Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (Epub)

Description

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction • Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award • Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the Kirkus Reviews Prize • An American Library Association Notable Book

User’s Reviews

Review “Just Mercy is every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so. . . . [It] demonstrates, as powerfully as any book on criminal justice that I’ve ever read, the extent to which brutality, unfairness, and racial bias continue to infect criminal law in the United States. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope. . . . Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.”—David Cole, The New York Review of Books“A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America’s Mandela. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. . . . Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up. And that is why we need a Mandela in this country.”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times“Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age. . . . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevenson’s life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. . . . You don’t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. . . . The book extols not his nobility but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done. . . . The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful. . . . Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review“Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.”—John Grisham“Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.”—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow“A distinguished NYU law professor and MacArthur grant recipient offers the compelling story of the legal practice he founded to protect the rights of people on the margins of American society. . . . Emotionally profound, necessary reading.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review, Kirkus Prize Finalist) “A passionate account of the ways our nation thwarts justice and inhumanely punishes the poor and disadvantaged.”—Booklist (starred review)“From the frontlines of social justice comes one of the most urgent voices of our era. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. This is a book of great power and courage. It is inspiring and suspenseful—a revelation.”—Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns“Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one’s hopes for humanity.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains “Bryan Stevenson is America’s young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. Just Mercy should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world to discover what happens when revenge and retribution replace justice and mercy. It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation.”—Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ This book is a sad book. It had horrible stories about people that were done wrong by the people of that time. They were people of color, mentally ill people, and the system failed them. We all need to be aware of this and that it happens to ALL people. It doesn’t just happen to black people. It happens to all people. What my rating means is that to bring this out to the forefront and to bring what has happened to the attention of many – doesn’t mean you need to bash white people or make out the police to be the bad people. I am tired of this being the only way authors seem to be able to get a point across. Try another way and you will get the information to more people that aren’t turned off to the rest of the message.

⭐ When I first started reading this book I really had no idea what to expect or why I should even take the time to read it. My tendency is to put things into “liberal” and “conservative” buckets and this one seemingly fit into the liberal bucket and I am a professed conservative. I still am but I have to say that I was moved by this story beyond my expectations. There is indeed so much injustice in this world and there is plenty of opportunity for mercy; even mercy extended in unexpected places. The plight of the poor and downtrodden is overwhelming to consider and this book provided a reason to view people’s circumstances before providing condemnation. I would wholeheartedly recommend reading it.

⭐ I get it, people don’t like lawyers generally, but I’d wager that most people would change their minds if they met lawyers like Bryan Stevenson. I heard an interview with Mr. Stevenson and Oprah on the Super Soul Conversations podcast, and I was immediately intrigued. After 10 minutes of hearing Mr. Stevenson speak about his non-profit, the Equal Justice Initiative and the work he does with those condemned to death row, I knew I had to learn more.Not often is a book life changing to the extent it changes long held beliefs and opinions. Before this book, I had very concrete notions about the legal process and death row cases. After reading this book, I understand that courts and juries can get it wrong more often than we’d dare to think, even in light of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. More disturbing is how difficult it is to reverse sending an innocent person to death row once they’ve been pronounced guilty.Mr. Stevenson is a Harvard educated lawyer, brilliant writer and inspirational human. Until I read this book, I’d never read another book where I’ve come away thinking, this should be mandatory reading for law school students or at least listed in the Top 100 Books to read in a lifetime list.This book chronicles Mr. Stevenson’s representation of those condemned to die on death row. While the majority of these people committed the crimes alleged, some of them didn’t. In addition to providing fascinating insight into death row cases and demographics, Mr. Stevenson details helping exonerate Walter McMillan, a death row inmate convicted of killing an 18 year old girl. Despite numerous witnesses attesting to the fact Mr. McMillan was at a church fish fry, the jury sided with witnesses who had been told to say something different by law enforcement. Despite the trial judge on the case telling Mr. Stevenson not to take the case and despite receiving bomb and death threats, Mr. Stevenson took the case, proved the evidence had been contrived, leading to Mr. McMillan’s exoneration in 1993.I gained a different perspective on death row cases, the importance of initiatives like the Equal Justice Initiative, and a huge respect for Mr. Stevenson and lawyers like him. Not only did I personally feel that I’d been wasting my law degree for the past 18 years after reading this book, it made me want to do more for my community, to do more pro bono work and to really make a difference in lives.Bravo, Mr. Stevenson, for this beautifully written work and for challenging me to think in ways I never have before on this topic. You make the profession of law proud.

⭐ Everyone in America should read this book–what an eye opener! I had no idea that this type of justice was going on in America. Children as young as 13 years old being sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole–and for non-homicidal crimes! Women sent to prison for life for crib death babies when there is no proof that the mother was involved in the death. People on death row who were completely innocent of the crimes they were found guilty of committing. Prosecutors and other officials railroading innocent people to convictions and then giving them death penalties. Judges overruling juries who gave the convicted person life behind bars and instead putting them on death row. Bryan Stevenson has provided an outstanding view of some of the justice being handed out in parts of our country. Most of the people convicted are either extremely poor, of color, or both. Mr. Stevenson, you are an amazing human being for devoting your career to this cause.

⭐ Why do we abhor corruption in other countries when it is so prevalent right here? This was the question raised in me while I read this book. Crooked cops and prosecutors, inept public defenders, courts that intentionally ignore truth, resulting in incarceration and death sentences that our founding fathers never would have – or should have – tolerated … All of these are covered here, written so eloquently by an attorney who dedicates his life defending and caring for those suffering under these cruel injustices. I was horrified to read that our laws dictate execution even after proof of innocence is uncovered but is “too late, sorry”! At the beginning I thought that, even though I am an average middle aged white woman, thank God I do not live in the corrupt South. I discovered that Mr. Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative has their work cut out for them all over this country. This is no longer the 50’s and 60’s. Shame on us.

⭐ Bryan Stevenson, the lawyer instrumental in the formation, operation, growth and success of the Equal Justice Initiative, demonstrates in JUST MERCY how easy it was for corrupt Alabama law men to frame an innocent black man for a murder he didn’t commit and how difficult it was to save him from death row and ultimately win his freedom not withstanding overwhelming evidence of his innocence.Once the South’s Jim Crow reign of terror (over 1400 hundred blacks were lynched — murdered in cold blood, often as a spectator sport, by the Klu Klux Klan and White Citizens Councils for the crime of being black — finally gave way, white supremacists responded by passing laws that had the effect of replacing the rope with the electric chair after what amounted to deeply flawed trials.JUST MERCY is the account of one of Stevenson’s early interventions on behalf of a death row prisoner whose trial observed none of the safeguards designed to protect defendants’ rights to fair trials – it was as bad as Stalin era prosecutions of innocent Russians suspected of anti-government views.Stevenson built on his efforts to win death sentence reprieves by attacking other pernicious justice system practices that punished blacks, other minorities, children, and poor whites with unfair sentences for crimes as simple as being unable to make bail. These violations, often victimless, would have gone unnoticed and unpunished if committed by whites who were well off enough to afford a lawyer.The long and short of Stevenson’s work is that it has uncovered the extent to which our criminal justice system is unworthy of a country that claims to treat everyone fairly and on an equal basis. We are not there yet, not by a long shot.Afterword. If you are as troubled by what Stevenson’s account tells you about our merciless, unjust legal system, you can show your support for his efforts by responding to his request for help published at the end of his book

⭐ Had to buy for NIU transfer class – this class was a 1 credit class offered to students who transferred to NIU regardless of your major, took it to meet 12 credit minimum for full time benefits as college kid like most people do.Weirdly made us read this book its almost like college is trying to force this BS on students, must be just a coincidence…Anyways is a waste of time maybe read FBI crime statistics instead at least you’ll learn somethingDespite being 13% of the popula….

⭐ I returned it after the first five chapters. I couldn’t get into the story because the author was so dead set on giving us all the facts about the injustices for blacks in those times. I didn’t care about the characters because all I kept hearing about was all the statistics of blacks on death row and the prejudiced juries. I wanted to hear about who Walter Mcmillian was, and that just got lost in the authors rift about everything being unfair. I typically love historical fiction too, but this read felt like I was forced to read it to learn something about civil rights. It felt like a high school book report. Pass.

⭐ A left wing biased story! Very disappointed. It doesn’t explain why the person was on death row in the first place.

⭐ I have a new hero . . . Bryan Stevenson. He joins my other hero lawyer, Morris Dees, in my personal pantheon of those who fight for social justice.Bryan Stevenson is the self-effacing author of this terrific book about the legal war he has waged against cruel, unjust sentencing practices in this country for over three decades now. His history of founding and working for the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, is told through real case histories of real people who were subjected to degradation and inhumane treatment that will shock you, anger you, and bring you to tears.I spent a 25+ year career as a federal prosecutor, in the rarefied world of the federal courts, and am ashamed to say that I had no idea that such horrendous things were happening simultaneously in the state courts of our country. How Stevenson managed to stay on task for decades, to spend so much time simply connecting with his clients as human beings, and to accomplish such extraordinary results is amazing. I learned a lot, and the teachings of The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander [another excellent book on the prison industrial complex in this country] were reinforced.Perhaps my favorite chapter, for what it said about humanity, is entitled Mitigation. I will be using the facts from that chapter in a future talk at my Unitarian Universalist church. “Each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done.” This phrase echoes throughout this work, which, while fact filled, also has a strong spiritual component to it.This is a great book. Please read it, and do as I did upon completion. Find the Equal Justice Initiative and give them some financial support. They work on a shoestring, and take care of some of the most helpless and needy among us.

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