Just Mercy

To Kill a Mockingbird is, like Just Mercy, set in Monroe County, Alabama. Compare and contrast Harper Lee’s novel with this nonfiction work. In what ways do the two works speak to similar themes of racism and the limits of justice? In what ways do works diverge?

The United States is the only Western country to use the death penalty. Behind China, it executes the greatest number of people each year. Consider why this might be. What about America’s history or culture has allowed for this? What links does Stevenson draw between the death penalty and what it means to be “American?”

Stevenson presents the legal cases of both men and women, juveniles and adults. How does gender and/or age affect the cases he describes? Consider the standards of living, the prison “culture,” and the inmates themselves at facilities for men vs. women and for adults vs. juvenile offenders?