Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson RATING Book Review by Joey Angelo 5/5

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Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson RATING Book review by Joey Angelo 5/5 In Just Mercy, now a major motion picture that stars Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Fox, Bryan Stevenson takes the reader for a journey like no other, where the eyes of many will be opened to the injustice and corruption that takes place in our legal systems. Bryan Stevenson, whom I consider to be America’s Mandela, is a criminal defense lawyer that has dedicated his life to pursuing justice and mercy. He was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the most marginalized and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, the mentally disabled, and women and children who cannot escape the ongoing struggles of their life situations. Bryan’s true stories about those who get stuck in the trenches of our criminal justice system will put the reader on a roller coaster of pain and deep-thinking about the misuse of power that occurs in this nation. Bryan is a compelling character and a role model for how to live as a person for others. He is a beaming sun of hope for his clients and is responsible for saving the lives of thousands as he stands up for his belief of justice and love. In this biography and autobiography, Bryan is highly effective in altering the way we view the most vulnerable so that we empathize with their background. He has changed my perspective on many topics, most notably the death penalty. Stevenson’s style keeps the material fresh and intriguing because he shares so many stories about different injustices that go on in our country while he combats it with statistics, facts, and reasoning. Amidst the sadness of many stories he never omits hope and often triumph prevails. With that in mind, Just Mercy is a page-turner as the reader has the will to follow through each character's story attentively. The readers won’t want to put the book down- for a longing of Bryan’s wisdom and teachings of mercy and unmerited grace. One of his ﬁrst cases is that of Walter McMillian, a black man arrested and put on Alabama’s death row for a murder he did not commit. It is disheartening to see the prejudice that occurs in Walter’s case and in cases of other innocent clients that Bryan works for. To read about Bryan Stevenson’s sacriﬁce of restoring the faith in our broken system of justice is well- worth each reader’s time. The book achieves Bryan’s goal of morphing the opinions of Americans that are blind to the injustice of the criminal system. I truly believe it has the power to change the readers’ lives as it has done so for me. By the end, I have learned that we are all broken by something, but our brokenness is what connects us and makes us human. Because of this fact, Bryan has taught me more about compassion and the importance of delivering mercy when it is not expected. .

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