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At its heart, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a memoir of the early legal career of Bryan Stevenson. The major conflict in the story is between Stevenson and the rampant corruption in the justice system that has emerged as a result of America’s contentious racial history. Early in the book, Stevenson relates the story of his grandmother teaching him about the importance of closeness because it serves as a defining theme that guides all of his work as well as the book. Stevenson brings the issues of mass incarceration and capital punishment closer to readers by including specific, telling details from his own cases. Highlighting one of the themes used throughout the memoir, he creates understanding through closeness. Stevenson develops this closeness through a focus on his own growth from disconnected law school student who never met a death row inmate or even a lawyer before going to Harvard, to an attorney fighting death row and life without parole cases. The inciting incident that launches Stevenson into this lifelong fight is an experience outside his apartment. When he is almost shot for listening to music, Stevenson realizes that he could have easily run and ended up dead. Feeling a kinship with people who have been mishandled in the justice system, Stevenson opens his own offices to help people.
Stevenson intertwines his story with that of Walter McMillian, showing how two similar Black men can take wildly different paths based on circumstances out of their control. The two stories serve as the anchor for the book, with the intersection of their lives changing the trajectory of both. Stevenson highlights his growing frustration and disbelief with the justice system through a retelling of the facts of McMillian’s case. He illustrates the racist behavior of the sheriff responsible for McMillian’s arrest, reinforcing the prevalence of these beliefs in town. The hypocrisy of an unfair justice system is reflected in the case taking place in Monroeville, where To Kill A Mockingbird symbolizes both the town and the ideal of justice. The district attorney builds the case based on an unreliable witness, in spite of witness statements from McMillian’s family and church community who were with him at the time of the crime. Stevenson shares statements from Judge Robert E. Lee Key who, though meant to be impartial, tells him that McMillian is a drug dealer and member of the Dixie Mafia. From the investigation through the arrest, trial, conviction, and sentencing, Stevenson highlights the corruption and systemic racism that runs throughout McMillian’s case.
McMillian’s case makes a good center for the book because it allows Stevenson several opportunities to interweave stories of other clients. While one story of racist treatment by law enforcement officials could be a fluke, the multitude of people who’ve experienced unfair punishment combined with telling statistics show a systemic problem. Stevenson intersperses the stories of other clients along with McMillian’s to highlight and reinforce the unjust treatment of disfavored people by the justice system. Through the story of Herbert Richardson, Stevenson illustrates inadequate mental health care for military veterans and the percentage of veterans in prison. Richardson’s story serves as just one throughout the book to reveal the impact of trauma. Having suffered abuse and neglect as a child as well as the trauma of war, Richardson’s mental state contributes significantly to his crime, though his background is not presented at trial. Through the stories of Trina Garrett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nunez, Stevenson argues against the injustice of death-in-prison sentences to juveniles sentenced to life without parole. He builds empathy for these children by detailing horrific backgrounds filled with neglect and abuse, compounded by the trauma faced in adult prison, before illustrating hope and mercy as the Supreme Court rules these life-without-parole sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. Using the story of Marsha Colbey, Stevenson illustrates the dangerous mother phenomenon, with the media frenzy and public fascination allowed to surpass truth and justice.
McMillian’s retrial is a high point of Stevenson’s career, but the true climax of the book occurs many years later when McMillian dies and Stevenson loses an appeal to save the life of Jimmy Dill. At this point, Stevenson feels defeated by a justice system that seems hopelessly broken. Even though Stevenson managed to have McMillian’s ruling overturned, McMillian died with the fear of execution still lingering in his mind. Stevenson speaks to Jimmy Dill on the phone before he is taken away to be put to death, struggling to hold onto hope in his final moments. Stevenson seems at a deep low point, admitting his own brokenness, compounded over years of working in close proximity to clients. Stevenson often reflects on why he does what he does. During this low moment, he realizes that some degree of brokenness is essential to the human experience. He argues that recognizing this damage in each individual promotes mercy for others and healing for all.
