#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 have read better books about the flaws in our criminal justice system. This book was informative and thought provocative.
This book reads like a novel, every so often I had to remind myself that it is all true. It is a sobering look at the criminal justice system in the US and really points out the need for prison reform. A must read.
A powerful book on a topic that is rarely focused on in our country. Racism, poverty, womens rights, and the treatment of children who should never be incarcerated as adults. Everyone is this country should read this book.
Excellent and informative.
Criminal Justice system in U.S. is NOT blind!
I will never forget this book. It has inspired me.
Everything – well written, moving narrative full of helpful facts about mass incarceration.
Too political
Wonderful true life story of one man’s fight for justice & equality in a very broken criminal justice system. Required reading for all citizens!
Ultimately, if there has been a greater tome on Christianity in action, I hope to read it.
An inspiring look at the deficiencies, inequalities, and plain bullying of our criminal justice system as it is applied to minorities, people of color, and the most vulnerable in our society. After reading this any criminal adjudication carried out in the ‘South’ is potentially suspect, and possibly both illegal and unconstitutional.
Wonderful book and am so impressed by Bryan Stephenson and all he has accomplished.
This is one of the most profound books I have ever read. I simply had NO IDEA. I feel inspired to learn more and do more, and I have recommended this book to many many friends!
Puts a face on the injustice in our so-called ‘equal for all” America
Great researxch
This book is a must read for anyone who values redemption and believes in the words of Bryan Stevenson… “each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done”.
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It will break your heart and inspire you.
First, one needs to know who Bryan Stevenson is. He is not one to toot his own horn, so a little research helps. “Bryan A. Stevenson (born November 14, 1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and a clinical professor at New York University School of Law. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Stevenson has challenged bias against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system, especially children. He has helped achieve court decisions that prohibit sentencing children under 18 to death, or to life imprisonment without parole. Stevenson has assisted in cases that have saved dozens of prisoners from the death penalty, advocated for poor people, and developed community-based reform litigation aimed at improving the administration of criminal justice.”
As for Just Mercy, although the book explores a number of cases of injustice, particularly the treatment of the poor, the uneducated, and the young, the bulk of the book focuses on Walter McMillan, a black man sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman. McMillan denied commiting crime, and he had a score of alibi witnesses, but he was quickly railroaded into a conviction and a death sentence. Stevenson spent years working to get McMillan a new trial. Both the original case and the subsequent treatment of Mr. McMillan were tainted by racism, false testimony, police corruption, a racist judge, and self-serving prosecutors, more concerned with protecting their careers than with justice.
Excellent book. An eye opener regarding America’s prison system pertaining to the mentally ill, and law enforcement’s rush to find a perpetrator.
This memoir of a lawyer fighting for death row inmates is well written and well worth a read. It isn’t a dry legal argument but a collection of stories about real people and real places. The descriptions give you a place to stand as the stories spin out. You feel as if you are there. You know these people and you’ll be glad to have met them after reading their stories. I highly recommend it.
Perhaps the best non-fiction I have read in years.