Just Mercy

"A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

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."

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I would give this book a ★★★★★. I first heard of this book from Jenn Im's book club (Curl Up Club) and didn't know too much about what the book was about when I started reading it. 100% do not regret reading it. It was an amazing and powerful book! It really illustrates how fucked up the justice system is, and how racism and discrimination is still very prevalent in today's society. Assuming how someone is guilty purely based on the color of their skin. I was so angry, speechless, and sad throughout the book. It was extremely heartbreaking. I knew how broken the justice system is, but I didn't think that it would be to that extent.

The book revolves mainly on Walter McMillian's case, but it also goes into details about various other cases of other condemned prisoners on death row and prisoners who got sentenced to life in prison for crimes they committed as a child. For example, one case where Joe, a 13-year-old boy, was given life without parole for raping a woman although there was no biological evidence connecting him to the crime (which was collected from the victim, but was not presented at trial and got destroyed before any testing could be conducted) or eye witness that proved that he did it. Joe was the youngest person in the country sentenced to life for a non-homicide. He got sent to an adult prison where he suffered unimaginable trauma from the older inmates. It is such an upsetting case and made me so angry when reading about it among other ones. Bryan also incorporated statistics and information on the prison/justice system as well throughout the book. It was very informative and interesting, but very hard to digest at times. Alabama has some serious problems when it comes to the justice system.

The cases presented in this book are all real and it is terrifying how current and relevant it is. Almost all the cases are death penalty cases and it was extremely eye-opening reading how many people were being sentenced to the death penalty for crimes they did not commit. And the type of "evidences" (clearly based on their prejudice and no physical/forensic evidence) they utilized to condemned them. The odds were clearly stacked against these innocent people. For example, in Walter McMillian's case, it was so evident that he was innocent based on so many eye witnesses, his alibi, no physical/forensic evidence, etc. The injustice for so many condemned prisoners is just baffling. Also, the corruption of law enforcement and how no thorough investigation was actually conducted in some cases. Crazy how much effort and work it took to prove one's innocence. The justice system seriously failed them. I am sure there are many others who are currently in prison who are innocent and still waiting for justice to be served for them. It is heartbreaking to think about those who have been executed who were truly innocent.

Bryan is a fearless, compassionate, and committed lawyer. I am so thankful that there are lawyers like him out there fighting for justice and proving the innocence of those wrongfully convicted. The world would be a better place if more people were like him. His perseverance and fight against injustice is very admirable. It is so obvious how he is so passionate about his work. Thank you Bryan for starting the Equal Justice Initiative who have helped so many people.

“Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”

After finishing the book, I watched the movie adaption which came out end of 2019. As expected, I enjoyed the book way more. The movie was powerful and good as well, but it just excluded so much detail from the book and Walter's case (as expected from a movie since they can't include everything). The actors and actress did a fantastic job portraying their respective characters. If you have no time to read the book, definitely watch the movie.

This was a very well written and educational book. A must read!