In conjunction with reading the book Just Mercy, you will write 4 papers (25 points each) on assigned chapters in the book Just Mercy. There are a total of 4 Just Mercy Papers worth 25 points each for a total of 100 points. Complete Just Mercy chapters assigned the week before each paper is due and then write about the assigned chapters ONLY. These papers are supposed to both help you relate the issues discussed in Just Mercy to the issues discussed in class discussions, readings, and lectures, as well as show me your understanding of Just Mercy. Each Just Mercy paper should be a minimum of 3 pages long (approximately 3-5), EXCLUDING any personal information and discussion prompts and should be a thoughtful, engaging discussion of the assigned chapters in the book. DO NOT simply summarize your reading! You will complete a series of tasks for assigned readings, including: (1) connecting reading to the textbook (2) providing real-world examples of the main issue discussed in each chapter (3) generating 4-5 discussion questions, with responses to at least 2 of those questions These tasks should reflect your own analysis of the reading. I am looking for a thoughtful and analytical discussion of the issues. Please cite page numbers when referring to specific material from the reading. Instructions for Just Mercy papers: Create a header with your names, date, and class number, and Just Mercy Paper # (this information needs to be part of the header, NOT the actual paper Relate the chapters you read in Just Mercy to our textbook. For example: In chapter 21 of Okada, Maguire and Sardina (2019), Singer & Johnson (2019) discuss the reasons for the deinstitutionalization of mental ill people in the 1960s and 70s. etc etc etc. This deinstitutionalization movement has led to a drastic increase in mentally ill prisoners, which becomes dishearteningly clear in Just Mercy. Stevenson (2014) discusses the case of . Relate the main issues discussed in each chapter to other cases or current news items. You HAVE TO provide a source for your case/news items! Sources can be from popular such as Time Magazine, CNN, etc. but you have to provide a link to the source. For example: Marsha Colbey/criminalization of bad motherscurrent abortion debate: According to Stevenson, Alabama passed a law in 2006 that made it a felony to expose a child to a dangerous environment in which the child could encounter drugs (including a womans womb as a potentially dangerous environment). Thousands of mothers with children living in poor, marginalized communities where drugs are rampant were put at risk of prosecution. In 2019, Alabama passed a law prohibiting abortions at every stage of pregnancy ( (Links to an external site.)), which essentially means that women who might have previously chosen to abort a pregnancy rather than expose a child to a dangerous environment, are now unable to do so under the threat of prosecution. These laws, beyond negating womens ability to have control over their own bodies, serve to criminalize poverty. If you are unable to afford health insurance, you are exposing your child to a dangerous environment simply by not providing prenatal care, yet you cannot abort your pregnancy to protect yourself from prosecution, thereby exposing your child to a dangerous environment after birth. Its a no-win situation! Walter McMillian think of cases that are similar but had completely different outcomes, . OJ Simpson, Brook Turner, etchow are these cases similar and why are their outcomes so different?
