Like a continuous pattern across several cases in Just Mercy, I believe Walter's conviction is based off of lies, the hatred of others, and major racial discrimination. Yes. Perhaps we could blame Myers for his lies under oath. Perhaps we could blame the judge's carelessness, sour and tedious attitude. We could blame a combination of both, and several other conceptions. Yet, above all, what really lies underneath? What festers like a tick under the skin of society? What really takes the supreme blame? Hate. Assumption. Wrongful judgement. There was zero evidence and zero accurate testimonies against Walter. How else could we explain this terrible phenomenon? Why do they all crowd together and point fingers at a man that has NO background of violent or criminal acts? It's because they look at his skin. It's because their hearts' leak not love or openness. In their eyes, they see hate. In their eyes, they look at the one thing that "defines" Walter. That shall be their doom. In the end, that shall be their doom. How wrong it is Walter had to suffer so for their rabid minds...
Yes! I completely agree with you Gigi! Hatred is an emotion so powerful that one someone begins to experience it, they become completely overwhelmed. If the lies and hatred were not a factor, I truly believe that Walter may have not even been sent to death row in the first place! However, there is still the factor of the discrimination towards Walter. He is treated differently, as if he is from another planet, not as some with a different skin color should be treated. When these three elements combine together it leads to nothing good. These things are to blame for Walter's conviction, his suffering; these emotions overcome all love and acceptance that could have lead to a full life of happiness.
Jackson While the obvious answer to this question would be Ralph Myers or the sheriff, I believe that the answer to this question is more complex. On the smallest scale, Myers testifying falsely against Walter and the sheriff pushing this testification, but that is only the final piece of a much larger puzzle. On a small, but larger than previous scale, the town’s unrest at a murder gone unsolved for so long is to blame. This unrest pushed the sheriff to pressure Myres into testifying, in order to keep his face and settle the people, no matter if Walter was guilty or not. On a medium scale was the current American society. No matter how we try to deny, the sick roots of racism are embedded in America, especially in the deep south. While many people aren’t racist or sexist, on a large scale, the country is almost entirely run by white men, with only a few handfuls of women and black people getting into political offices, and, once again, this is amplified in the south. On a large scale, it is this country's history that caused Walter’s arrest. This country has always been afflicted with racism, this case takes place only about twenty years after the abolishment of the jim crow laws, and racial tensions are extremely high, and racism is still vastly shown in the south today, and it was abundant in these times. However, this is caused by the largest factor leading to Walter’s arrest. This is the history of the world. Throughout history, almost everybody saw their race as superior to all others, and that sentiment has never truly been able to fade, even if people in the world change.
Yes!! Thank you for saying that. While I agree both Ralph Myers and the sheriff played a crucial role in Walter’s conviction, I believe there was not only one thing to blame for his sentence, but yet a bunch of events in history that really lead up to the problem. America's views on racism, if I had to choose one reason that was to blame for Walter being put on death row, was probably the main one. While on the other hand I also believe the intense pressure from the public wanting to find the murderer was quite a significant factor in him being falsely accused, in general.
Jackson, I completely and totally 100% agree with you. There were so many contributing factors that put Walter in the situation he was in. Racism, by far, would be one of the biggest contributing factors. Our society, more so in the past, has always racially segregated people who look different, especially African Americans. White people were always looked upon as being the superior race. So, even after the arrest, it took so long to convince a jury and judge that Walter was innocent because people tended to side with white people.
Another contributing factor would be Ralph Myer’s false testimony. Not only did Ralph lie about Walter killing Ronda Morrison, but he changed his story multiple times based off of what the sheriff told him to say. By Myer’s making these accusations against Walter, this caused Walter to be sent to prison and be placed on death row. Myer’s lies played a significant role in Walter’s story and his conviction.
Even though the contributing factors that aided the sheriff in convicting Walter were all relevant to this case, one of smaller contributing factors would be the fact that the sheriff hadn’t made any arrests yet. The reason the sheriff arrested Walter as a suspect was because of his race, which made him vulnerable, the fact that Myer’s came forth with a statement saying it was Walter who murdered Ronda Morrison, and the law enforcement officers didn’t have any other suspects. Walter’s conviction can be blamed on many factors, his race, the injustice of the legal system, the sheriff, and Myer’s. Every factor affected his case in some different way.
Like a continuous pattern across several cases in Just Mercy, I believe Walter's conviction is based off of lies, the hatred of others, and major racial discrimination.
ReplyDeleteYes. Perhaps we could blame Myers for his lies under oath. Perhaps we could blame the judge's carelessness, sour and tedious attitude. We could blame a combination of both, and several other conceptions. Yet, above all, what really lies underneath? What festers like a tick under the skin of society? What really takes the supreme blame? Hate. Assumption. Wrongful judgement. There was zero evidence and zero accurate testimonies against Walter. How else could we explain this terrible phenomenon? Why do they all crowd together and point fingers at a man that has NO background of violent or criminal acts? It's because they look at his skin. It's because their hearts' leak not love or openness. In their eyes, they see hate. In their eyes, they look at the one thing that "defines" Walter.
That shall be their doom. In the end, that shall be their doom. How wrong it is Walter had to suffer so for their rabid minds...
Yes! I completely agree with you Gigi! Hatred is an emotion so powerful that one someone begins to experience it, they become completely overwhelmed. If the lies and hatred were not a factor, I truly believe that Walter may have not even been sent to death row in the first place! However, there is still the factor of the discrimination towards Walter. He is treated differently, as if he is from another planet, not as some with a different skin color should be treated. When these three elements combine together it leads to nothing good. These things are to blame for Walter's conviction, his suffering; these emotions overcome all love and acceptance that could have lead to a full life of happiness.
DeleteJackson
ReplyDeleteWhile the obvious answer to this question would be Ralph Myers or the sheriff, I believe that the answer to this question is more complex. On the smallest scale, Myers testifying falsely against Walter and the sheriff pushing this testification, but that is only the final piece of a much larger puzzle. On a small, but larger than previous scale, the town’s unrest at a murder gone unsolved for so long is to blame. This unrest pushed the sheriff to pressure Myres into testifying, in order to keep his face and settle the people, no matter if Walter was guilty or not. On a medium scale was the current American society. No matter how we try to deny, the sick roots of racism are embedded in America, especially in the deep south. While many people aren’t racist or sexist, on a large scale, the country is almost entirely run by white men, with only a few handfuls of women and black people getting into political offices, and, once again, this is amplified in the south. On a large scale, it is this country's history that caused Walter’s arrest. This country has always been afflicted with racism, this case takes place only about twenty years after the abolishment of the jim crow laws, and racial tensions are extremely high, and racism is still vastly shown in the south today, and it was abundant in these times. However, this is caused by the largest factor leading to Walter’s arrest. This is the history of the world. Throughout history, almost everybody saw their race as superior to all others, and that sentiment has never truly been able to fade, even if people in the world change.
DeleteYes!! Thank you for saying that. While I agree both Ralph Myers and the sheriff played a crucial role in Walter’s conviction, I believe there was not only one thing to blame for his sentence, but yet a bunch of events in history that really lead up to the problem. America's views on racism, if I had to choose one reason that was to blame for Walter being put on death row, was probably the main one. While on the other hand I also believe the intense pressure from the public wanting to find the murderer was quite a significant factor in him being falsely accused, in general.
-Brianna Davenport
Jackson, I completely and totally 100% agree with you. There were so many contributing factors that put Walter in the situation he was in. Racism, by far, would be one of the biggest contributing factors. Our society, more so in the past, has always racially segregated people who look different, especially African Americans. White people were always looked upon as being the superior race. So, even after the arrest, it took so long to convince a jury and judge that Walter was innocent because people tended to side with white people.
DeleteAnother contributing factor would be Ralph Myer’s false testimony. Not only did Ralph lie about Walter killing Ronda Morrison, but he changed his story multiple times based off of what the sheriff told him to say. By Myer’s making these accusations against Walter, this caused Walter to be sent to prison and be placed on death row. Myer’s lies played a significant role in Walter’s story and his conviction.
Even though the contributing factors that aided the sheriff in convicting Walter were all relevant to this case, one of smaller contributing factors would be the fact that the sheriff hadn’t made any arrests yet. The reason the sheriff arrested Walter as a suspect was because of his race, which made him vulnerable, the fact that Myer’s came forth with a statement saying it was Walter who murdered Ronda Morrison, and the law enforcement officers didn’t have any other suspects. Walter’s conviction can be blamed on many factors, his race, the injustice of the legal system, the sheriff, and Myer’s. Every factor affected his case in some different way.