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description= Just Mercy is a bestselling book by Bryan Stevenson that has been adapted into a feature film.;

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s incarceration and excessive punishment in the united states challenging racial and economic injustice and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in american society founded in 1989 by bryan stevenson a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of just mercy eji is a private 501 c 3 nonprofit organization located in montgomery alabama learn more about eji bryan stevenson bryan stevenson is the founder and executive director of the equal justice initiative a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor the incarcerated and the condemned he has won numerous awards including the prestigious macarthur foundation genius prize and the aclu s national medal of liberty learn more just mercy 1 new york times bestseller the book an unforgettable true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us and a clarion call to end mass incarceration in america from one of the most inspiring lawyers of our time bryan stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the equal justice initiative a nonprofit law office in montgomery alabama dedicated to defending the poor the incarcerated and the wrongly condemned just mercy tells the story of eji from the early days with a small staff facing the nation s highest death sentencing and execution rates through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison to revolutionary projects designed to confront americans with our history of racial injustice one of eji s first clients was walter mcmillian a young black man who was sentenced to die for the murder of a young white woman that he didn t commit the case exemplifies how the death penalty in america is a direct descendant of lynching a system that treats the rich and guilty better than the poor and innocent buy the book amazon penguin random house barnes noble books a million indiebound download discussion guide the message of this book is that evil can be overcome a difference can be made just mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful ted conover the new york times book review a searing indictment of american criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields david cole the new york review of books inspiring a work of style substance and clarity stevenson is not only a great lawyer he s also a gifted writer and storyteller the washington post searing moving bryan stevenson may indeed be america s mandela nicholas kristof the new york times as deeply moving poignant and powerful a book as has been and maybe ever can be written about the death penalty the financial times accolades selected as a new york times best seller winner of the dayton literary peace prize winner of a naacp image award for nonfiction finalist for the kirkus reviews prize winner of a carnegie medal for excellence in nonfiction selected as a an american library association notable book just mercy the movie just mercy takes us inside america s broken criminal justice system and compels us to confront inequality and injustice based on the bestselling book the just mercy movie presents the unforgettable story of bryan stevenson michael b jordan and the case of walter mcmillian academy award winner jamie foxx who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit watch the movie dvd blu ray amazon prime apple tv google play download discussion guide an intimate immediate and deeply moving portrait that feels fresh and urgent and more timely than ever ann hornaday the washington post i spent most of just mercy devastated by its most rueful death row inmate only to belatedly realize that it was rob morgan who was breaking my heart wesley morris the new york times just mercy is a handsome impeccably mounted tribute to stevenson s activism and also his fellow advocates justin chang los angeles times the movie builds to a stirring resolution based on the certainty that hatred in all its terrible power will never be as powerful as justice owen gleiberman variety foxx s scenes are transfixing enough to make you hold your breath without realizing it john defore the hollywood reporter it s searing and soaring and it will start a million conversations in the country about the death penalty about racial injustice and about how poor americans routinely get a third class justice system nicholas kristof new york times columnist watch trailer accolades winner of aba silver gavel award winner of the national board of review s freedom of expression award earned audience score of 99 on rotten tomatoes rated as a cinemascore michael b jordan winner of bet award for best actor winner of christopher award winner of four naacp image awards winner of american black film festival movie of the year jamie foxx winner of american black film festival excellence in the arts award starring michael b jordan jamie foxx brie larson rob morgan tim blake nelson andrene ward hammond o shea jackson jr and karan kendrick bryan stevenson is the founder and executive director of the equal justice initiative he had barely opened the nonprofit law office in montgomery alabama when he agreed to represent walter mcmillian a black man wrongly convicted of killing a white woman in the town that inspired to kill a mockingbird walter mcmillian insisted he had been framed he told bryan i know it may not matter to you but it s important to me that you know that i m innocent and didn t do what they said i did not no kinda way bryan took on the case determined to show that prosecution witnesses had lied on the stand eva ansley grew up in alabama disgusted by the state s unjust and abusive treatment of the poor and disfavored her commitment to finding legal help for people on alabama s death row led her to join bryan stevenson in opening eji where she took on every challenge from accounting to recruiting lawyers herbert richardson was executed in 1989 despite the state of alabama s failure to provide him with timely and effective legal assistance ralph myers served 30 years in prison and was released in 2017 he lived in alabama until he passed away in december 2021 brenda lewis was an investigator on mr mcmillian s case she continues to assist indigent people accused of crimes as an investigator at the federal defender in mobile alabama anthony ray hinton spent 30 years on alabama s death row for a crime he did not commit even after eji presented undisputed ballistics evidence that destroyed the state s case against him alabama prosecutors refused to re open the case it took 12 more years of litigation and a united states supreme court ruling to secure his freedom minnie mcmillian supported her husband walter during his six years on death row and actively fought for his release 1 8 clients just mercy tells the story of eji s clients from walter mcmillian and anthony ray hinton who were exonerated from alabama s death row to joe sullivan and ian manuel who won release after being sentenced to die in prison for nonhomicide crimes in florida when they were just 13 years old we invite you to learn more about the clients featured in the book below walter mcmillian after spending six years on alabama s death row for a crime he did not commit walter mcmillian was released from prison in 1993 read more marsha colbey marsha colbey was wrongly convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole after her baby was stillborn eji won her release in 2012 read more herbert richardson herbert richardson was executed in 1989 despite the state of alabama s failure to provide him with timely and effective legal assistance read more diane jones diane jones was wrongly convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison without parole eji won her release in 2006 read more jimmy dill jimmy dill was executed in 2009 despite alabama s failure to provide him adequate legal help read more diane tucker eji won the release of diane tucker after she was wrongly convicted and sent to prison for a murder that never took place read more joe sullivan joe sullivan was sentenced to die in a florida prison for a nonhomicide offense when he was just 13 years old he was released after serving 25 years read more robert caston robert caston was sentenced to die in prison in louisiana for an assault when he was just 17 years old he was released in 2010 after serving 45 years read more ian manuel ian manuel spent years in a tiny isolation cell after he was condemned to die in prison for a nonhomicide offense at age 13 eji won his release in 2016 read more trina garnett trina garnett was just 14 when she arrested tried as an adult and sentenced to die in prison read more joshua carter joshua carter spent 49 years in louisiana s notorious angola prison for a nonhomicide offense allegedly committed as a teenager eji won his release in 2010 read more antonio nuñez antonio nuñez became the only child in the country known to be sentenced to die in prison for his involvement at age 14 in a single incident where no one was injured read more sign up to stay connected and receive updates about eji s work first name please enter your first name last name please enter your last name email please enter a valid email address zip code all sign up locations lynching in america segregation in america museum and memorial a history of racial injustice eji org eji staff eji alumni 2018 benefit ticket buyers raiser s edge 2019 benefit ticket buyers just mercy microsite sign up by submitting this form you are granting equal justice initiative 122 commerce street montgomery alabama 36104 united states http www eji org permission to email you you may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email see our email privacy policy for details emails are serviced by mailchimp faq if you have additional questions about just mercy or the work of eji please visit eji org is just mercy a true story yes the movie is based on an actual case that is detailed in bryan stevenson s book just mercy published in 2014 bryan took on walter mcmillian s case in 1988 to challenge his wrongful conviction and death sentence over the next six years bryan filed multiple legal challenges and conducted several hearings but the trial court refused to grant mr mcmillian a new trial despite overwhelming evidence of innocence including the recantation of the state s main witness ralph myers bryan appealed the ruling and the alabama court of criminal appeals ordered a new trial because the state withheld evidence of mr mcmillian s innocence bryan filed a motion to dismiss all charges the trial court granted it after the district attorney acknowledged mr mcmillian s innocence while the movie condenses the six years of litigation it mostly tracks the actual account presented in the book mr mcmillian s claim of innocence attracted national attention as 60 minutes broadcast a story about the case the movie accurately introduces other people represented by bryan stevenson including herbert richardson a vietnam war veteran who was executed in 1989 and anthony ray hinton who spent nearly 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit what made the walter mcmillian case unique sadly while the mcmillian case had some unique features there are actually lots of people who are innocent who have been sentenced to death in the united states because mr mcmillian was accused of a crime that took place in monroeville alabama the community where harper lee grew up and wrote the beloved novel to kill a mockingbird there were interesting dynamics at play in the case while the monroeville community loves the mockingbird story and took great pride in its association with the fictional characters of the book there was tremendous resistance to recognizing mr mcmillian s innocence despite overwhelming evidence walter mcmillian and ralph myers were both placed on death row before going to trial which is illegal and a rare form of coercion after mr myers agreed to give false testimony against mr mcmillian he was removed from death row mr mcmillian spent 15 months on death row awaiting his trial in an effort to pressure him into pleading guilty the case was unique as well because the trial judge robert e lee key jr moved the trial from monroe county which is over 40 black to baldwin county which had a much smaller black population making a nearly all white jury more likely despite that change of venue the jury that convicted mr mcmillian of capital murder sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole in alabama the trial judge has the authority to override a jury s verdict of life and impose the death penalty which is what happened judge override of life verdicts has been a unique characteristic of the death penalty in alabama the walter mcmillian case is also significant because it was one of the very early cases where a death row prisoner was proved innocent after being sentenced to death despite death penalty reforms in the 1970s and early 1980s what happened to walter mcmillian after his release walter mcmillian stayed in alabama after his release bryan and the staff at eji filed civil rights lawsuits against state and local officials for putting him on death row before his trial and for violating his rights the case settled out of court after several years of litigation because police prosecutors and judges are immune from judgments that require them to make payments to people victimized by abuse of authority and wrongdoing the settlement compensation was much less than had been hoped an effort to make the sheriff accountable went all the way to the united states supreme court but the court ruled that the sheriff could be protected from liability based on immunity laws with the money that was obtained for mr mcmillian he was able to work in monroe county selling scrap metal about 10 years after his release he began showing symptoms of early onset dementia which some doctors believed was caused by the trauma of his ordeal on death row mr mcmillian died in 2013 he and bryan remained close friends occasionally traveling together to talk to audiences about the death penalty they appeared at a united states senate hearing shortly after mr mcmillian s release to testify about the need for ending the death penalty and for reform of the criminal justice system read mr mcmillian s statement how often are innocent people sentenced to death since 1973 more than 165 people have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence was uncovered a shocking rate of error has emerged for every nine people executed in this country one innocent person has been exonerated wrongful convictions have been found to result from erroneous eyewitness identifications false and coerced confessions misconduct by police and prosecutors inadequate legal defense false or misleading forensic evidence and perjury by witnesses who are promised lenient treatment or other incentives in exchange for their testim...