#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • 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’s] dedication to fighting for justice and equality has inspired me and many others and … me and many others and made a lasting impact on our country.”—John Legend
NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • Esquire • 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.
Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction • Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award • Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the Kirkus Reviews Prize • An American Library Association Notable Book
“Every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so . . . a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.”—David Cole, The New York Review of Books
“Searing, moving . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be America’s Mandela.”—Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
“You don’t have to read too long to start cheering for this man. . . . The message of this book . . . is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.”—Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review
“Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he’s also a gifted writer and storyteller.”—The Washington Post
“As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.”—The Financial Times
“Brilliant.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
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I started reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson a couple of weeks ago because I thought it was a spiritual book and wanted to get ready for Lent. It wasn’t what I was expecting. It sort of wrecked me (or recked me – what’s the difference).
I know racism exists, every where, at every time, by all peoples. This is plain to see. And of course I’ve been on the receiving end of it from time to time. I hoped the majority of it was residual sludge…something that was diminishing.
I naively believed what’s been happening lately is an anomaly resulting from an even larger anomaly that would eventually go away. Then I read Just Mercy and got a sucker punch to the gut. He opened my eyes to a world of corruption and racism and evil that isn’t quite as residual or diminishing as I believed. The book is part memoir, part docu-book about Mr. Stevenson’s cases (he is an attorney fighting for the poor), and part spiritual reading.
As it happens, it is a good book to read in preparation for Lent, it’s about the gospel of mercy and surprisingly it left me filled with hope. The book is so good I ordered the youth edition for Joseph and will be making my older kids read it.
It’s a must read for people of all races, ages, genders, religions, political party, and socio-economic status.
Excellent but very sad.
A must book to understand the unfair of racial equality
This is a must-read for anyone who values human life. Stevenson’s personal philosophy deeply affects his choice of vocation. The way Stevenson describes his clients reveals the grayness of capital punishment and makes their stories personal. I can’t think of the criminal “justice” system in the same way ever again.
A must read!
I found this book so informative, if I hadn’t read this book I would have been so ignorant of what is reality in the court and prison system. I wish everyone would read this book
Left me feeling angry but hopeful. Very eye-opening.
If there were more attorneys like Bryan Stevenson, our justice system would finally live up to its name and we’d get closer to “and justice for all.”
Should be required reading in high school!
Bryant Stevenson writes about the travesty encountered by AfroAmerican felons (oftentimes inproperly incarcerated) -> namely, their lack of access to justice. This is a huge issue that must be addressed in order for our nation to go forward. People of color make up a disproportionate number of those incarcerted and also of the number of inmates on death row. Others have observed that the stength of a society can be seen in the way it deals with its criminals. Just Mercy is a seminal literary work that needs to be read by as many concerned Americans as possible.
You MUST read this book. Eye opening!
Great book.
Eye opening and well written
This is a fantastic book that anyone with questions about racism in the US should read. Yes- it still exists.
We need more Bryan Stevensons in this world to defend those wrongly accused of crimes.
A look inside our death row judicial system. The stories will make you want to scream for justice.
In the current cultural environment, everyone should read this book! It is hard to believe in this day and age that law enforcement can still get away with such miscarriage of justice. Thank God for attorneys like Bryan Stevenson who labor for justice more than for their own enrichment.
Important read about capital punishment and crime
Eye opening. It made get active in local prison reform. As you do unto the least of them you do for all
Approaching justice in the US.