Bryan Stevenson

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.

The young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller Just Mercy--soon to be a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx, and Brie Larson and now the subject of an HBO documentary feature! In this very personal work--adapted from the original #1 bestseller, which the New York Times calls "as compelling as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so"--acclaimed lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson offers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned and his efforts to fight for their freedom. Stevenson's story is one of working to protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society--the poor, the wrongly convicted, and those whose lives have been marked by discrimination and marginalization. Through this adaptation, young people of today will find themselves called to action and compassion in the pursuit of justice. Proceeds of this book will go to charity to help in Stevenson's important work to benefit the voiceless and the vulnerable as they attempt to navigate the broken U.S. justice system. A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEARA BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICEFEATURED ON CBS THIS MORNINGA NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY: A TRUE STORY OF THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE "It's really exciting that young people are getting a version tailored for them." --Salon "A deeply moving collage of true stories. . . . This is required reading." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Compassionate and compelling, Stevenson's narrative is also unforgettable." --Booklist, starred review PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY: A STORY OF JUSTICE AND REDEMPTION "Gripping. . . . What hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation." --DESMOND TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate "Important and compelling." --Pulitzer Prize-winning author TRACY KIDDER "Inspiring and powerful." --#1 New York Times bestselling author JOHN GRISHAM

11 hrs and 4 mins A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.  Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.