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A review by rachelroo13
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
5.0
“Why do we want to kill all the broken people? What is wrong with us, that we think a thing like that can be right?”
“So many of us have become afraid and angry. We’ve become so fearful and vengeful that we’ve thrown away children, discarded the disabled, and sanctioned the imprisonment of the sick and the weak- not because they are a threat to public safety or beyond rehabilitation but because we think it makes us seem tough, less broken.”
“The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, do we deserve to kill?”
These are just a couple of the quotes I highlighted in this book. I would post more, but a lot of them are at least as long as a paragraph. I've been wanting to read this book since I watched a trailer for the movie; I still haven't seen the movie, but I'm so glad I read the book regardless (The fact that I hadn't heard of it before the movie being a whole other issue.). This book made me feel so much anger, despair, and heartbreak. I've known that our justice system has been flawed, but I had no idea to what extent. It brought so many issues I had never heard of to light, such as the mistreatment and punishment of poor people with disabilities and children forced into the adult system. There were times when I had to put it down and cry. Many times I stormed into our office to read quotes to my husband in disbelief and anger.
This book is so important, especially in the light of current societal problems. Everyone needs to read it.
“So many of us have become afraid and angry. We’ve become so fearful and vengeful that we’ve thrown away children, discarded the disabled, and sanctioned the imprisonment of the sick and the weak- not because they are a threat to public safety or beyond rehabilitation but because we think it makes us seem tough, less broken.”
“The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, do we deserve to kill?”
These are just a couple of the quotes I highlighted in this book. I would post more, but a lot of them are at least as long as a paragraph. I've been wanting to read this book since I watched a trailer for the movie; I still haven't seen the movie, but I'm so glad I read the book regardless (The fact that I hadn't heard of it before the movie being a whole other issue.). This book made me feel so much anger, despair, and heartbreak. I've known that our justice system has been flawed, but I had no idea to what extent. It brought so many issues I had never heard of to light, such as the mistreatment and punishment of poor people with disabilities and children forced into the adult system. There were times when I had to put it down and cry. Many times I stormed into our office to read quotes to my husband in disbelief and anger.
This book is so important, especially in the light of current societal problems. Everyone needs to read it.