Very few people accept to be associated with the wrongdoers, in fact, most of them avoid associating with suspected wrongdoers even before they are convicted of their crimes. Jeffrey Toobin in The Legacy of Lynching, on Death Row attempts to give an account of a 20-year-old Black American lawyer, Stevenson, founded an organization whose main role was to offer legal support to state inmates on death row. The article starts by giving a comprehensive report regarding the role of the organization and the goals it has achieved over the last few years. Toobin begins to build the article’s credibility by giving facts from different sources, use of statistics and emotional appeal; additionally, the use of case studies and references strengthen the article’s credibility and the argument or to be weakened by their excessive usage. However, excess use of the case studies compromise the quality of the article.
In his article, Toobin begins by stating that there have been changes in the justice system, especially on death row. A ruling by the Supreme Court judge stated that death row punishment was no longer legal until the offenders were above eighteen years of age. This gave relief to most teenagers especially in Alabama where several clients were waiting to be executed. Toobin attempts to appeal to his readers by explaining how Stevenson delivered this news to a group of teenagers in an Alabama prison. "Because they were all still quite young" (Toobin, para 3).
Secondly, Toobin attempts to show how false accusations have also led to multiple wrongful convictions. In a narration from Joe Sullivan, an inmate in Graceville Correction Facility, Toobin appeals to the readers' emotions to a large extent. Sullivan tries to explain how he was falsely accused of being in the wrong place with the wrong people, “I was just with the wrong people at the wrong time. They said I’m the mastermind to everything. They said I did a sexual batter. I couldn’t spell sex in those days” (Toobin, para 5).
Throughout the article, Toobin uses different sources to strengthen his credibility and build the whole argument. For instance, when Toobin is referring to a TED talk in his paper, he states the exact year when this activity took place, “After a TED talk in 2012” (Toobin, para 11). Citing this and other sources boost Toobin’s credibility by showing that he has carried out extensive research while writing this paper. These sources also show that he values expert opinions from other important platforms.
Toobin also uses significant appeal to logos by using statistics and other facts. The article starts by explaining how this organization has managed to secure thousands of people from the death penalty row. The author also states that twenty million dollars’ worth of donations were collected from charitable organizations. Additionally, the article also states the 9/11 occurrence as a fact that cannot be disputed in this article.
Toobin begins his article by introducing Stevenson and the different roles his organization was carrying out across the United States. He achieves this objective by using ethos and logos to appeal to his readers. He maintains this flow throughout the paper; however, he uses a large number of case studies thus weakening his credibility and the article's argument. Toobin could have driven his point home better if fewer cases studies were used.
Work Cited
Toobin, Jeffrey. "The Legacy of Lynching, On Death Row." The New Yorker. N.P., 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2018.
