The Cloud of Shame (Metaphor)
After Herbert Richardson's execution, Stevenson perceives a shared feeling of discomfort among the people who have witnessed the execution. Employing a metaphor, he describes the shared feeling as a "cloud of shame" that descends on the people involved in the execution.
Like a Bird (Simile)
After Walter's retrial exonerates him, he sits in the back of Stevenson's car and flaps his arms up and down. Employing a simile to express his joy at being able to move freely through the world, he says he feels like a bird.
Scars as Medals of Honor (Metaphor)
During one of his public talks, Stevenson encounters an older man who commends Stevenson for his social justice work. The man displays the scars he had received during his participation in civil rights demonstrations. The man says he wears the scars proudly, the way that soldiers display their medals of honor.
Catching Stones (Metaphor)
Toward the end of the memoir, Stevenson recounts meeting an elderly woman who considers her role in life to be someone who catches the stones others cast. This metaphor means that while some people may approach others with judgement, she will counteract those people's efforts by showing compassion to the people society has deemed worthy of condemnation. As he seeks a more equitable society, Stevenson understands the importance of having more people who are willing to catch stones than cast them.
As Cruel as Asking Someone With No Legs to Climb Stairs (Simile)
When defending Avery Jenkins, Stevenson compares the court's decision to overlook Jenkins's mental disability to asking a legless person to climb stairs and then writing the legless person off as lazy when they fail to. By making this comparison, Stevenson seeks to point out not only the illogic but the cruelty of judging a disabled person by the same standard as an able-bodied or -minded person.
