Book Review
Feb. 19th, 2022 06:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariJust Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
This memoir covers Stevenson's work as a lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, helping people on death row, condemned to life in prison as children, or otherwise given overly harsh sentences and treatment and were not given fair trials or adequate legal representation to begin with. Stevenson is a very warm and compassionate storyteller and has so much passion for justice and reform. The stories he tells in this book are often redemptive and hopeful, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes both in equal measure. The main story is about Walter McMillian, one of Stevenson's first clients. McMillian is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit. His trial was grossly unjust, with the prosecutors ignoring copious evidence that would have cleared McMillian and instead relying on false testimony from a man who was clearly lying. Stevenson does get McMillian exonerated, but it takes a few years and a lot of effort. Stevenson also relates the wrenching stories of people given life sentences while barely into their teens, and one story of a 14 year old charged with murder that was so heartbreaking I wept.
Just Mercy is not easy reading, but it is a very, very good book. Stevenson's writing is wonderful, full of humanity, hope, and determination. Our justice system is biased and broken in so many ways. We need people like Stevenson and organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative to help fix it. And we need to support them as they do it.
by Bryan Stevenson
This memoir covers Stevenson's work as a lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, helping people on death row, condemned to life in prison as children, or otherwise given overly harsh sentences and treatment and were not given fair trials or adequate legal representation to begin with. Stevenson is a very warm and compassionate storyteller and has so much passion for justice and reform. The stories he tells in this book are often redemptive and hopeful, sometimes heartbreaking, and sometimes both in equal measure. The main story is about Walter McMillian, one of Stevenson's first clients. McMillian is sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit. His trial was grossly unjust, with the prosecutors ignoring copious evidence that would have cleared McMillian and instead relying on false testimony from a man who was clearly lying. Stevenson does get McMillian exonerated, but it takes a few years and a lot of effort. Stevenson also relates the wrenching stories of people given life sentences while barely into their teens, and one story of a 14 year old charged with murder that was so heartbreaking I wept.
Just Mercy is not easy reading, but it is a very, very good book. Stevenson's writing is wonderful, full of humanity, hope, and determination. Our justice system is biased and broken in so many ways. We need people like Stevenson and organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative to help fix it. And we need to support them as they do it.
