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The more time I spent with Walter, the more I was persuaded that he was a kind, decent man with a generous nature. He freely acknowledged that he'd made poor decisions, particularly where women were concerned. By all accounts—from friends, family, and associates like Sam Crook—Walter generally tried to do the right thing.
In Chapter 5, Stevenson meets with McMillan’s family for the first time and describes the developing relationship he has with his client. By getting to know him as a person rather than just as a client, he can see that he is nothing like the dark and dangerous man that the State depicts. This dissonance emphasizes Stevenson’s argument that McMillan’s good-hearted nature, rather than his at-times poor decisions, represents the true essence of who he is.
As he walked to the car, Walter raised his arms and gently moved them up and down as if he meant to take flight. He looked at me and said, “I feel like a bird, I feel like a bird.”
McMillan finally wins his freedom in Chapter 11, and upon his release from death row, he joyfully explains to Stevenson that he feels like a bird. This moment represents a major turning in his life, and the flight imagery that he uses to describe it suggests feelings of hope and optimism for the future. The fact that McMillan reacts in this way reflects the strength of his spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity.
He was speaking loudly and passionately and looked to be on the verge of tears. "I lost everything," he continued. He calmed himself and tried to smile, but it didn't work. He looked soberly at the camera. "It's rough, it's rough, man. It's rough." I watched worriedly while Walter crouched down close to the ground and began to sob violently.
Despite his optimism for the future, Walter struggles after leaving prison as the result of a work injury as well as the post-traumatic stress of years on death row. This quotation, which appears at the end of Chapter 13, reflects the large toll that Walter’s time in custody has taken on him. The lighthearted man who Stevenson once knew has disappeared and transformed into a broken shell of himself, and this shift marks the beginning of his physical and psychological decline.
