Readings and assignments are to be completed by class time of the date indicated .
1. Read the Introduction – “Higher Ground”
2. Complete the following:
Introduction: “Higher Ground”
1. Take notes on the following and make sure you bring to class. Notes will be checked.
You may handwrite or type responses. Be prepared to discuss your reaction to the introduction in the form of a graded discussion.
a. 2 quotes that resonated with you
b. your reaction to Bryan meeting “Henry”
c. your thoughts about “Henry”
d. the purpose/thesis/point of this chapter e. rhetorical modes & devices Stevenson uses. What is effective/ineffective; believable or doubtful?
f. 2 things you learned that you aren’t likely to forget
g. reason for the title “Higher Ground”
Chapter 1 – “Mockingbird Players”
2. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: You do not have to write responses, but be prepared to discuss. a. At the time Stevenson was in his 4 th year at the SPDC (Southern Prisoners Defense
Committee), why did the state of Alabama have so many prisoners on death row? b. Look up the landmark case Loving vs. State of Virginia and describe the connection between that case and Walter McMillian’s. c. Why do you think Walter McMillian is a target of police investigators? Is there sufficient evidence to arrest him? Explain.
Other questions to consider that you DO NOT have to write answers for. These are additional questions we will discuss in class. a. How does Stevenson’s upbringing shape his understanding of the justice system? What does this say about the importance of “experience” in shaping our belief system? b. As a result of his extensive work with low income and incarcerated people, Stevenson concludes that “the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice” (18). What does this statement mean?
What is justice? What does ‘Just Mercy’ mean?

c. Although miscegenation laws were “legal”, in what way was justice typically not served when an interracial relationship became known? d. In what year was the Alabama state ban on interracial marriages finally voted down?
4B MON 4/16: 1A TUES 4/17
1. Read Chapter 2: Stand and Chapter 3: Trials and Tribulations (pgs. 35-66)
2. Group 1: You are facilitating this discussion
3. All must complete the following by class time:
Chapter 2: Stand (pg 35)
1. Choose 2 of the 4 discussion questions and write a paragraph response to each.
Responses will be checked at the beginning of class, so please have them available. a.
Does NH have Stand Your Ground laws? Do you believe they are an effective means of reducing crime? Why? b.
Listen to the song “Stand” by Sly and the Family Stone or “Higher Ground” by Stevie
Wonder and read the lyrics. Explain the connection between the song and Stevenson.
Find a song that best describes something you believe in or stand for. c.
Stevenson wished he had been more assertive with the police while they were illegally searching his car. Do you think that would have been effective? How would you recommend someone respond in a similar situation? d.
Do you think the police officers acted appropriately? How else might they have approached the situation? e.
Likewise, did the officers’ supervisors respond fairly to Stevenson’s official complaint?
Explain with examples.
Chapter 3: Trials and Tribulations (pg. 47)
2. Prepare for discussion about Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. You do not have to write a response for any of the following chapter 3 questions, but you will be required to verbally respond, so have answers prepared. a.
What is the importance of the 1986 Batson v. Kentucky ruling? b.
How did the defense attorneys’ strategy of attempting to change venue backfire? c.
In your opinion, who is most to blame for Walter’s conviction and why? d.
Walter was both poor and black. Do you think his story would have played out the same if he had been a wealthy black man? What if he had been poor and white? Give 1 example of a trial that you can use to support your thinking.

1. Read Chapter 4: The Old Rugged Cross and Chapter 5: Of the Coming of John (pgs. 67-114)
2. Group 2: You will facilitate the discussion today for both chapters.
3. All must complete the following by class time:
Chapter 4: The Old Rugged Cross (pg 67)
1. Write an approximate one page (single spaced handwritten or double spaced typed) response to the following. (Most likely this will be collected for a separate grade). a. In this chapter, Stevenson cites the cases of Michael Lindsey, Horace Duncan, and Herbert
Richardson. Choose 1 of these cases and explain why this man is on death row and whether justice was ultimately served and why. Finally, address the issue of whether this could happen today.
In other words, have the laws changed to prevent this from happening again?
Chapter 5: Of the Coming of John (pg 92)
2. These questions are to be used as the basis for discussion only. Prepare notes if you must, but certainly be prepared to speak! a.
What is the origin of this chapter’s name (and also Chapter 4’s)? b.
While Stevenson is meeting Walter’s family, do you think he is confident Walter will be free? How would you handle that situation? c.
How is the relationship between Stevenson and Walter changing? What does the author cite as an important activity for lawyers to do when defending death row prisoners? Why? d.
Why does it annoy Stevenson that To Kill a Mockingbird is a point of pride in Monroeville? e.
How would you characterize Stevenson’s mood at the end of this chapter? f.
Based only on what you know up to this point, are you hopeful for Walter’s release? Why?

1. Read Chapter 6: Surely Doomed (pg. 115-126)
2. Group 3 will facilitate the discussion
3. All must complete the following by class time:
Chapter 6: Surely Doomed (pg. 115)
1. Be prepared to discuss any aspect of the chapter. The following are questions to help guide you.
Your grade will be based on your verbal responses. a.
This is a difficult chapter to get through. Be prepared to discuss your reaction. b.
What techniques does Stevenson use in this chapter? c.
Was Charlie justified in what he did? d.
In what ways has the judicial system failed to protect Charlie? e.
What eventually happened to Charlie? f.
What is your opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Jennings?
2. Read the following excerpted article published Mar 13, 2017. Be prepared to discuss your reaction.
Blacks and Hispanics make up less than 5 percent of New Hampshire's population, but account for 9 percent of the state's arrests.
March 13, 2017, at 9:18 a.m.
By EMILY CORWIN, New Hampshire Public Radio
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — In March of 2016, 26 year-old Jeffrey Pendleton died inside a Manchester, New
Hampshire jail. Pendleton was a homeless African-American man charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana. He remained in the Valley Street jail while awaiting trial because he couldn't afford to pay $100 in bail.
After Pendleton's death, NHPR's Emily Corwin requested eight data sets containing details of the population at
Valley Street. These reports included inmates' names, charges, race, conviction status, and bail amounts.
Over the course of a year, reporting from this dataset revealed that Pendleton's death was the only uncommon part of his story. The data shows a bigger racial disparity in arrest and jail rates in New Hampshire than in the nation as a whole. It also reveals that Pendleton was just one of many people incarcerated for minor crimes because they can't afford bail.
While reporting the bail story, Emily also discovered Michael Treadwell, a man who has spent years in jail for little more than trespassing. His story shows when people don't get the help they need, taxpayers can get left with a hefty bill.

Blacks and Hispanics make up less than 5 percent of New Hampshire's population, but account for 9 percent of the state's arrests. That racial disparity increases when you look at the jail population in New Hampshire.
For example, drug crimes are the most common type of offense for which people end up at the Hillsborough
County jail. While whites make up 83 percent of those arrested for drug offenses in the county, they are only 69 percent of those incarcerated while awaiting trial.
Disparities in New Hampshire's criminal justice system are especially notable for black people.
Nationally, blacks are 3.5 times more likely to be in jail than whites. In New Hampshire, blacks are 5 times more likely to be in jail, and in Hillsborough County - the most populous and diverse county in the state - they are nearly 6 times more likely to be in jail than whites.
Little research has been done in New Hampshire around race and the state's 10 county jails, which are run by county governments. No comprehensive data is available regarding these jails' populations.
But data provided to NHPR by the Valley Street Jail in Hillsborough County allows a glimpse into the details of who is incarcerated here, and why.
Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard said he plans to analyze his department's arrests by census tract, to better understand the disproportionate arrest rates in Manchester. He says he has questions like "what types of arrests are being made? Who are the victims? Who's reporting it? Is it a police officer making a car stop and doing it of his own productivity? Or is it a victim calling to make a report?"
When first presented with data indicating disparate arrest rates in Hillsborough County, Willard suggested offenses committed in Manchester by people of color from across the Massachusetts border were skewing the data. He provided NHPR with his department's arrest data, which includes offenders' city of residence. That data, from 2014, shows black residents of Manchester are three times more likely to be arrested than white residents: a more disparate rate for blacks from Manchester than overall in Hillsborough County.
This data comes in the midst of national strife around criminal justice and minority communities. Although cities in New Hampshire have not been in the national spotlight for police conduct, the data indicates that the state's criminal justice system contains inequities that are similar to those in communities nationwide.
Gilles Bissonette, legal director at New Hampshire's ACLU, said it's not surprising the state's numbers are similar to national trends. He cited decade-old research from The Sentencing Project, which ranked New
Hampshire as having the 19th highest rate of incarceration among blacks, and the sixth highest rate among
Hispanics. He called such disparities "very concerning," and said, "It needs to be looked at in great detail by criminal justice leaders and politicians."
In Nashua, police have had a particularly negative reputation among minorities in years past, according to
NAACP officials. After a new chief was appointed in early 2015, however, officers and a committee of residents began meeting monthly to build trust.
Chris Webber was in jail on a couple hundred dollars cash bail the day his daughter was born. He wasn't there because of his trespassing and resisting arrest convictions. He was there because he misses court dates, and he's poor.
In fact, Webber spent a total of 60 days last year at the Valley Street Jail in Manchester for those two reasons.
I met Webber in October at the jail. He was being held on $500. What money he has, he says, he needs for
"formula, diapers, and wipes. Not me getting out" of jail.

Webber is one of the dozens of people detained each day at the Valley Street Jail, kept behind bars because they are unable to post bail of $1,000 or less.
According to NHPR's analysis of data from the jail, typically 60 percent of these people are charged with only nonviolent offenses like drug possession, theft, trespass and resisting arrest.
Because of their inability to pay even relatively low bails, many will spend more than a month behind bars awaiting court dates.
Research shows incarceration, even just for a few days, increases the likelihood someone will commit additional crimes. For those detained pretrial, it increases the likelihood a defendant will be found guilty of a crime, plead to a charge, and be sentenced with incarceration.
…In the meantime, defendants who can afford bail, go home. The rest, including Chris Webber, will spend months behind bars waiting for trials and hearings.
__
Information from: WEVO-FM, http://www.nhpr.org/

1. Read Chapter 7: Justice Denied (pg. 127)
2. Group 4 will facilitate the discussion
3. Complete the following by class time:
Chapter 7: Justice Denied (pg. 127) a. Prepare a list of evidence from this chapter that you feel might help to prove Walter McMillian’s innocence. Bullet point this list. (This will be checked in class). b. Be prepared to discuss the following:
1.
Why do you think the State of Alabama rejected the appeal at the start of this chapter?
2.
What is your opinion of Judge Robert E. Lee Key?
3.
What are your feelings about Ralph Myers?
4.
What are your feelings about Payne v. Tennessee ?
5.
How does the race of the victim come into decisions about sentencing?
6.
Thinking back to Chapter 5, are you any more hopeful now for Walter’s release?
7.
What one ‘thing’ did you learn about the judicial system from this chapter?

1. Read Chapter 8: All God’s Children and Chapter 9: I’m Here (pg. 147-185)
2. Group 5 will facilitate the discussion
3. Complete the following by class time:
Chapter 8: All God’s Children (pg. 147) a. Take notes on any (2 minimum) of the following to prepare for discussion. Notes will be checked.
1.
What evidence did criminologists have in 1991 to support their “super-predator” theory?
2.
How would you have changed the ruling in each of Trina, Ian, and Antonio’s sentencing?
3.
Each one of them came from difficult home situations. Should that make a difference in their sentencing?
4.
Is justice being served when minors receive life-in-prison sentences?
5.
How does Ian channel his emotions?
6.
How would you react to receiving a letter like the one Ian writes to Stevenson?
7.
Research the Trayvon Martin case .
Did the case receive equal/same coverage in Florida compared to outside Florida?
Chapter 9: I’m Here (pg. 163) b. Take notes on any (2 minimum) of the following to prepare for discussion. Notes will be checked.
1.
Does it seem like the jury now believes Ralph Myers?
2.
What are your impressions of Mrs. Williams?
3.
Stevenson remarks on several physical actions he takes during the trial. What are they and are they effective?
4.
Of all the evidence presented in this trial, which is the most likely to sway the judge’s ruling?
5.
Which is the least likely?
6.
Should Stevenson and Michael be concerned?

1. Read Chapter 10: Mitigation (pg 186-202)
2. Group 6 will facilitate the discussion
3. Complete the following by class time:
Chapter 10: Mitigation (pg. 186) a. Using all of the same evidence Stevenson lists, prepare notes as if you were Stevenson. In what order would you present the evidence to make the strongest case? Would you call (or ignore) any other witnesses? What would you emphasize during your opening and closing remarks? (Notes will be checked in class). b. Use the following questions as a basis of discussion only:
1.
Recount the story of George Daniel and list each example of how he may have been treated unfairly.
2.
Does everyone in the group agree?
3.
If you were the prison warden where Avery Jenkins was held, would you allow your staff to proactively declare their political opinions?
4.
Who is Dorothea Dix and why is she important to this chapter?
5.
Did your state play a role in the massive deinstitutionalization rates of the 1990s? What impact do those actions have on today’s society?
6.
What does Stevenson mean when he uses the phrase “mitigation” in court?

END OF BOOK WRITING ASSIGNMENT:
Handwrite a letter to:
Bryan Stevenson
Executive Director
Equal Justice Initiative
122 Commerce Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
We will address these mail them in class when you return from break, but please bring your handwritten letter to class on Tuesday.
Your letter may discuss anything, including:
Your reaction to the book
A discussion of what you learned or how you were affected by the book
A discussion of what you liked about Stevenson’s memoir
A thank you to Stevenson for?
Or something else
Here are some questions for you to consider if you are stuck for something to say:

What kind(s) of emotional state(s) did the book bring up in you?

Is this a book about combating racism? What is this book about?

Did Stevenson's examples resonate with you, or were you shocked?

Is the book an eye-opener for you, or validation of what you already knew?

Consider how your reaction would differ if you were of a different race or class, were the victim of a serious crime, or had personal experience with the justice system. How might you respond differently?

Did you respond more to the individual stories or to information about injustice in the entire justice system?