Index IntroductionExamples of Logos in Just MercyConclusionIntroductionInnocent until proven guilty is not always the case for some people. Bryan Stevenson's book Just Mercy is about him becoming a lawyer and revealing true events that happened to people. In the book, Stevenson explains how he represented and gave guidance to a man named Walter McMillian who was wrongly convicted of the murder of a woman, Rhonda Morrison, and was eventually released after six years on prison death row. 'Alabama. Stevenson uses Walter's circumstances and other true events to illustrate his book. He uses logos effectively by providing readers with concrete evidence of what he is saying, such as people with mental illness being put on death row, how there is corruption in the police force, and how women are targeted by the police and by other law enforcement agencies, particularly the poor. Stevenson supports his claims with evidence, facts, and the ability to show evidence and verification. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Examples of Logos in Just Mercy The first way Stevenson uses logos is how prisons hold large amounts of mentally ill people. He states: “American prisons have become warehouses for the mentally ill.” It goes on to say that “mass incarceration has been largely fueled by misguided drug policies and excessive sentencing, but the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of poor and mentally ill people has been the driving force in reaching our levels incarceration record. It has created unprecedented problems." This allows the reader to understand how many people are sent to prison with mental disabilities, and makes the reader think about how the person with mental illness could be helped or receive treatment in other facilities instead of going to prison and being put to death. line. Stevenson points out that “Today, more than 50 percent of prisons and inmates in the United States have a diagnosed mental illness, a rate nearly five times higher than that of the general adult population. Nearly one in five inmates in jails and prisons suffer from a serious mental illness. In fact, the number of seriously mentally ill people in jail or prison is more than three times higher than in hospitals; in some states that number is tenfold. And prison is a terrible place for someone who suffers from a mental illness or neurological disorder that prison guards are not trained to understand.” This convinces the reader that Stevenson is using evidence and facts to demonstrate to the reader that there are large numbers of people in prison or on death row with mental illness and prompts the reader to agree with Stevenson that prison is not a place for a person with a mental illness. Throughout the book, Stevenson considered many cases involving a person with a mental illness such as Herbert Richardson, who had a history of psychological health problems and trauma. He was executed for unintentionally killing a young girl. He also considered the case of a man named Avery Jenkins who was disabled, found guilty of murder and sentenced to execution. Stevenson won the case, and Jenkins was eventually sent to a psychiatric facility. People should have the opportunity to get the help and care they need. Throughout the book, Stevenson explains how Sheriff Tate and other law enforcement agencies do not follow the laws and prosecute situations unfairly such as Ralph Myers' false testimony against Walter McMillian.“Ralph Myers began to have second thoughts about his accusations against McMillian. He was also facing a charge in the Morrison murder. They had promised him that he would not be sentenced to death and that he would get preferential treatment in exchange for his testimony, but he was beginning to realize that admitting that he was involved in a high-profile murder that he had nothing to do with probably wouldn't he was intelligent. A few days before the capital's murder charges against McMillian were made public, Myers summoned police investigators and told them that his accusations against McMillian were not true. At this point, Tate and his investigators had little interest in Myers' recantation. Instead, they decided to pressure Myers into producing more incriminating details because, well, the story wasn't true, investigators didn't know about it. It is unclear who decided to place both Myers and McMillian on death row before the trial to create additional pressure, but it was an almost unprecedented maneuver that proved very effective.” Stevenson then states: “It is illegal to subject pretrial detainees like Walter and Myers to imprisonment that constitutes punishment. Pretrial detainees are generally housed in local prisons, where they enjoy more privileges and freedoms than convicted criminals who are sent to prison….” This shows the reader that Stevenson is providing facts that it was illegal and wrong for both Myers and McMillian to be sent to death row without being convicted. This also shows that Sheriff Tate and other investigators are not following the laws as they should, especially by forcing Myers to falsely testify against McMillian. Sheriff Tate and the detectives should have been penalized or punished for what happened and released from their duties. Another way Stevenson uses logos is that he took the case of a woman named Marsha Colbey. Colbey was a poor white woman who lived with her husband and children in a crowded trailer. She soon found out she was pregnant, and all the worry and anxiety brought her back to craving drugs. “Marsha knew that pregnancy at her age was very risky, but she couldn't afford to see a doctor, she just didn't have money to spend. Having endured six previous births, she knew what to expect and thought she would make the best of it with prenatal care. She tried not to worry even though she had had pain and problems during her pregnancy that she didn't remember having before. There had been some bleeding; if she had been able to afford a visit, a doctor would have found signs of placental abruption... One day she wasn't feeling well and thought a long hot bath would do her some good. She settled into a tub of warm water minutes before violent labor began. She felt like it was happening too fast and before she knew it, she had delivered a stillborn child. She desperately tried to resuscitate the child, but he never took a breath." Colbey buried the little girl near their home, when their neighbor eventually noticed that she was no longer pregnant. He then told a worker at the school where he worked to call the police. Marsha Colbey has been charged with capital murder. “In time, the Alabama Supreme Court interpreted the term environment to include the uterus and the term child to include the fetus. Pregnant women could now be criminally prosecuted and sent to prison for decades if there was evidence they used drugs at any point during their pregnancy. Dozens of women have been incarcerated under this law in recent years, instead of receiving the help they need.” Marsha Colbey had used drugs before her pregnancy, but/10.1177/0306396815595923)