Bryan Stevenson knew the perils of injustice and inequality just as well as his clients on death row. He grew up in a poor, racially segregated area in Delaware and his great-grandparents had been slaves. While he was a law student, he had interned working for clients on death row. He realized that some people were treated unfairly in the judicial system and created the Equal Justice Institute where he began to take on prisoners sentenced to death as clients since many death row prisoners had no legal representation of any kind. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson focuses on some of these true stories of injustice, mainly the case of his client, Walter McMillian. When Ronda Morrison was murdered, Walter McMillian was at a church fish fry where dozens could confirm his presence. Prosecutors suppressed evidence and found informants that could testify against McMillian for them. Walter Myers, one of informants, created a wildly unbelievable story that connected McMillian to the murder which law enforcement officers knew would be …show more content…
Even though it’s nonfiction, it reads much like a fiction novel would, getting comparisons to ¬To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. What makes it even more compelling than the fictional novel is that these are the stories of real people, of those wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced. Stevenson’s memoir truly shows the power of mercy and what it can do for those wronged by judiciaries. This book’s story of justice and redemption and Stevenson’s struggle to free convicts from unjust or excessive punishment is deeply moving and powerful. The reader will root for him as he struggles to do as much as he can for the accused. Just Mercy really makes the reader think as they read and makes them sympathize with the plights of both Stevenson and his clients. Stevenson’s novel definitely deserves to belong on the bestseller