3.8 out of 4 stars.
I became infatuated with wrongfully accused crimes after watching the Netflix series regarding the Steven Avery case called “Making a Murderer”. How unjust it was that he was accused of raping a woman on the beach when he was proven to be several towns over with many witnesses to attest of his whereabouts. How he lost EIGHTEEN years of his life and spending time with his newborn children due to a victim that was so shaken up she couldn’t remember the details clearly. How did this happen? One reason is that the justice system has many cracks. If you multiply that horrible feeling you received while watching that television show by one hundred you will have a slight picture of Stevenson’s “Just Mercy”.
A true story based on lawyer Bryan Stevenson during the building of his practice, Equal Justice Initiative, in Montgomery, Alabama. A legal department whose goal is to defend those that do not have enough money to hire a defender or are unjustly refused the right to an attorney due to the color of their skin. Bad right? Now imagine that most of the people Stevenson represented did not even commit the crime AND were sentenced to the death penalty. Not an easy pill to swallow.
This memoir is jam packed with people that Stevenson has welcomed into his life but one that may of had the biggest impact was Walter McMillian. A young black man that is set up by a random white stranger for killing a young white woman in town and sentenced to death row. Imagine walking down the street, getting arrested and taken to a 2 X 2 cell with essentially the key thrown out. This is basically what happened to McMillian in 1987.
Everyone can do some good in this world no matter how big or small. Similar to Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Stevenson may just look at his effort as his civil duty of being a lawyer. However, I am sure a lot of us would disagree that it is much more. Without people like Bryan standing up for what they feel is right than eventually we would all be put on the hunting ground to be accused. Without a fair legal system enforced, we would be at the mercy of a judge that may not understand the full story and there goes our chances of freedom.
An unforgettable book that left me in awe of these stories that actually happened in America’s history.
