“FROM ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT AND INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS of our time comes an unforgettable true story about the redeeming potential of mercy. Bryan Stevenson was a gifted young attorney when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned, and those trapped in the furthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man sentenced to die for a notorious murder he didn’t commit. The case drew Stevenson into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.” Description provided by Goodreads.
‘Just Mercy’ is a book that confronted me with uncomfortable questions. Yeah, it had an impact. Who deserves mercy? Right off the bat, yes, everyone deserves mercy. Then, you think of those people who we consider the lowest in our society, abusers, murders, and rapists. All of those people are still human. They are most likely the ones who need it more than anyone else. The broken people. We are all broken and the author points out if we put our egos and pride aside to realize we all have our flaws the world would be a better place. It is very hard and as I said uncomfortable to think about. I have always heard “hate the sin but love the sinner,’ I think that is what Bryan Stevenson is trying to say. These people might commit horrible crimes but as another human is it our place to judge them and wish death upon them? No, I do not think so and leave that to our higher power to decide.
Stevenson goes on to confirm what I believe that mental health is one of our biggest issues in our country but he added to that. Most, if not all, can stem back to five things: slavery, racism, mass incarceration, mental health, and poverty. I believe all of those words and what they are, are so intertwined and this book does a great job at unraveling that ball of yarn.
This was a hard hitting piece that some of our more side stories are the ones that hit me hardest, making me want to cry. I felt so drained. It is beautiful to see the human spirit in all of its forms. I am so thankful that the world has people like Bryan Stevenson who do not only see a problem but set out to actually fix it. Sometimes he wanted to quit. He would have a personal experience or have someone reach out and encourage him. That would light a spark in him to continue again. I hate to see people sitting around and complaining but not actually getting up and fixing the issue and looking for justice. The author is the complete opposite of that. He is the kind of person we should all strive to be. I am so happy that he speaks to young people at churches, schools, etc., all over the country to be a light for them.
This is a story that is mainly told from the author’s personal experiences but he does jump around to providing historical and legal facts or statistics. The structure was a bit difficult for me. This was like two books pushed together into one. I wish that it was either an anthology of all the different people that EJI has helped or just Walter’s story. I felt like I was being thrown between the two.
I am shocked that the author is a lawyer by trade and not a writer! He definitely has a creative mind made evident by his use of words. He truly has talent and knows how to write a beautiful and thought provoking story. This is a great book that I would recommend you read.
4 out of 5 stars.
Izzy Reads 