A title I came to late, even though I had seen Stevenson present at a library conference I attended around the time this was first published. I loved how Stevenson intertwined his personal story and growth as a lawyer working for those on death row with specific cases he handled. In our continued inability to confront our racial history, Stevenson forces the reader to look at the reality of one aspect of that neglect. A must read and I’m sorry it took me so long to read Just Mercy.

“It is about how easily we condemn people in this country and the injustice we create when we allow fear, anger, and distance to shape the way we treat the most vulnerable among us.”

“We’ve given up on rehabilitation, education and services for the imprisoned because providing assistance to the incarcerated is apparently too kind and compassionate.”

“Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison.”

From the blurb and introduction I expected this book to be about prison reform and/or opposition to the death penalty, but instead it is a litany of the author’s attempts to reduce the sentences, prevent the execution or reverse the convictions of various clients. I guess I was looking for more sociology and policy and fewer anecdotes. Laws need to change. Access to justice needs to be equalized. The treatment of prisoners needs to be addressed. I didn’t gain any new insight from this book, but I hope that some people will be enlightened and that the book will advance the need for reform. The author’s work is important and parts of the book were interesting (particularly the central case involving Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully convicted) but I didn’t think it was a great book. It just wasn’t what I was looking for. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.