Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan StevensonMy Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: March 10, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Favorite Quote(s):
"Each one of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done."Review:
"The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice."
Bryan Stevenson is a human rights hero and more people should know his name.
This book alternates between telling the true story of wrongfully convicted death row inmate Walter McMillian and discussing real-life death row and life imprisonment stories from Mr. Stevenson's years as an attorney at his organization the Equal Justice Initiative. The chapters that Mr. Stevenson wraps around Mr. McMillian's story include those focusing on children being tried and sentenced as adults (despite being as young as 10 years old), women being imprisoned for life for giving birth to still-born babies, and those with intellectual disabilities who were not capable of defending themselves at trial. He writes about his treatment as a black lawyer in the south, the treatment of people who have served their time by society upon release (even when they didn't actually commit a crime), and the trauma and violation inmates are exposed to while in prison (particularly children sent to adult prisons). Please consider reading this book and making a monthly donation to EJI.
No comments:
Post a Comment