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4.72 AVERAGE
4.72 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
The most important book I've read this year, should be an essential read for everyone!
Recommended to me by a friend, I didn't know what to expect when I started Just Mercy . What I got was page after page of unbelievable injustices, cultural and racial biases, and just plain heartbreak. America's criminal justice system is broken and every year sweeps up hundreds of thousands of victims. Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer who seeks to save some of those victims, specifically, by representing condemned prisoners on Alabama's death row. Just Mercy is his story intertwined with those he tries to free.
It took a few chapters for me to grow accustomed to Stevenson's style but once I was in, I was hooked. Just Mercy primarily focuses on the story of Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of murdering a young white woman in rural Alabama. While McMillian, and the evidence, proclaimed his innocence from the start, both were blatantly ignored throughout a trial that lasted a mere few days and ended with a death sentence. Stevenson recounts his efforts to understand McMillian's case and the pitfalls that lead to his bewildering conviction. It's a riveting read that I desperately wanted more of.
The rest of the book focuses on other cases Stevenson represented, each one outlining a glaring flaw in the American justice system. Often, it is the exploitation of the country's most vulnerable: the poor, the mentally ill, homeless children, those whose past traumas prevent a normal and healthy life. Just Mercy examines the historical implications of injustice and the court rulings that cemented these ideals. It shows a glaring pattern of how deep seeded biases won out over basic empathy and mercy in the name of "public safety" time and time again. Stevenson emphasizes this historical doggedness with personal accounts of those who had lived through these trials, and those who didn't. He presents numerous moral issues against capital punishment and mass incarceration that, honestly, I had never thought of. It was an immersive, compelling novel that everyone should read to better understand a major issue facing our country.
It took a few chapters for me to grow accustomed to Stevenson's style but once I was in, I was hooked. Just Mercy primarily focuses on the story of Walter McMillian, a black man convicted of murdering a young white woman in rural Alabama. While McMillian, and the evidence, proclaimed his innocence from the start, both were blatantly ignored throughout a trial that lasted a mere few days and ended with a death sentence. Stevenson recounts his efforts to understand McMillian's case and the pitfalls that lead to his bewildering conviction. It's a riveting read that I desperately wanted more of.
The rest of the book focuses on other cases Stevenson represented, each one outlining a glaring flaw in the American justice system. Often, it is the exploitation of the country's most vulnerable: the poor, the mentally ill, homeless children, those whose past traumas prevent a normal and healthy life. Just Mercy examines the historical implications of injustice and the court rulings that cemented these ideals. It shows a glaring pattern of how deep seeded biases won out over basic empathy and mercy in the name of "public safety" time and time again. Stevenson emphasizes this historical doggedness with personal accounts of those who had lived through these trials, and those who didn't. He presents numerous moral issues against capital punishment and mass incarceration that, honestly, I had never thought of. It was an immersive, compelling novel that everyone should read to better understand a major issue facing our country.
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Love is a hard word to use when reviewing a book like this, so I won't say I loved it. I didn't. I was engrossed by it, horrified by it, saddened by it, and inspired by it. The injustices were so rampant. It is shameful that it happened in a country dedicated to justice for all. We have much work yet to do.
What a tragic read. A nonfiction novel about the countless injustices on death row in the south, many of which were sentenced as children. A spotlight for how broken our justice system truly is.