Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014)

What an amazing memoir. Bryan Stevenson gives a message of hope around some of the greatest injustices that exist within America today. His message is one that everyone should pay attention to. It's really a moving message, and an inspiration to take action to fight mass incarceration and other structural inequalities that can be found in our community and society today. ( )

Primarily, Just Mercy is an incisive critique on the penal justice system in America today. His argument is made by weaving the tragic story of Walter McMillon with shorter stories, equally heart-wrenching of those Stevenson represented in court. In short, it was one of the most compelling books I've ever read - its narrative was as captivating as the argument provocative and convincing.

Bryan Stevenson is one of those larger than life actual heroes of our day - no doubt a genius and yet seemingly personable and hard working. He writes humbly and genuinely, showing exceptional empathy for the those he represents along with others in the deep South he encounters.

My only wish was that he provided some practical "next steps" on what the rest of us can do.

Fantastic book. Highly recommended for seriously everyone! ( )

The second half of the book feels very repetitive, and it's hard to not tune out.

Couldn't finish ( )

This memoir is really three books packed into one: a memoir about working to help death-row inmates by staying their executions or having wrongful convictions reversed; a sociological text on mass incarcerations and the death penalty; and a true-crime case about an innocent man on death row and the arduous work to get justice for him and his family. Because I'd read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, a lot of the information was not news to me. Therefore, I do think that Stevenson should have focused on the true-crime narrative, because that was the most interesting and the best-developed. The chapter called "Broken" would have worked really well as a standalone editorial or article in a periodical, and it's a message we all need to remind ourselves of: we are all of us broken in ways we cannot understand until we try to heal someone else's brokenness. As a Christian, I find that to be a powerful message. The content contains crucial knowledge, and I am glad I read this for book club. But my personal/professional opinion is that the writing lost some of its efficacy in trying to jampack so much into the text, and the writing itself could have been strengthened (the uses of very and extremely come to mind, especially). 3.5 stars. ( )

Really valuable content for comprehending why blacks are such a large percentage of the prison population. They have not been treated fairly. EJI (Equal Justice Initaitive) the authors law firm is seeking to make a difference by changing sentencing laws. The writing was acceptable, the content great. ( )