***This blog was written and submitted by our Event Coordinator Raines Evans.***
Senior Writing and Communications major, Jaylee Bass, is working on her senior capstone project. Bass chose to research two literary works, Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird and Bryan Stevenson’s true story of Just Mercy.
Stevenson’s chilling story features two African American men, Tom Robinson and Walter McMillian, are wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes – found guilty essentially because of their skin. Harper Lee wrote her novel about Tom's case based on her experiences in Monroeville, AL “which is the same community where Walter years later received a similar injustice,” noted Bass. “The community treated justice as a game where there were low stakes for Whites and higher stakes for African Americans,” said Bass.
Bass says that both Lee and Stevenson demonstrate "that literature and law can learn from one another as they utilize their authorial voices to highlight the suppressed voices of African Americans discriminated against under the supposed impartiality of the law.”
“I argue that the two books help us navigate the game of justice to understand that the defendants, who are seen as pawns in the theoretical game of justice, are real stakeholders with their lives on the line,” said Bass.
The exploration of these works comes from Bass’ job at the Tift Circuit of Public Defender’s Office. While working there, Bass has found her integrity questioned by people.
“During my time working there, I have had many people bombard me questioning my integrity for working at a criminal defense office where ‘murderers and rapists’ are being represented. My Christian faith has taught me that everyone is worthy of grace. My work experience has taught me that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. My capstone project has taught me that not every conviction is a right conviction. Every single person deserves a fair trial with constitutionally adequate legal defense. If it was not for Bryan Stevenson, Walter McMillian would have sat on death row until he was executed for a crime he did not commit. I wanted to bring attention to the importance of the pursuit of justice by criminal defense attorneys,” said Bass.
When asked what this capstone means to Bass, she said, ”This project to me means using my privilege to highlight suppressed voices like Walter McMillian and the many others who are considered fundamentally unequal for an immutable characteristic assigned to them at birth.”
Overall, the message that Bass wants to send to the world comes from To Kill a Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” - Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
*** This blog was written and submitted by our Event Coordinator Raines Evans.***
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