Kristof exhibits a forgiving, empathic tone while describing the case of a black male, Ian Manuel, who at thirteen years old shot a white woman in the face. Manuel is currently serving life in prison, and Debbie Baigrie, the victim, is pressing for his release. Kristof does not portray Manuel as a cold-hearted kid with a gun. Instead, he gives a detailed background of Ian Manuel; his home life, childhood, and the gang initiation that changed his life. The author appealed to pathos by expressing empathy for Ian Manuel, much like Baigrie has although Manuel caused her pain. Readers who have a similar background to Manuel can empathize with him. Ian has a drug addicted mother, no father in his life, and 16 arrests by the time he was thirteen. Although Manuel's crime and background is grizzly, Kristof believes America's justice system and our society is to blame for Manuel's harsh sentence. Prosecutors charged him as an adult and the judge sentenced him to life without parole. Manuel's lawyer observed that almost every case involving a child of 13 or 14 years old has been a person of color. After Kristof had completed portraying Ian Manuel as a victim, he incorporated the background of the woman shot in the face, Debbie Baigrie. Debbie had just given birth to her second child when she was shot in the face. Instantly, the tone shifted from empathetic to horrified. Debbie's dentist wept when he saw her jaw. The bullet had torn through 5 teeth and most of her gums. After the pain of 10 years of reconstructing surgeries, Baigire spoke to Manuel on the phone, talked to his family, and eventually advocated for his early release. She was troubled by the racial dimensions of the case and also believed since Manuel was a kid when he shot her, that kids make mistakes. The author also mentions that he writes columns about racial injustice, because it affects people who make horrific mistakes and America needs to overcome its racial wall that separates us. It's inspiring that Debbie could look past the horrible act that Ian Manuel did and still express forgiveness and empathy. Ian Manuel's sentence has been shortened to 65 years. He will be released in 2031.