Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014)

Bryan Stevenson has devoted his legal career to advocating for those mistreated by the legal system. While I was already against capital punishment, this book brought light to much more than the death penalty. While disheartening in many ways, it also highlights positive changes coming due to the dedication of people like Mr. Stevenson. ( )

Annual monograph by Huis van Horus, jaargang 14, 2022 ( )

The author is a lawyer and lives in Alabama. He is dedicated (in part) to helping people on death row, many who didn’t have proper representation to start with, many because they are poor. He focuses on one case throughout the book that he keeps coming back to, while interspersing other cases, along with statistics. The one main case follows Walter McMillan, who was convicted of a murder in the 1980s that it was very obvious he didn’t commit. Yet, here he was on death row.

I found this really interesting, And sad. He (and others) is (are) slowly, so slowly, trying to change things to make them better, but what an uphill battle. I listened to the audio and it was well-done; it held my attention pretty much the entire way through. Initially, I hadn’t realized until looking as I write this review, but the author read it himself. ( )

heartbreaking and infuriating. the system is so, so broken, it’s hard to have hope. but i’m glad to learn about the people who do have hope. ( )

This was a tough book to read. I was emotional when I read the stories of adolescents, who were either abused, had some mental/intellectual disability, or were traumatized by some family event. I was enraged when I read about the criminal laws in some of these states which are designed to be more punitive toward people of color and the poor. However, I was inspired and motivated by the young man who continued to fight the good fight against corruption, injustice, and racism. If you saw the movie, great, but you really need to read the book. ( )