Just Mercy

Just Mercy

by

Bryan Stevenson

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Just Mercy makes teaching easy.

Bryan Stevenson Character Analysis

Stevenson is the author, narrator, and protagonist of the book. He was born in a poor African American community in rural Delaware, attended Harvard Law School, and founded (with his friend Eva Ansley) the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama. For several decades, he has worked as an activist and lawyer representing wrongfully accused or harshly sentenced men, women and children. Stevenson has made and maintained many close relationships with his co-workers and clients in the course of his work, and he tells their stories throughout the book. Though he often struggles with remaining optimistic in the face of injustice and loss, he is committed to remaining hopeful and resilient in order to help others.

Bryan Stevenson Quotes in Just Mercy

The Just Mercy quotes below are all either spoken by Bryan Stevenson or refer to Bryan Stevenson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Introduction Quotes

Henry sang slowly and with great sincerity and conviction […]
Lord lift me up, and let me stand
By faith on Heaven’s tableland
A higher plane, that I have found
Lord, plant my feet on Higher Ground.
I sat down, completely stunned. Henry’s voice was filled with desire. I experienced his song as a precious gift.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Henry (speaker)
Related Symbols: Songs/ Hymns
Page Number: 12
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You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close.

Related Characters: Stevenson’s grandmother (speaker), Bryan Stevenson
Page Number: 14
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Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker)
Page Number: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker)
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

Sentimentality about Lee’s story grew even as the harder truths of the book took no roots.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Walter McMillian, Harper Lee
Related Symbols: To Kill a Mockingbird
Page Number: 23
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Chapter 2 Quotes

“You see this scar on the top of my head?” He tilted his head to show me. “I got that scar in Greene County, Alabama trying to register to vote in 1964. You see this scar on the side of my head? […] I got that scar in Mississippi demanding civil rights. […] These aren’t my scars, cuts and bruises. These are my medals of honor.”

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), The older man in the wheelchair (speaker)
Page Number: 23
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Chapter 4 Quotes

It was sad like few other hymns I’d heard. I don’t know why exactly, but I started to hum it as I saw more uniformed officers entering the vestibule outside the visitation room. It seemed like something that might help […] After a few minutes, the family joined me. I went over to Herbert’s wife as she held him tightly, sobbing softly. I whispered to her, “We have to let him go.” Herbert saw the officers lining up outside, and he pulled away from her slowly and told me to take her out of the room.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Herbert Richardson, Herbert’s wife
Related Symbols: Songs/ Hymns
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:

The next day there were articles in the press about the execution. Some state officials expressed happiness and excitement that an execution had taken place, but I knew that none of them had actually dealt with the details of killing Herbert.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Herbert Richardson
Page Number: 90
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Chapter 5 Quotes

I feel like they done put me on death row, too. What do we tell these children about how to stay out of harm’s way when you can be at your own house, minding your own business, surrounded by your entire family, and they still put some murder on you that you ain’t do and send you to death row?

Related Characters: Armelia (speaker), Bryan Stevenson, Walter McMillian
Page Number: 93
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Chapter 6 Quotes

We’ve been through a lot, Bryan, all of us. I know that some have been through more than others. But if we don’t expect more from each other, hope better for one another, and recover from the hurt we experience, we are surely doomed.

Related Characters: Mr. and Mrs. Jennings (speaker), Bryan Stevenson, Charlie
Page Number: 126
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Chapter 7 Quotes

You know they’ll try to kill you if you actually get to the bottom of everything.

Page Number: 136
Explanation and Analysis:

They treated us like we were low-class white trash. They could not have cared less about us. […] I thought they treated victims better. I thought we had some say.

Page Number: 140
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Chapter 8 Quotes

But to be real, I want to show the world I’m alive! I want to look at those photos and feel alive! It would really help with my pain. I felt joyful today during the photo shoot. I wanted it to never end. Every time you all visit and leave, I feel saddened. But I capture and cherish those moments in time, replaying them in my mind’s eye, feeling grateful for human interaction and contact. But today, just the simple handshakes we shared was a welcome addition to my sensory deprived life.

Related Characters: Ian Manuel (speaker), Bryan Stevenson
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

In that moment, I felt something peculiar. A deep sense of recognition. I smiled now, because I knew she was saying to the room, “I may be old, I may be poor, I may be black, but I’m here. I’m here because I’ve got this vision of justice that compels me to be a witness. I’m here because I’m supposed to be here. I’m here because you can’t keep me away.”

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Mrs. Williams (speaker)
Page Number: 181
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Chapter 10 Quotes

I argued to the judge that not taking Avery’s mental health issues into consideration at trial was as cruel as saying to someone who has lost his legs, “You must climb these stairs with no assistance, and if you don’t your just lazy.” Or to say to someone who was blind, “You should get across this busy interstate highway, unaided, or you’re just cowardly.”

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Avery Jenkins
Page Number: 199
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

Walter’s sense of humor hadn’t failed him despite his six years on death row. And this case had given him lots of fodder. We would often talk about situations and people connected to the case that, for all the damage they had caused, had still made us laugh at their absurdity. But the laughter today felt very different. It was the laughter of liberation.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Walter McMillian
Page Number: 221
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

Knitted together as they were, a horrible day for one woman would inevitably become a horrible day for everyone. The only consolation in such an arrangement was that joys were shared as well. A grant of parole, the arrival of a hoped-for letter, a visit from a long absent family member would lift everyone’s spirits.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Marsha Colbey
Page Number: 238
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

His story was a counter narrative to the rhetoric of fairness and reliability offered by politicians and law enforcement officials who wanted more and faster executions. Walter’s case complicated the debate in very graphic ways.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Walter McMillian
Page Number: 243
Explanation and Analysis:

He became uncharacteristically emotional. “They put me on death row for six years! They threatened me for six years. They tortured me with the promise of execution for six years. I lost my job. I lost my life. I lost my reputation. I lost my – I lost my dignity.”

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Walter McMillian (speaker)
Page Number: 254
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

When he talked about his own act of violence, he seemed deeply confused about how it was possible he could have done something so destructive. Most of the juvenile lifer cases we handled involved clients who shared Evan’s confusion about their adolescent behavior. Many had matured into adults who were much more thoughtful and reflective; they were now capable of making responsible and appropriate decisions.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Evan Miller
Page Number: 266
Explanation and Analysis:

When these basic deficits that burden all children are combined with the environments that some poor children experience—environments marked by abuse, violence, dysfunction, neglect and the absence of loving caretaker— adolescence can leave kids vulnerable to the sort of extremely poor decision making that results in tragic violence.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Evan Miller
Page Number: 269
Explanation and Analysis:

I watched Joe, who laughed like a little boy, but I saw the lines in his face and even the emergence of a few prematurely grey hairs on his head. I realized even while I laughed, that his unhappy childhood had been followed by unhappy, imprisoned teenage years followed by unhappy incarceration through young adulthood. All of the sudden, it occurred to me what a miracle it was that he could still laugh.

Related Characters: Bryan Stevenson (speaker), Joe Sullivan
Page Number: 274
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

We are all broken by something. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. We all share the condition of brokenness, even if our brokenness is not equivalent […] Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion. We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, foreswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity.

Page Number: 289
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“I’ve been singing sad songs my whole life. Had to. When you catch stones, even happy songs can make you sad.” She paused and grew silent. I heard her chuckle before she continued. “But you keep singing. Your songs will make you strong. They might even make you happy.”

Related Symbols: Songs/ Hymns
Page Number: 309-310
Explanation and Analysis:
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Just Mercy PDF

Bryan Stevenson Character Timeline in Just Mercy

The timeline below shows where the character Bryan Stevenson appears in Just Mercy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Introduction: Higher Ground
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The book begins with Bryan Stevenson’s first-person account of a moment in the summer of 1983 when he was a third-year... (full context)
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Stevenson rewinds, describing his journey to this moment. He majors in philosophy and applies to a... (full context)
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At Jackson prison in Georgia, a hostile guard meets Stevenson. In the visitor center, the guards bring out Henry, a young black man with his... (full context)
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After his summer at the SPDC, Stevenson returns to his last year at Harvard with a new sense of purpose. He studies... (full context)
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Stevenson explains that the book’s purpose is to “get closer” to the issue of incarceration in... (full context)
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Stevenson explains that he will focus on the story of Walter McMillian to illustrate the justice... (full context)
Chapter 1: Mockingbird Players
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It has been four years since Stevenson graduated from law school and began working at the SPDC. One day, he receives a... (full context)
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...public defense. Because of this, Georgia-based SPDC is barraged with death row cases from Alabama. Stevenson is spending a lot of time in Alabama helping his friend Eva Ansley to found... (full context)
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As Stevenson leads into the story of Walter’s life and trial, he begins by discussing Walter’s hometown... (full context)
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...Walter testified in court, admitting their affair. Having an interracial affair ruined Walter’s good reputation. Stevenson describes the South’s history of hatred toward black men involved with white women. During the... (full context)
Chapter 2: Stand
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Stevenson goes back in time to his second year in at SPDC. He had spent his... (full context)
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At this time, Stevenson begins taking on death row cases in Alabama, while also filing prison condition cases in... (full context)
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One night, Stevenson is coming home after a long day when his car’s broken radio begins working. “Stand,”... (full context)
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Returning home, Stevenson tells Charlie, who shares his outrage. The next day, Steve Bright urges Stevenson to file... (full context)
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Still outraged over his experience, Stevenson begins giving talks at churches, organizations and youth centers to educate black communities about racial... (full context)
Chapter 3: Trials and Tribulations
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Returning to the events leading up to Walter’s conviction, Stevenson describes the investigators’ next move after Myers failed to identify Walter. Stevenson remarks that public... (full context)
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Stevenson recounts the story that Ralph Myers gave to police. According to Myers, Walter kidnapped him... (full context)
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Stevenson describes Alabama’s death row at Holman Prison. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1975,... (full context)
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Stevenson recounts the long history of southern courts deliberately excluding black jurors from serving, despite several... (full context)
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...to a state mental hospital for a month and then returned back to death row. Stevenson writes that the state hospital had almost never found any patients psychologically unfit to testify,... (full context)
Chapter 4: The Old Rugged Cross
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In the summer 1989, despite a series of setbacks with obtaining space and securing funding, Stevenson and his friend Eva Ansley finally open the Equal justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama.... (full context)
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Two of the inmates Stevenson and Ansley’s clients beg them to assist are Michael Lindsey and Horace Dunkins. Stevenson and... (full context)
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...another last-stage appeal for Horace Dunkins, a mentally retarded man, but their appeal is denied. Stevenson writes that at the time of Dunkins’ execution, the Supreme Court allowed executions of the... (full context)
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After the executions of Lindsey and Dunkins, Stevenson and Ansley are still struggling to set up and staff their office due to their... (full context)
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Stevenson explains that Herbert’s traumas of childhood abuse and his mother’s death were exacerbated by wartime... (full context)
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Stevenson files several stay motions at the state level on behalf of Herbert, though he has... (full context)
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Stevenson explains that over the years Herbert had corresponded with a woman and they fell in... (full context)
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At the prison, Stevenson finds Herbert joking around and trying to stay positive in the presence of his wife... (full context)
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Stevenson realizes he isn’t prepared to see Herbert die. Herbert is given a moment with Stevenson.... (full context)
Chapter 5: Of the Coming of John
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Shortly after Herbert’s execution, Stevenson visits death row to catch up with several new clients, including Walter. Afterward, he travels... (full context)
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Stevenson rewinds to his arrival at Walter’s home. He first notices the home’s disrepair and the... (full context)
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Stevenson, Minnie and Jackie travel down a long, isolated road, until they reach “an entire community... (full context)
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On the drive back to Montgomery, Stevenson thinks of a story he read in college from the 1903 book The Souls of... (full context)
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Stevenson describes his growing familiarity with Walter. He writes of the many local white people who... (full context)
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A man named Darnell Houston contacts Stevenson saying he can disprove the testimony of Bill Hooks because they were working together on... (full context)
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During their meeting at the Monroe County Courthouse, Stevenson’s hopes fade as Chapman expresses his unquestioning belief in Walter’s guilt, based mostly on the... (full context)
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Stevenson tells Darnell about his meeting with Tom Chapman. Darnell is relieved that the charges are... (full context)
Chapter 6: Surely Doomed
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Stevenson receives a call from the grandmother of a fourteen-year-old boy named Charlie who has been... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that George, the boyfriend of Charlie’s mother, often came home drunk. George beat Charlie’s... (full context)
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Reading further into his case, Stevenson learns that George was a highly esteemed police officer and that the prosecutor had convinced... (full context)
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Deeply angry with everyone who “allowed” it to happen, Stevenson informs a jail officer that Charlie has been raped. The officer shows little concern until... (full context)
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After telling Charlie’s story at a church meeting, Stevenson is approached by a middle-aged white couple from the country who offer their help. Mr.... (full context)
Chapter 7: Justice Denied
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Stevenson requests a direct appeal of Walter’s conviction. In his written brief, he notes several flaws... (full context)
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Stevenson encourages Walter to remain hopeful because they have new evidence and several remaining options, including... (full context)
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...case rests on his testimony. When he and Michael meet him at St. Clair prison, Stevenson (who had developed a “larger-than-life image” of Myers) is surprised by Myers’ fragility. Myers immediately... (full context)
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Going home, Stevenson and Michael discuss the corruption Myers described, including his accusation that a local sheriff organized... (full context)
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To learn more about the Pittman murder, Stevenson and Michael arrange to meet with Vickie Pittman’s twin aunts, Onzelle and Mozelle. The two... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that in previous decades, the State considered crimes against one person to be crimes... (full context)
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At home, Stevenson and Michael now read through all of the documents they’ve collected from different sources, including... (full context)
Chapter 8: All God’s Children
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The chapter begins with a poem by Ian Manuel, one of the inmates Stevenson features in this chapter who was incarcerated as a juvenile. The poem, “Uncried Tears,” describes... (full context)
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...risk of rape for juveniles in adult prisons, prison officials put Ian in solitary confinement. Stevenson describes the conditions of solitary confinement, which include very minimal exercise and human contact. Ian... (full context)
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...abusive and neglectful father. As a child, he was put on probation for nonviolent offences. Stevenson writes that due to police profiling, poor and minority youth often develop criminal records for... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that the criminalization of youth was more rare in the past, with the exception... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that in the 1980’s and 90’s, social and political scientists publically forecasted increased rates... (full context)
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...allowing “death-in-prison” sentences for juveniles. EJI helped Trina reconnect with her sisters and son, which Stevenson writes “strengthened her in ways I wouldn’t have thought possible.” Despite his learning disability, Antonio... (full context)
Chapter 9: I’m Here
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Stevenson describes the situation preceding Walter’s Rule 32 hearing. Stevenson suggests that District Attorney Tom Chapman... (full context)
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Before the hearing, Stevenson and Michael spend days planning how they will present all the evidence in the allotted... (full context)
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The hearing begins. Stevenson recounts the story Myers gave during Walter’s trial. He highlights that the State never searched... (full context)
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Stevenson next calls to the stand Clay Kast, Walter’s white mechanic. Kast states that he has... (full context)
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The next morning, Stevenson finds Walter’s supporters waiting outside of the courtroom because they aren’t being allowed in. A... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that the second day of proceedings go well, even after the morning’s ominous beginning.... (full context)
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On the third morning of the hearing, Stevenson sees Mrs. William’s daughter in the courtroom. She tells him that Mrs. Williams stayed up... (full context)
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During the final day of the hearing, Stevenson calls on several witnesses who had been incarcerated with Myers who testify that Myers told... (full context)
Chapter 10: Mitigation
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Stevenson writes about the history of the mentally ill and disabled in in the American prison... (full context)
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...years later, and got George’s conviction overturned after discovering that “Dr. Seger” was a charlatan. Stevenson remarks on the many others evaluated by Seger whose convictions hadn’t been reconsidered. (full context)
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A man on death row, Avery Jenkins, reaches out to EJI. Stevenson writes that the inscrutable letters Avery sent him suggested serious mental illness. Stevenson finds out... (full context)
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Avery is very happy to meet Stevenson, and Avery unexpectedly asks if Stevenson brought him a chocolate milkshake. Stevenson goes on with... (full context)
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The guards refuse to let Stevenson bring Avery a milkshake, though Avery continues to ask for one during each visit. EJI... (full context)
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After the hearing, Stevenson visits Avery out of concern for how the hearing affected him. In the parking lot,... (full context)
Chapter 11: I’ll Fly Away
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...continues to receive bomb threats. Their staff is growing, and now includes summer interns, whom Stevenson writes “didn’t sign up” for this kind of danger. A series of murders in nearby... (full context)
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Stevenson receives Judge Norton’s decision. In The judge’s written response, Norton addresses only Myers’ recantation of... (full context)
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...moves to San Diego to work as a public defender. While Michael will miss EJI, Stevenson describes him as being “less conflicted about leaving Alabama.” Michael is replaced by Bernard Harcourt.... (full context)
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Stevenson realizes the need to change Walter’s public image to make his return safer should EJI... (full context)
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Stevenson agrees to work with the CBS program 60 Minutes to produce a story about Walter’s... (full context)
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New ABI investigators Tom Taylor and Greg Cole contact Stevenson, asking for files from Walter’s case. Stevenson writes that the investigators weren’t “connected to any... (full context)
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The ABI encourages Stevenson to pause further action until they can arrest another suspect. Stevenson feels that it is... (full context)
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Six weeks after EJI files the appeal, Stevenson receives notice that the judge has issued a ruling. He rushes to the courthouse to... (full context)
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Before a new trial can be scheduled, Stevenson files a motion to have all of Walter’s charges dropped. The State decides to join... (full context)
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The morning of the hearing, Stevenson tells Walter about his conversation with Minnie. Walter seems sad, but he tells Stevenson: “nothing... (full context)
Chapter 12: Mother, Mother
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Stevenson introduces Marsha Colbey, a poor white woman from Alabama. He opens with Marsha marveling at... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that by the 2000’s, media sensationalism about homicidal moms like Andrea Yates and Susan... (full context)
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Stevenson writes about the conditions at Tutwiler Women’s Prison, where Marsha was incarcerated. As the only... (full context)
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...New York, they honor Marsha. Roberta Flack opens with the song “Isn’t It a Pity.” Stevenson tells the audience how Marsha’s twelve-year-old daughter proved the “kind of mother” Marsha was by... (full context)
Chapter 13: Recovery
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Stevenson describes Walter’s life after his release. Media attention about his case intensifies, and Walter’s story... (full context)
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EJI pursues financial compensation for Walter. They seek help from Stevenson’s friend Rob McDuff, a “charming” white southern litigator who’d been effective in other racially charged... (full context)
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...him a sense of freedom. A logging accident forces Walter to spend months staying with Stevenson and recovering. Walter remains optimistic, and he decides to start a junkyard business so he... (full context)
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...legal aid groups in the country shut down, but EJI intensified fundraising among private donors. Stevenson writes that, despite the financial and workload stress, he was excited for EJI to have... (full context)
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Stevenson flies out to Sweden to receive the award. He writes about a previous visit to... (full context)
Chapter 14: Cruel and Unusual
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...alleged rape, his lawyers offered little defense. The judge declared that Joe had proven irredeemable. Stevenson comments that Joe hadn’t had any real chances. Joe was convicted and sentenced to life... (full context)
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...incarcerated with Joe writes to EJI About Joe’s abuse and his disability. Joe writes to Stevenson asking if Stevenson can “come get” him. At this point, Joe has spent 18 years... (full context)
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...the visitation room, Joe waits in a wheelchair in a small locked metal cage. When Stevenson arrives, the officers struggles for a long time to get the wheelchair out of the... (full context)
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Joe regularly writes to Stevenson, often sharing details of his day and asking childlike questions. EJI petitions Joe’s life sentence... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that his involvement in the cases of youth guilty of violent crimes is “ironic.”... (full context)
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Stevenson explains how the 2005 ban on juvenile death penalties was influenced by recent scientific discoveries.... (full context)
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Stevenson visits Joe in prison. The national media attention generated by the Supreme Court case has... (full context)
Chapter 15: Broken
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Stevenson describes the “decline” of Walter’s emotional and mental state. Walter develops memory problems and has... (full context)
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Stevenson visits Walter‘s temporary nursing home in Montgomery. He is distraught to find Walter disoriented and... (full context)
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Just after Stevenson’s visit with Walter, he finds out that another execution is scheduled. He calls EJI deputy... (full context)
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Stevenson writes that by the late 2000’s lethal injection had replaced other forms of execution. While... (full context)
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Within an hour of his execution, Stevenson calls Jimmy to inform him of the Supreme Court’s decision. Jimmy, who suffers from a... (full context)
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After getting off the phone with Jimmy Dill, Stevenson feels heavy hearted and defeated. He feels overwhelmed by years of witnessing tragedy, abuse, and... (full context)
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Stevenson rewinds in time to when he met Rosa Parks shortly after moving to Montgomery. He’d... (full context)
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Returning to the night of Jimmy Dill’s death, Stevenson realizes that it is “time to stop all this foolishness about quitting.” He reads an... (full context)
Chapter 16: The Stonecatcher’s Song of Sorrow
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...of juveniles in adult facilities and the practice of prosecuting young children in adult courts. Stevenson argues that young children aren’t equipped to handle the procedures of adult court. (full context)
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...a “clearly innocent” man who had been on Alabama’s death row for nearly 30 years. Stevenson describes how Mr. Hinton’s underfunded lawyer failed to provide sufficient evidence and didn’t present the... (full context)
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Stevenson describes four periods of America’s racial history and he explains how these periods are often... (full context)
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After the hearings, Stevenson meets an old woman outside the courtroom. She hugs him and tells him to sit... (full context)
Epilogue
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The epilogue begins: “Walter died on September 11, 2013.” Stevenson describes Walter’s kindness despite his disorientation during his last two years. His dementia weakened his... (full context)
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In his funeral speech, Stevenson explains that “Walter had become like a brother” to him. He remarks on how Walter... (full context)
Postscript
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Stevenson returns to Anthony Ray Hinton in Alabama. For fifteen years, the State denied EJI’s requests... (full context)
Acknowledgements
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In his acknowledgements, Stevenson begins by thanking the individuals featured in the book and the many other “accused, convicted,... (full context)
Author’s Note
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In the author’s note, Stevenson writes that there are still two million people incarcerated on the U.S., six million on... (full context)