Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice

Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice (Adapted for Young Adults) is a memoir by respected activist and civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, published in 2018. It is adapted from Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, published for adults in 2014. Just Mercy is a powerful and moving account of Bryan Stevenson’s experiences from 1983 through the early 2000s as a young lawyer working first for the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee and then for his own nonprofit law center, the Equal Justice Initiative. During this time, he represents prisoners on death row, people sentenced to life in prison without parole as children, and others facing injustice in the legal system. Every other chapter focuses on the case of Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to the death penalty, while also discussing many other cases he worked on.

In addition to the many awards and honors given to Bryan Stevenson for his work, such as the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the book itself has been nominated for or won many awards, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Stowe Prize for Writing to Advance Social Justice. Just Mercy has also been named a notable book by Time, the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, and the American Library Association. A film adaptation starring Michael B. Jordan came out in 2019.

This study guide uses the paperback edition of Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice, published in 2018 by Ember, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Content Warning: This guide depicts and discusses institutionalized racism and physical violence throughout, as well as child abuse, sexual assault, and suicide in some sections.

Summary

In the introduction, Bryan Stevenson is a law student at Harvard Law school and interning for the summer at the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC), where he first encounters condemned prisoners on death row. He meets a prisoner named Henry, who shows him gratitude and compassion. The director of SPDC, Steve Bright, inspires him to pursue a legal career helping death row inmates. Bryan discusses his upbringing as a Black child in a racially segregated region of Delaware with a grandmother who was a child of enslaved people. He then gives an overview of the deep flaws in the legal system and the problems of mass incarceration. Finally, Bryan explains that the most important aspect of the book is the hope and resilience he finds in the face of cruelty and injustice.

The book follows two narrative strands, with odd-numbered chapters focusing on Walter McMillian and even-numbered chapters recounting other cases that Bryan works on during that time. Walter McMillian is a Black man from Monroe County, Alabama, where he has been wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to the death penalty. As Bryan studies the case, he finds it is built on lies, racial prejudice, and police corruption.

Ronda Morrison, a young white woman, is murdered at the cleaners where she works. Despite a lack of real evidence of his involvement, and dozens of witnesses stating that he was at home during the time of the murder, Walter is charged with the crime because of one man’s testimony. Ralph Myers is a white man with an extensive criminal record, implicated in a separate murder along with a white woman named Karen Kelly, with whom Walter had an affair, who accuses Walter of both murders to save himself. When Ralph Myers later tries to recant this false accusation, the Monroe County sheriff, Tom Tate, and others coerce Ralph into lying in court. Sheriff Tate is prepared to convict anyone of the crime to appease the public.

Bryan finds new evidence in Walter’s case in hopes of overturning his conviction and releasing him from death row. Meanwhile, he works on other cases, which he discusses in alternating chapters. In Chapter 4: “The Old Rugged Cross,” he tries to save a condemned man named Michael Lindsey, but fails when the Alabama governor refuses his request for clemency. He also attends the execution of Vietnam war veteran Herbert Richardson. In Chapter 6: “Surely Doomed,” Bryan helps 14-year-old Charlie, who has been sentenced to death after confessing to killing his mother’s violently abusive boyfriend. Bryan succeeds in moving the case to juvenile court and securing Charlie’s release before the age of 18.

Bryan’s work with child offenders continues in Chapter 8: “All God’s Children,” where he examines the horrifying injustices inflicted on children in the legal system. Children as young as 13 are often tried as adults, sentenced to life in prison without parole, and placed in solitary confinement. In this chapter, he shares the stories of Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nuñez. In addition to helping prisoners on death row and those sentenced to disproportionately cruel sentences, Bryan also gives legal aid to women in prison, such as Marsha Colbey, who was convicted of murder following a stillbirth. In Chapter 12: “Mother, Mother,” Bryan secures Marsha’s release from prison, while also challenging the horrific and depraved conditions in the Tutwiler Women’s Prison, where incarcerated women are routinely abused, harassed, and raped by male prison staff.

Meanwhile, Bryan continues to work toward Walter’s freedom. He finds evidence of police corruption and convinces several witnesses to admit they lied during trial. The new county district attorney, Tom Chapman, tries to interfere, but Bryan perseveres. Bryan wins an appeal in the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to give Walter a new trial, at which point he motions to dismiss all charges. By this time, DA Chapman realizes the original trial was suspect, and joins the motion. Walter is exonerated and released from prison in 1993.

Following his release, Walter returns to his home and business in Monroe County until he breaks his neck in an accident. He joins Bryan for a series of talks and interviews about the court case for several years, until advancing dementia forces him into a care facility. Walter dies in 2013.