Just Mercy

As Stevenson repeatedly notes, Walter McMillian’s trial and the fictional trial of To Kill a Mockingbird’s Tom Robinson both take place in Alabama. Harper Lee’s novel is something in which the white residents of Monroeville, AL take great pride, even erecting a museum to the book. Stevenson sees clear parallels between Walter and the fictional Tom Robinson. Both are poor, black men accused of crimes against white women. Both have obviously been set up as fall men for the true perpetrator, in order to appease the local white community. Both are convicted despite their clear innocence. And yet, the same white residents who all but worship To Kill a Mockingbird are quick to condemn Walter and assume his guilt. In this way, To Kill a Mockingbird represents the hypocrisy and blindness of the white community. They choose to revere a fictional tale of racial injustice while actively encouraging a real one in their very backyard. After a frustrating meeting with racist white law officials who seem determined to see Walter executed, Stevenson sees a flyer for a local production of To Kill a Mockingbird. This only adds to his “outrage” (108). The white members of this community prefer the fair defense of innocent black men to be relegated to Atticus Finch—not