Background:
This year, I committed myself to read more books. That might sound like a broad goal that will be hard to complete, but I’m determined, and I believe that I have done a decent job so far with four books now read — which is a big accomplishment for me.
I decided that starting with this book, I want to add some book reviews to my blog. My hope is that it will motivate me to continue reading, and it will sharpen my writing skills. I also want to dive deeper into books that I read so that I can enjoy them beyond my period of reading them. I want the books I read to have a lasting impact on me, so when I say a book is “good” or “bad,” I’ll be able to elaborate about what made that book so enjoyable or not so enjoyable.
So, onto my first review! I am adopting my format style similarly to that of the Cups and Thoughts blog.
Title: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Author: Bryan Stevenson
Rating: 5/5 stars
Publisher: Spiegle & Grau
Year Published: 2014
Start date: May 29
Finish date: June 28
Goodreads Summary:
A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice — from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
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 brinksmanship—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.
My Review:
It took me a full month to read this book. I had to take frequent breaks while reading because the content was so heavy. Plus, this was one of the first book that I marked up and actively took notes on. As a fan of (YA) fiction, this is not the type of material I usually seek (Even though I did read The Hate U Give, a YA fiction centered around police brutality, a few years ago). I wanted to soak it in and really get an understanding of the material. I often hear phrases like “mass incarceration” and “the new Jim Crow” thrown around, but I admit I haven’t educated myself about these topics. I had no knowledge of what those phrases and other similar ones meant until this book.
I am just amazed at the work of Bryan Stevenson and his team at the Equal Justice Initiative. It is exhausting, intensive, thankless, but extremely necessary and important work. To think that he started so young is astounding to me. As I was reading, I noticed that there was no mention of romantic relationships or of a family. There were even a few instance where people he interacted with asked if he was married. After reading, I read on wikipedia that he is a lifelong bachelor (60 years old), and he has stated that his career is incompatible with married life. I believe it.
“The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.” – Bryan Stevenson
Bryan’s work revolves around mercy, grace and compassion that lead to mitigation and justice for those who are the most vulnerable and don’t have anyone to speak on their behalf. He believes that we all are in need of mercy, especially those who don’t expect it or who haven’t asked for it. He maintains a key thought throughout, that “each of us are more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” He argues for redemption, reconciliation and restorative justice that is lacking in the criminal justice system.
“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.” – Bryan Stevenson
I also appreciated the quality of writing. His passion for his work jumps through the pages and really brings you, the reader, into his experiences. I felt emotionally charged by all of the cases I read about. I took note of over 20 new words that I didn’t previously know the meanings of. Some were related to court and law that I didn’t recognize; others were words that I’ve heard, but didn’t know the meanings of; and some were words that I thought I knew the meanings of, but realized that I didn’t know how to explain. Like the difference between equality and equity.
This book doesn’t follow a traditional sequence of events. Walter McMillian’s case is certainly the highlight, but there are tons of cases weaved throughout to give you insight into the stories and conditions of these incarcerated people and the work that Bryan is so passionate about. Oddly enough, I didn’t realize until the chapter about children how each chapter was themed on certain types of cases. That chapter was also the saddest one that I read.
One quote that struck me early on was from his grandmother where she said, “You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close.”
Those words hit me hard. I wanted to replace “Bryan” with my name because I felt as though she was talking to me. This is something that, as I mentioned in my Black Out Tuesday post, I’ve been struggling with. Maintaining distance between the experiences, situations, etc. that I felt don’t directly affect me, and the delusion to people’s realities that comes from thinking like that.
Following this read, I also watched the The 13th, a Netflix documentary directed by Ava DuVernay, that Bryan is also featured in. Both the documentary and Just Mercy talk about four major institutions in American history that have shaped our approach to race and justice: slavery, convict leasing, Jim Crow laws and mass incarceration — which a lot of people say is modern-day slavery.
There is so much more I can say about this book. It’s now filled with so many post-it notes, highlighted texts, underlined words and scribbles that my mind was spiraling as I tried to figure out what I wanted to write in this review. This book was powerful and insightful, and it gave me more of an understanding of the social justice issues that I, as a Black person, have for so long distanced myself from. It has inspired me to get closer.
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