The Ohio State University 2017 Common Book Buckeye Book Community presents Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson About the book From one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time comes an unforgettable true story about the redeeming potential of mercy. Just Mercy tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machinations and legal brinkmanship – and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.
How does Just Mercy relate to my first-year experience? You’ll find many themes and events in the book that relate to your life as a new student at Ohio State. During the next year, you’ll encounter new responsibilities, communities, independence, relationships and obstacles. Just Mercy is full of life lessons and stories that will prompt you to reflect on many of these ideas, specifically: racial inequality criminology perseverance community activism mass incarceration decision-making integrity and justice economic injustice
About the Buckeye Book Community Each summer, first–year students complete their first college assignment by participating in the Buckeye Book Community. First–year students are given a reading selection during orientation and are asked to complete the reading before they return to campus to be prepared to discuss and analyze what they have read. Students on every OSU campus will be reading Just Mercy this summer. The Buckeye Book Community connects the first–year class through a shared experience and introduces the expectation that college students cultivate a life of learning both in and outside the classroom.
Goals of the Buckeye Book Community
Promote reflection and dialogue among first–year students and faculty/staff around a common academic activity Introduce students to expectations of higher education Cultivate the life of the mind in and outside the classroom Help foster community among first–year students Connect first–year students to faculty and staff through co–curricular programming Provide students with the opportunity to hear from the author, and gain a greater understanding of the author’s motivation and writing process
Marion Campus Information On Monday, August 21, 2017, you will attend Freshman Welcome Day at the OSU Marion Campus. Welcome Day is an opportunity for new students to meet each other and have small group discussions about your common book reading experience with Ohio State University faculty. You will have lunch with the Campus Dean, Dr. Greg Rose, and other staff and faculty. Plan to be on campus from 8:45a.m. to 2:45p.m.
Arrive on campus for Welcome Day with a printed 2–3 page response paper focusing on Just Mercy, answering one of the prompts listed below. This assignment is part of your Exploration 1100.01 course, required for all new OSU students at Marion. You may receive a maximum 25 points for the paper and an additional 25 points for attending the Welcome Day for a total of 50 points in your course. Contact your academic advisor if you have questions about the assignment or Welcome Day. Penny Eyster Sharon Gattshall Eric Hinkle Louis Hominga
eyster.9@osu.edu gattshall.2@osu.edu hinkle.183@osu.edu hominga.1@osu.edu
Tom Marshall Shellie Shirk Chris Trapp
marshall.584@osu.edu shirk.20@osu.edu trapp.22@osu.edu
Choose a writing prompt from the list provided below. Complete your writing assignment based on the prompt you select. When quoting from the book, be sure to use correct MLA style citation to document your source. Be certain that your work is your own. All papers are to be formatted as follows: Include a cover sheet containing the following information:
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Your first and last name and OSU user name (last name.#) Planned major of study Exploration class section number (check your class schedule on your Buckeye Link) Exploration instructor’s name – may not be your advisor (check your class schedule on your Buckeye Link) Writing prompt number/Title
The paper must be typed Use 12 pt., Times New Roman font, double–spaced with 1 inch margins Length – two to three double–spaced typed full 8.5”x 11” pages minimum (not including the cover sheet) Papers should be well thought out, with a clear thesis and argument to support your thesis, using the text for evidence.
Choose one of the following writing prompts as the focus for your paper. Your paper needs to include at least 4 specific examples and citations from the book. Consider and comment on how themes in this book relate to your future, in college and beyond. 1. This prompt requires careful consideration of the author’s organization and methods in writing Just Mercy. Stevenson uses Walter McMillian’s case as a running thread throughout the book. Why do you believe he chose this case to highlight in the book? How does Walter’s life story strengthen or demonstrate justice and redemption. 2. Stevenson writes that there are four primary institutions that shape the conversation around race and justice today: slavery, racial terror and the threat of violence against people of color, Jim Crow laws that legalized segregation, and mass incarceration. How do you see these institutions affecting cases throughout the book? What examples of racial discrimination within the legal system can you find within the text? How do we see the history of racial bias in the United States impacting prisons today? 3. According to the ACLU, approximately 2,570 children, some as young as 13 years old, have been sentenced to life without parole in the United States. According to the book, how does incarceration affect children differently than adults? Should all juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole be eligible for a new sentencing hearing? How should families of victims murdered by juveniles be involved in sentencing hearings, if at all? 4. Discuss the prevalence of improper legal representation in the cases profiled in Just Mercy? What examples of discriminatory jury selection does Stevenson share? What factors do you believe should influence jury selection? Explain your reasoning. 5. Stevenson charges that various policy changes have “created a new class of untouchables.” What are some of the specific policies he wrote about and who are the “untouchables” that are most impacted. What are some of the consequences of this class division? What factors lead to an increase in felony charges for nonviolent offenses?