#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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This book is so powerful that it almost sent my daughter to law school. It is eye-opening and heart rending.
I’m so glad to have read it! I was a “Legal Aid lawyer in the South. My work was always in civil courts so Stevenson’s book was especially enlightening.
This may be the most important book I have read in this century. The author established the Equal Justice Initiative to work with people who have been wrongly convicted or subject to overly harsh penalties, with a view to reform the American [in]Justice system. The events in this book should convince anyone that race absolutely factors into trial decisions and penalties. The writing is gripping and direct. A genuinely consequential book.
Just Mercy is revelatory. It brings us close to the heart of humanity, and makes anyone who reads it a more caring person. Fortunately, it is also riveting, full of true stories that illuminate our “justice” system and show us the way forward.
The book deals with the issue of people of color who are unjustly on death row. The author is a lawyer who has had a career working with these men. Coincidentally, he has been in the news lately. This book gives a chance for the rest of us to see some of the realities that we’d probably never encounter in our own lives. If you want to broaden your knowledge to all sides of the issue, this is the book for you.
Racial equality is still a long off. Here is a first-person report from the trenches.
This book, Just Mercy, really opened my eyes to the extent of the injustices toward African Americans caught in the legal system in the deep south (or at least as it used to be.) I do hope that things are better now! I now have a different world view of those who are convicted of crimes in general. There is often more going on that lead up to the crime than we may ever know. And how terribly sad that is!
The stories Stevenson shared crushed me, like a pressure on my chest. I read a chapter at a time, then had to step away and let the horror and despair subside. For Stevenson reveals an American justice system not only without mercy but that was corrupted on the local level for political gain.
Bryan Stevenson was drawn to seek justice for those on death row, especially the innocent without legal counsel. He started the Equal Justice Initiative and Just Mercy is the story of his work and the people he tried to help. It is a cry for reform of the justice and prison system. And a cry for mercy.
Stevenson is the mouthpiece for the stories of unjustly imprisoned men and women, allowing readers to understand their walk. May we learn compassion and press for a just system, showing mercy to those broken by racism, mental illness, poverty, addiction, abuse, and trauma.
As Stevenson reminds us, we are all broken people.
Opened my eyes to injustices in judicial system. Well written and shows the humanity behind the convicted.
I loved it and am glad there are attorneys in the country who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of justice for people who’ve been wrongly convicted/sentenced. The book makes me wish I could start all over again with my career.
Enlightening. A must read.
Beautiful invitation to see how far we have to go as a country to extend grace to each other as people. We seem to have lost so much as a society that discusses ideas, and instead jumps to using fear and labels with fellow human beings. We all have biases and look for evidence that proves our positions right. In the example of that happening here, children are tried as adults and sentenced to die in prison, innocent people are convicted to death row for crimes they could not have committed. Where has our mercy gone? Where has our ability to believe in redemption gone? A powerful read…
Thoroughly moving.
One would need to own a stone cold heart not to be moved but this eye-openning book.
The characters albeit real, became someone whom we all might know. The author is a the true definition of a hero.
Excellent, accurate. Read to be informed.
The author reveals through the lives of his clients what life is like in America for the underpriviledged.
A must read. Well written, compelling. Should be read by all Americans.
Gives a good idea of how the justice system really treats people who are poor. The author is a good story teller.
I have been on a journey, for a couple years, to begin to understand what POC understand every day. Reading this was another important step on my journey.