-defendant Corey Walker and him were convicted of "first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy to commit murder and were sentenced to mandatory life in prison" (Flom). He later won his freedom in 2011, but to his surprise, it wasn't over yet. The federal court had appealed his sentence because it was based on "insufficient evidence". Finally, the poor gentleman was released on bond, but just four months later, the U.S Supreme Court reinstated his murder conviction, and Johnson was re-incarcerated (Flom). Lorenzo worked with multiple lawyers, and they began investigating the police and many others that contributed to his wrongful conviction. On July 11th, 2017, Lorenzo won his freedom once and for all. 

Lorenzo Johnson

*for more information regarding the legalities of Lorenzo Johnson's case see here: https://painnocence.org/lorenzojohnson?locale=en 

I learned of Lorenzo's story on a podcast I listened to on my drive to swim practice. It is called the "Wrongful Conviction Podcast with Jason Flom". It was only forty-two minutes, which might seem long, but it was worth my time. It made me realize there are so many people who are wrongly condemned and sentenced to life for a crime they didn't commit. Especially young children and people in targeted groups based on their skin color.

Lorenzo Johnson and George Stinney and just two examples of a very common problem in the Criminal Justice System. The system failed both of these men. Although Lorenzo was not executed, he still was affected tremendously by this false accusation. 

I am excited to continue reading and learning more about Walter's case along with hearing more of Stevenson's cases. I think this book has been very interesting and I can't wait to read more. Thank you!

-Cailey :)

Works Cited

"Lorenzo Johnson's Story." Pennsylvania Innocence Project, painnocence.org/lorenzojohnson?locale=en. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.

Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. 2019 ed., New York, Spiegel & Grau, 2019.

Wikipedia contributors. "George Stinney." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Mar. 2021. Web. 19 Mar. 2021.

"Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom - Lorenzo Johnson." Wrongful Condemned, Jason Flom, 9 Oct. 2017, www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/podcast/s4e3-lorenzo-johnson-fighting-injustice-all-the-way-up-to-the-supreme-court-after-he-was-wrongfully-convicted-twice. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.