Just Mercy: Chapters 2–4

by Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson details his experiences as a defense attorney, focusing on the case of Walter McMillian, who insisted on his innocence even after he was sentenced to the death penalty. This book provides an eye-opening behind-the-scenes look at how the criminal justice system works — or doesn't.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 1, Chapters 2–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–11, Chapters 12–16
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. docket
    the calendar of a court
    My docket of new death penalty cases in Alabama meant I was working insane hours driving back and forth from Atlanta and simultaneously trying to resolve several prison condition cases I had filed in various Southern states.
  2. stockade
    a place where persecuted groups are forcibly confined
    Prisoners reported that they were still being beaten by correctional staff and subjected to humiliation in stockades and other degrading punishments.
  3. retrospective
    an exhibition of a selection of an artist's life work
    On this late night, not only was my radio working but the station was also hosting a retrospective on the music of Sly and the Family Stone.
  4. vindicate
    show to be right by providing justification or proof
    When I finished, he apologized to me, but I suspected that he just wanted me to leave. He promised that the officers would be required to do some "extra homework on community relations." I didn't feel vindicated.
  5. impassioned
    characterized by intense emotion
    He had an impassioned look on his face.
  6. emphatic
    forceful and definite in expression or action
    He said it again emphatically, "You've got to beat the drum for justice.''
  7. somberly
    in a serious and solemn manner
    ...the idea was so provocative and inflammatory that Myers immediately recognized its usefulness and somberly acknowledged that it was true.
  8. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    When the sheriff explained the charge in crude terms, Walter was incredulous and couldn't help but laugh at the notion.
  9. mistrial
    a legal proceeding that is invalid or inconclusive
    Donald was walking home from the store one evening, hours after a mistrial was declared in the prosecution of a black man accused of shooting a white police officer. Many white people were shocked by the verdict and blamed the mistrial on the African Americans who had been permitted to serve on the jury.
  10. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    Local police ignored the obvious evidence that the death was a hate crime and hypothesized that Donald must have been involved in drug dealing, which his mother adamantly denied.
  11. knack
    a special way of doing something
    Ralph Myers's story of the crime was pretty far-fetched; his knack for dramatic embellishment made even the most basic allegations unnecessarily complicated.
  12. embellishment
    elaboration of an interpretation with decorative detail
    Ralph Myers's story of the crime was pretty far-fetched; his knack for dramatic embellishment made even the most basic allegations unnecessarily complicated.
  13. pervade
    spread or diffuse through
    An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room.
  14. clemency
    leniency and compassion shown toward offenders
    At that time, I asked the prison commissioner, who was communicating on an open telephone line to Governor George Wallace to grant clemency on the grounds that Mr. Evans was being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
  15. writ
    a legal document issued by a court or judicial officer
    When Walter, who could barely read or write, failed to file the various pleadings, writs, motions, and lawsuits the other prisoners had advised him to file, they blamed him for his predicament.
  16. substantive
    having a firm basis in reality and therefore important
    Still, Pearson had to be more mindful of the concerns of black residents than at the beginning of his career—even if that mindfulness didn't translate into any substantive changes during his tenure.
  17. tenure
    the term during which some position is held
    Still, Pearson had to be more mindful of the concerns of black residents than at the beginning of his career—even if that mindfulness didn't translate into any substantive changes during his tenure.
  18. statutory
    prescribed or authorized by or punishable under law
    Local jury commissions used statutory requirements that jurors be “intelligent and upright” to exclude African Americans and women.
  19. discretionary
    having the ability to act according to your own judgment
    For many African Americans, the use of wholly discretionary peremptory strikes to select a jury of twelve remained a serious barrier to serving on a jury.
  20. peremptory
    not allowing contradiction or refusal
    For many African Americans, the use of wholly discretionary peremptory strikes to select a jury of twelve remained a serious barrier to serving on a jury.
  21. venue
    the jurisdiction where a trial will be held
    In high-profile cases, it's fairly standard for defense lawyers to file a motion to change venue—to move the case from the county where the crime took place to a different county where there is less pretrial publicity and sentiment to convict.
  22. prejudicial
    tending to cause harm or injury
    The motions are almost never granted, but every now and then an appellate court finds that the atmosphere in a county had been so prejudicial that the trial should have been moved.
  23. affluent
    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
    Only affluent Baldwin County to the south, with its beautiful Gulf of Mexico beaches, was atypical, with an African American population of just 9 percent.
  24. stint
    an unbroken period of time during which you do something
    He hoped that he might be returned to the county jail after his thirty-day stint at the hospital, but instead he was returned to death row.
  25. seething
    in constant agitation
    Now he felt himself coming back to life—but all he could feel was seething anger.
  26. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    He wrote a scathing letter published in the state bar association's journal in which he vowed “never to take another death penalty case, even if they disbar me for my refusal" and urged other civil lawyers not to take death penalty cases.
  27. disbar
    expel from the practice of law by official action
    He wrote a scathing letter published in the state bar association's journal in which he vowed “never to take another death penalty case, even if they disbar me for my refusal" and urged other civil lawyers not to take death penalty cases.
  28. jeremiad
    a long and mournful complaint
    Prisoners got word of the letter and talked about it among themselves, especially about a chilling comment buried in Bagwell's jeremiad: “I generally favor the death penalty because mad dogs ought to die."
  29. curtail
    place restrictions on
    Only Florida and Alabama allowed the jury's decision to be overridden by a judge—and Florida later put restrictions on the practice that severely curtailed it.
  30. nonpartisan
    free from party affiliation or bias
    Alabama elects all of its judges in highly competitive partisan elections, one of only six states to do so (thirty-two states have some form of nonpartisan judicial election process).
  31. tort
    a wrongdoing for which an action for damages may be brought
    The elections attract campaign contributions from business interests seeking tort reform or from trial lawyers who want to protect large civil verdicts, but since most voters are unschooled in these areas, the campaigns invariably focus on crime and punishment.
  32. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    No judge wants to deal with attack ads that highlight the grisly details of a murder case in which the judge failed to impose the most severe punishment.
  33. deposition
    a pretrial interrogation of a witness
    We provided some aid to the volunteer lawyer on the case and a suit was filed, although there wasn't much hope. There were a few depositions but no judgment of relief.
  34. bureaucratic
    of or relating to unnecessary procedures and red tape
    I was haunted by my helpless bureaucratic demurrals in the face of his desperation and the silence of his response.
  35. imposition
    the act of enforcing something
    Following the imposition of the death sentence, Herbert’s appointed lawyer, who was later disbarred for poor performance in other cases, told Herbert that he didn’t see any reason to appeal the conviction or sentence because the trial had been as fair as he could expect.
  36. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    The Court had justified reauthorization of the death penalty in the mid-1970s on the promise that proceedings would be subject to heightened scrutiny and meticulous compliance with the law but then began to retreat from the existing review procedures.
  37. habeas corpus
    the right to a writ protecting against illegal imprisonment
    The Court decided to bar claims from federal habeas corpus review if they weren't initially presented to state courts.
  38. indulgent
    tolerant or lenient
    The Court began insisting that federal judges defer more to state court rulings, which tended to be more indulgent of errors and defects in capital proceedings.
  39. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    None of this compelling mitigating evidence was presented at trial, and it should have been.
  40. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    He began a whispered dialogue with me, imploring me to get the testifying expert to say things about his intent that were really outside the expert's knowledge.
  41. contentious
    showing an inclination to disagree
    He became contentious and started making comments that were audible to the judge.
  42. objectively
    in a manner not influenced by emotion
    So much was going on that I couldn't objectively evaluate if we had presented enough evidence to change the picture of the case.
  43. untimely
    badly scheduled
    He ruled our evidence was “untimely," meaning that he could not consider it.
  44. vestibule
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    I remembered as a child that they always sang this hymn at somber moments during church services, on Communion Sundays, and Good Friday. It was sad like few other hymns I'd heard. I don't know why exactly, but I started to hum it as I saw more uniformed officers enter the vestibule outside the visitation room.
  45. abstraction
    a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
    Abstractions about capital punishment were one thing, but the details of systematically killing someone who is not a threat are completely different.
Created on Fri Nov 16 11:18:39 EST 2018 (updated Fri Nov 16 11:35:46 EST 2018)

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