Just Mercy

This is an incredible and shattering book about the injustices of the criminal justice system. It is so incredibly well-written that it actually took me a long time to read because I would need a lot of time to digest after each chapter. The book is told in alternating chapters, with one chapter about a specific case that Bryan Stevenson worked on in exonerating Walter McMillian, a wrongly imprisoned man on death row, followed by a chapter about a specific issue in the justice system, such as juveniles sentenced to life in prison. Throughout, Stevenson's own humanity shines through. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time.

If Just Mercy doesn't break your heart and convince you that our criminal justice system needs reforming, I don't know if anything ever will. Stevenson is a lawyer with a non-profit giving people legal help, and he gives dozens and dozens of similar stories that show our broken system: a young teenager, often Black, will commit a stupid crime, often unstable from their abuse in foster care; the prosecutor will succeed in illegally securing an all-white jury; the kid's court-appointed lawyer will be incompetent or wildly underpaid, causing them to completely mishandle the case and provide no adequate defense; the kid is sentenced to death before they've even gone to high school, and they spend decades in prison in terrible, abusive conditions. It feels like a depressing chain of dominoes, and at every step you think “Surely someone will step in and make this right,” but it doesn't happen.

As a Christian I was already disposed against the death penalty because the Gospel teaches us that no person is beyond redemption, but this book has further solidified my view. So many of the convictions may have been unjust for one reason or another, and even one innocent execution is one too many. And more generally, I really agreed with one thing Stevenson said: “The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit... [It's about] Do we deserve to kill?” I think not.

Building from that, he talks very compellingly about how faith informs his work, especially in a chapter near the end about how all people share the same brokenness. It's great stuff, and everyone should read it.

This book is one of those books that really affect one's perspective of the world, especially when one lives in the United States. The stories of these wrongfully convicted and wrongfully sentenced people are so well-written in a way that really makes a reader empathize with these people. I really loved this book and I hope that someday I'll be able to make a difference in the criminal justice system just like Bryan Stevenson does. (My only grievance is that the book doesn't really give the dates that these cases were happening)

I finally read this book after purchasing it this past summer for Jamie Ivey's summer book club. While I have heard before of the injustices racial minorities, the impoverished, those with intellectual disabilities, and even adolescents face in the justice system, I was not prepared for what Bryan Stevenson shared in this book. I was brought to tears numerous times and felt a heaviness for plights people face that are so foreign and unknown to me.

Stevenson and his team at EJI are inspiring, reinstating humanity for those who have been wrongfully denied for myriad reasons. The work they do seems laborious, at times thankless, and so so heavy. Yet, they continue on and persevere.

Toward the end of the book, Stevenson shares how embracing his own brokenness has been a part of his process in seeking just mercy for those denied it. How we can be strong in recognizing our weaknesses and faults - how we've wronged others, stood as idle passers-by, condemned without seeking to understand, avoided self-criticism of how bias and prejudice can take root in our own hearts.

While I am not a legal professional, I still feel encouraged to make a difference after reading this book. To own my weakness and brokenness, to continue to educate myself on the injustice that exists in this world, to pray for God to use his people (myself included) as stone catchers, and to recommend this book to everyone and anyone I can.

Thank you, Bryan Stevenson for writing this book and for the work you, teammates at EJI, and others not named in this book who seek to be conduits of just mercy.

Really great read that describes many injustices inside the American judicial system and the fight of the author, a lawyer who litigates cases of people on death row.
There are a ton of cases that successfully got to me and made me sad and angry at the people involved. It's disheartening to learn just how corrupted, racist and ignorant this society can be.
The way it is told keeps the reader hooked and wanting to get to the end of things. Just a very good book.

I cried three times when I read this book. When's the last time you read a book that made you cry three times?

It's such an unexpected story. I couldn't (can't!) believe the stories of the trials in this book took place in my lifetime. I couldn't (and can't) believe the shoddiness of the evidence that sent people to Death Row. I couldn't (and can't) believe how my faith in our justice system has been shaken.

A must-read.

Short Review: An important book about the breakdown of our justice system and how in many cases it seems that scapegoating to relieve tension may be more important than actually getting the real perpetrators of crimes.

Bryan Stevenson is the head of the Equal Justice Initiative. An Alabama based legal aid group that primarily works with death row and other difficult legal cases to bring about justice. Stevenson has argued before the Supreme Court numerous times for fair sentencing and been successful at changing the legal framework around youth sentencing.

The broader story of Stevenson's life and work is told around one main death row case where like many others, the convicted man did not commit the murder and there was lots of evidence prior to the initial trial to prove that.

One area that is not talked about, but I would love to hear Stevenson's perspective on, is what should be the penalty (if any) for officers of the court that act unethically. In many of the cases that Stevenson describes there was withheld evidence, coerced testimony, and other acts that are clearly not only unethical, but illegal by police, prosecutors and judges. But virtually never are any of these actors held accountable.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/just-mercy/

Very moving account of lawyer Bryan Stevenson's work with the Equal Justice Initiative assisting prisoners on death row as well as minors sentenced to life in prison without parole. The book is easy to read and understand while being deeply affecting. Some of the wisdom Stevenson imparts: 1) Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done and 2) We are all implicated when we allow others to be mistreated. We learn of several incarcerated people who were unjustly put on death row or given life sentences, and all were victims of a system that made easy targets of them: people of color, children, and poor people. I found myself dumbfounded by how our legal system works and how difficult it is for prisoners unjustly sentenced to have their sentences reversed when they are innocent. Many of these prisoners must have felt like they were on the cruelest episodes of the Twilight Zone, imprisoned or sentenced to death when they knew they were innocent. I found myself weeping quite a few times. A fantastic read worthy of your time and consideration.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 stars.

This is my second read of this book, and it doesn't get easier to digest or less horrifying to contemplate.

If you don't believe there are problems with the criminal justice system in America, you need to read this book. If you don't understand how or why people are treated unfairly, you need to read this book.

Basically, you just need to read this book.