Where justice and mercy collide

As a group reading exercise, it turned out to be pretty dramatic.

North Idaho College students taking part in a program called “Common Reads” got the full treatment on Wednesday, as a panel of experts from the world of criminal justice helped put a human face on the book “Just Mercy,” by Bryan Stevenson.

Almost to a person, the panel praised the book to an audience of students and members of the public, and then laid out personal experiences, anecdotes and a look at their value systems.

Some moments were stunning, leaving the crowd in contemplative silence.

Clark Peterson, a Kootenai County magistrate judge, recalled an experience in Las Vegas when he had to make the final decision on whether a death sentence would be carried out.

He allowed the execution to go ahead.

“It’s about the heaviest thing you can carry,” Peterson said. “You think about it every night.”

In fact, the book being discussed places a focus on the death penalty, and whether it is applied — like much of American justice — fairly or not.

Reviewer James Clear wrote an oft-quoted, three-sentence wrap of “Just Mercy.”

Clear’s summary: “The measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, and the condemned.

“Simply punishing the broken only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too.

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

That short but sharp synopsis of “Just Mercy” was addressed by the NIC panel in ways that perhaps no one expected when this event was planned.

Many of these experienced experts went deep into their own work and emotions to share application of the justice system in North Idaho and elsewhere.

“I had a job pouring concrete when I got out of law school, and then a friend told me there was a public defender position open in Canyon County,” said Tyrel Stevenson, legislative director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.

“Looking back, I was so lucky to get to do that. It opened my eyes.

“Friends would ask me: ‘How can you defend people who are guilty?’”

At that point, retired Judge Eugene Marano said: “The highest calling as a lawyer is to defend the guilty.”

The discussion cut to the heart of America’s adversarial system of justice, which was taken in large part from Great Britain.

Mary Wolfinger, coordinator of the Kootenai County Mental Health Court, talked passionately about the care and occasional rehabilitation of the mentally ill — a group addressed at length in “Just Mercy.”

Wolfinger spoke about a goal that also was mentioned by several other panelists, the hope of putting families back together.

“When you get to see a felony charge dismissed because a person has completed a program, it’s just so rewarding,” she said.

One theme was repeated quite a few times: The actual justice system is definitely not what you watch on television. This is the real thing. And even more critically, these are real people.

“On TV you see this adversarial relationship as if we’re all against each other,” said Mario Rios, a training officer with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

“Actually, we’re working together to get the right result.”

Rios also touched on a point that was mentioned as a goal in Stevenson’s book.

“I’m so glad we have a mental health coordinator now (Wolfinger took the position in 2009),” Rios said. “You have to have a compassionate side to work in the justice system.

“There might be somebody that you think you really don’t want to help, you really don’t — but then you know we’re all dealing with people at their worst possible times.

“I can teach the physical side of being a law officer, but there’s no way to teach compassion.”

Wolfinger referred to a different kind of passion while quoting a section from the book — the passion to find justice in any circumstance. She noted that Stevenson heard some advice that stuck from someone doing a TED Talk.

“What the person said sounded odd at first, but Stevenson realized that it was really important. The phrase was: ‘Be brave when you’re tired.’”

Two or three panelists mentioned administering law fairly and correctly is exhausting, and yet you cannot afford to let weariness affect your work.

“I had a jury trial in St. Maries,” Marano said, “and the jury brought back a verdict at 2 a.m. Everyone was tired — I know I was — but the jury wanted to continue through the night.

“If I had asked them to stop, that break (to interrupt deliberations) would have meant it would no longer have been a fair trial.”

The panel also addressed topics like the huge numbers of people incarcerated in the United States, the fact crime figures have dropped dramatically without the public seeming to notice, the notion of some drug offenses being called victimless crimes (Peterson called that idea “nonsense”) and the differences in prosecuting cases in tribal court as opposed to state or federal venues.

The discussion concluded with a question-and-answer session, with written queries submitted by students.

Overall, it would be hard to argue that these young and curious attendees on Wednesday possibly could have gotten a better look inside the “real” justice system.

“Sometimes people make a wrong decision and find themselves in a very dark place,” Tyrel Stevenson said.

“It’s important that we understand that the word ‘defendant’ is just a label. Most people in that situation don’t really even understand what is happening to them. It really strikes you.

“And you realize that it could happen to you, or me, or any of us.”