Question

Read the excerpts from "Wrongful Convictions” by Jon Gould and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

"Wrongful Convictions”

Today what I’d like to present to you are the results of a three-year project using empirical methods and a control group that really brought social science methods to the table to examine the causes of wrongful conviction.

Just Mercy

This book is about getting closer to mass incarceration and extreme punishment in America. It is about how easily we condemn people in this country and the injustice we create when we allow fear, anger, and distance to shape the way we treat the most vulnerable among us. It’s also about a dramatic period in our recent history, a period that indelibly marked the lives of millions of Americans—of all races, ages, and sexes—and the American psyche as a whole.

Which statement best describes how the authors’ purposes are similar?

Both want to bring awareness to unjust convictions.
Both want to share their direct experiences with the justice system.
Both want to encourage others to fight to change the justice system.
Both want to show how the conviction system affects people mentally.

Answer 1

Both want to bring awareness to unjust convictions.

Gould’s excerpt describes an empirical study examining the causes of wrongful conviction, and Stevenson’s excerpt exposes injustices of mass incarceration—both aim to illuminate and raise awareness about unfairness in the justice system.