Book Thoughts - Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Simply, this is one of the most interesting, compelling, and best works of non-fiction that I have read in some time. While my interest in the book certainly stems from my own legal work, this is a book worthy of a wide audience.

The author, Bryan Stevenson, is a death row attorney - he represents men and women who have been convicted and sentence to death. Ultimately, this is an over simplification of his work, as Stevenson also represented many who received life sentences with no option of parole; but one gets the idea. While he discusses his work and cases, including one in particular, Stevenson comes back to and reiterates many themes.

First, a severe underlying systemic issue with the criminal justice system. Through his work on and retelling to the reader of the Walter McMillian case, we see how, truly, easy it was to wrongfully convict someone of murder, the methods utilized by police and prosecutors to obtain convictions in response to public pressure, and in this case, how easy to sentence someone to death. In contrast, Stevenson shows how difficult and burdensome it is to overcome those wrongful convictions, ultimately costing McMillian several years. Stevenson rightfully hits on some of the causes - access to lawyers, which in part has to do with more state funding for public defenders, both at a trial and appellate level; each local community desire to have gruesome cases revolved neatly and quickly, regardless of any lack of evidence; and policies that promoted not only mass incarceration - more crimes becoming subject to prison time - but harsher and lengthier sentencing. In particular, in Alabama (where Stevenson worked primarily), the election of judges who could never thus appear to be soft on crime, also led to the increased imposition of the severe sentences involved.

Stevenson not only drives home these points through his retelling of McMillian's case, but in many other cases as well. It could be the women who was sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole as a result of a baby born stillborn - which, when combined with faulty evidence from a forensic pathologist (who was repeatedly shown to fabricate causes of death and later had his medical licensed revoked) and an automatic life sentence with the victim under the age of 14, was all it took. Or the many, many juveniles who responded to years of abuse, either done directly to them or to their mothers, and when they responded violently in the moment, received a life sentence. Or many, who not only suffered abuse but also had untreated intellectual and cognitive disabilities, receiving life sentences (sometimes for crimes that did not involve death of the victim). The consistency of these cases - all of the defendants were poor and had little access to any legal representation, let alone quality legal representation. Further, he demonstrates, through these cases, how we have come to not treat all victims of crimes as equal - some victims are more equal than others when it comes to punishing the offender.

Which hits on another theme of Stevenson's work, the balance and tension between the justice system working for punitive measures or rehabilitative measures. The conditions of many of the prisons Stevenson goes into, the treatment of the inmates - whether it be the constant cloud of assaults and rape at a women prison or years of solitary confinement for many suffering from mental illness - shows what we, as a society, want from our criminal justice system. Punishment, not rehabilitation; as I like to say, it seems that when it comes to criminal justice, everyone, regardless of political ideology, seems to be okay with big government.

The other, and perhaps most important theme discussed in Stevenson's work is that of mercy and humanity. While McMillian was innocent of his crimes, and some others discussed in the book were as well, many did commit the crimes for which they were convicted. But what Stevenson does so well is stressing that the individuals he is representing are more than a single act; they should not be defined by one violent act. And through his compassion and mercy for the individuals he works with, he allows readers - many who, it should be said, will never meet anyone in the life circumstances of his clients - to see people's humanity despite troubling actions. As a result, it is difficult to read this book without developing greater empathy for people in different walks of life, and perhaps gain a sense of understanding and patience that will cause a moment of hesitation and reflection before rendering an all-encompassing judgment on an individual based on a single action.

Again, I tangentially relate to the subject matter of the book (I handle public defender criminal appeals, though rarely anything involving a life sentence), and that certainly drives some of my interest in the book, and Stevenson's work. But ultimately, I think Stevenson's discussions about our criminal justice system, his interweaving of data and statistics with the personal and anecdotal, makes this, independently, a terrific read. Anyone who has an interest in the criminal justice system (and especially anyone wanting to become a criminal lawyer), would do very well and benefit from reading this book. As I stated at the beginning, one of the best works of non-fiction I have read.

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