Bryan Stevenson: Just Mercy

I read this book to prepare for AP next year to use as one of my lit circle selections toward the end of the year.

Just Mercy details the case of Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of capital murder in Alabama in the late 1980s. The issue - Walter didn't commit the murder that prosecutors illegally pinned on him. The author, Bryan Stevenson, started a nonprofit in Alabama specifically to help people like Walter, and other death row inmates who had inadequate legal counsel when sentenced. As Stevenson outlines the many setbacks and the failures of the courts to listen to Walter's innocence, he also details other work that he did during the six years it took to secure Walter's release. Stevenson works with youth who were detained and sentenced to life in prison (even for non-homicide offenses), women, and other underrepresented populations who lack access to proper legal counsel and therefore end up in prison for far longer than they deserve to be. This book pleads with readers to think beyond crime and look at people - their circumstances and backgrounds - and begs readers to consider what "fair" punishment actually is and if there's room for mercy.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's a fascinating read that really made me stop and think about my stances on issues like crime and the death penalty. Stevenson is obviously an authority and he establishes that fairly quickly in the book and uses his extensive knowledge to attempt to persuade the reader (a valuable book for AP). In my political science schooling in college, I read several of the cases he outlined, and so that was another interesting side of the book for me - case law fascinates me. Walter's case is gut-wrenching, as are many of the other stories of falsely accused people. As a high school teacher, it's also difficult to read about young people who ended up in prison for the rest of their lives. These are the kids I work with every day, and to imagine some of them ending up in an adult prison with no hope for a future is devastating.

The only thing I would say I didn't like about the book was the organization. I struggled with the chapters alternating between Walter's story and the many other cases that Stevenson presented in the book. I'm not sure how I would have fixed this issue, but the organization made me want to skip chapters to finish out Walter's story and then come back to the side stories Stevenson includes. While I think those other cases are necessary to convince readers of Stevenson's stance on the death penalty and life sentences, I wonder if there was a better way to organize the book so continuity wasn't lost.

Overall, I rate the book:

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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