Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At its core, Bryan Stevenson's JUST MERCY is about the inherent inhumanity of the American justice system. As Stevenson puts it, "Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison." This is a system that condemns children to life imprisonment without parole, that makes petty theft a crime as serious as murder, and that has declared war on hundreds of thousands of people with substance abuse problems by imprisoning them and denying them help. Stevenson is an attorney with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, an organization that offers free legal services to the poor and disenfranchised. His book is a sobering look at criminal justice from the perspective of those least likely to be treated fairly. JUST MERCY explores a number of devastating cases, including children as young as fourteen facing life imprisonment, and scores of people on death row - mostly poor, and mostly black - who have been unfairly convicted. But the central focus is on Walter McMillan, a black man sentenced to death for the murder of a prominent young white woman. McMillan claimed he did not commit this crime, and he had a score of alibi witnesses, but he was quickly railroaded into both a conviction and a death sentence. Stevenson spent years working to get McMillan a new trial, and the two men remained connected throughout the remainder of McMillan's life. It's a fascinating case, one that involves perjury, police corruption, a racist judge, and prosecutors more intent on protecting their political positions than finding justice. Stevenson's thesis is that justice itself is denied for the millions of Americans who are poor, non-white, mentally ill, or otherwise disenfranchised. Ours is no longer a country that sees compassion as a virtue; instead, we write harsher and harsher laws that demand longer and longer sentences for those we consider undesirables. "The true measure of our character," Stevenson writes, "is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned." And by the final page of JUST MERCY, it is quite clear that we, as Americans, have fallen short. It's rare these days to meet someone who truly dedicates himself to those least able to help themselves, especially someone who isn't after media attention or self-promotion. Stevenson's tireless efforts to give solace to the many men and women on death row are both inspirational and affirming. He isn't successful in freeing all of his clients - more than a few are executed in spite of his pleas - but what he offers them is more than just legal support. He listens to them, takes them seriously, investigates in ways the police failed to do, and gives them a voice they had otherwise been denied. In the end, Stevenson writes, "we have to reform a system of criminal justice that continues to treat people better if they are rich and guilty than if they are poor and innocent." That's a tough lesson for a world too often motivated by money, power, and political position. The people Bryan Stevenson works for have no money, no power, and no political position, but they are human beings deserving of compassion and mercy. "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done," Stevenson writes, adding, "the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice." As Americans, we can't be proud of our justice system until it offers justice to all of our people, and not only those with money and influence. It's a hard sell in today's mercenary, "me first" environment. But Stevenson's voice is one we all need to hear. JUST MERCY is a powerful and eye-opening book. I recommend it highly.