To Kill a Mockingbird (Situational Irony)
Stevenson considers it ironic that Walter is from Monroeville, Alabama, the same hometown of Harper Lee, who wrote the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which is about a black man who is found guilty of raping a white woman, despite his innocence. Though the novel is widely read and much-lauded, Stevenson notes how few people have understood the hard realities of racial injustice that the book explored, to the extent the Walter is put through a similar sham trial to the one depicted in Lee's novel.
Ian Manuel and Debbie Baigre's Correspondence (Situational Irony)
After Ian Manuel is tried as an adult and sent to prison for life, the person he ends up speaking to on the phone most often is Debbie Baigre, the woman he had shot. The unexpected relationship leads to an alliance in which Debbie advocates on Ian's behalf and tries to convince the State that he should be freed and that his sentence was overly punitive.
Walter's Empathy (Situational Irony)
Stevenson reflects on how, during their visits, Walter's instinctive empathy leads him to imagine that the guards are being rude to him because they must be frustrated with their work. Walter has every right to be angry about his situation, but his good nature is present even in a very trying and unjust circumstance, and he demonstrates far more understanding than those condemning and mistreating him.
The Hostile Guard (Situational Irony)
Though he is previously hostile and openly racist to Stevenson, when the guard with the Confederate flags on his truck and tattooed on his arm hears Stevenson describe Avery Jenkin's history of abuse within the foster care system, he reassesses his idea of himself and understands that his anger is misplaced and due to his own foster-care trauma. The guard is polite and thankful to Stevenson, and even buys Avery a chocolate milkshake on the way back to prison. Later, Stevenson hears that the guard has quit the prison.
Stevenson Presumed to be the Defendant (Situational Irony)
Stevenson recounts an instance when he arrived to court early and sat wearing his suit. When the white judge came in, he saw Stevenson and assumed that, because Stevenson is black, that he must have been the person on trial. Stevenson politely corrected the mistake and said he was in fact the defendant's lawyer.
