Book info

• Title Just Mercy
• Author Bryan Stevenson
• Year 2014
• Genre Non-fiction

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 brinkmanship — 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.

Thoughts

This was a good read, I think I’ve probably had it hanging around my digital bookshelf since watching the film so many years ago. It’s obviously absolutely infuriating, the sheer injustice of it all, but it’s very well written to bring you into the heart of these lives. There are lots of facts and figures but it’s never boring, and there are lots of stories of hardship but it’s never without hope. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 / 5