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Launch into a discussion of this blistering account of capital punishment by Bryan Stevenson.

I m ready Mike and really looking forward to your take on the one
Amazing read, how can you end up on death row before being sentenced ? of course circumstantial evidence

This book sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, my library's copy isn't due back until July 2nd.

I read a library copy when the book was first released. I found it very disturbing but unfortunately can't remember enough details of the individual cases to discuss it. I'm looking forward to hearing what others thought of the book.

I've just begun and am already hooked. Stevenson appears to be a good writer, combining the factual with his responses.

Mike - I am SOOOO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK !!! I have been working since October with VOX Press, inc. To get a book that was published by our group by a group of prisoners of various backgrounds and crimes working with Professor Louis Bourgeois of Ole Miss in a creative writing project at Parchman Prison . The project was first given a grant from the state just to try the experiment of writing personal narratives with the group and discussing various writing techniques and reading several authors of interests for discussions .

These assignments and discussions were intended to help the prisoners with skills they might never have received , to boost their self esteem , and even to give them an outlet for journaling their feelings for therapeutic reasons. The writings were taken very seriously by these men. Classrooms like this were set up in the women's facility and in the juvenile facility.

We then gathered monies to publish the finished progressive works in a collection called IN OUR OWN WORDS : WRITINGS FROM PARCHMAN PRISON . We have been selling the books to cover the cost of publishing and to continue with the program next year maybe with more students and more activities. There has been talk of production of a play which would be a tremendous collaborative effort and prove Cooperation and genuine motivation. The Warden has said the program has boosted the moral and behavior among the prisoners. The Warden mentioned bringing in Johnny Cashs's daughter to come into the prison as Cash had himself before and perform for the men.
One man in for a life sentence without The chance of parole which is a common sentence in Parchman for even small crimes , has gone ahead to write his entire memoir in a book. He has always been an exceptional prisoner and in light of this new creation which is extremely good and what Louis has called a sheer " freak of nature " because he writes so well, this Parchman lifer is being considered for Parole and Professor Bourgeois has been asked to speak on his behave .
This project with VOX Press, Inc could play an important part in the beginning of prison reform in a country where more people are held by a percentage of the population in prisons than any other countries. I will review the book on good reads which is available on Amazon and let you see for yourself that we can help turn our country around economically and with crime through education . I will also review a book about the history of the crooked politics always associated in our state of Mississippi with the incarceration of Prisoners in the main Maximum Security Prison , Parchman . Keep in Mind , Parchman has not been a reformed prison system sense the early 70's . That has not been long ago .

So reading this July book selection No Mercy is a very important read which comes about in the middle of a very crucial moment in our history of this country. Something is astir in Prison Reform good or bad ; watch out ! It will be up to us to decide .

Watch for my reviews. They will be coming up within the next few weeks . I have interviewed one Prisoner , but I would I have one more interview in mind before I finish .

I am really glad we chose this book !

I hope you all understand how important this issue is because so much of our money goes to taking care of these people in the prison systems . We could use better things in our state .

Dawn

Dawn wrote: "Mike - I am SOOOO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK !!! I have been working since October with VOX Press, inc. To get a book that was published by our group by a group of prisoners of various background..."WRITINGS FROM PARCHMAN PRISON you are doing fantastic work Dawn ,it will make a difference .
I used to publish prisoners writings too , a few years back I visited death row -several times down south - I sat in on a few evidentiary hearings.I have a lot of opinions on this. I think I have read just about every book on this subject and THIS IS THE BEST. I am now on my fourth read of this work I wish it would change the course of things in the system ,maybe one day.
I cannot wait for Mike s input on this one especially ;)

Hope to start this in a few days. Dawn, thanks for your input, valuable info to have.

It's ready for me at the library. There is also an audio version read by the author. I expect to start on it tomorrow.

Dawn wrote: "Mike - I am SOOOO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS BOOK !!! I have been working since October with VOX Press, inc. To get a book that was published by our group by a group of prisoners of various background..."

I'm surely going to watch for your reviews, Dawn; this sounds so interesting!

I am nearly finished with the book. Along with the importance of its subject content, it is an example of very fine nonfiction writing. This is how it's done.

I started this this afternoon. After just thirty minutes I'm wondering if I should buy my own copy.

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.

This book definitely has my attention.

I've got Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption on order from the library.

I've already started reading and doing some research on America's prison system. I really had no idea, none--and that in itself horrifies me. I have never watched anything more shocking and heart-rending in my life than the Frontline documentary "Prison State". I don't know how long this video will be on the web site. All I can say is that I cried through the whole thing. There simply has to be a better way.

I listened to Stevenson s audio version and then I bought the hardback this book jogged my memory about a lot of things and more importantly taught me a lot more.

But where oh where does one start a discussion on a topic like this one ? What I like about the book is that it does offer all sides to any one case and I think that is important as one can very easily get emotional or hot under the collar about an aspect , end up making sweeping statements and that doesn't help move forward. I am talking about myself now when I used to visit DRs in the South it was hard emotionally and had to constantly remind myself, why am I here ? Am I doing any good ?

I worry that , as in many institutions and care facilities the money takes over (not so many rich people on death row).

Jane wrote: "I listened to Stevenson s audio version and then I bought the hardback this book jogged my memory about a lot of things and more importantly taught me a lot more.

But where oh where does one star..."

I am always impressed by people who can keep cool and keep their presence of mind when provoked. Bryan Stevenson demonstrated the importance of this time and again. And though I hadn't noticed it until you mentioned it Jane, he does tell you where both sides are coming from. Perhaps this helped him in the long run in that judges did not see him as reactionary but rather as being sympathetic and having understanding. It also shows why he was so successful. He was able to see cases from many angles and choose the best possible option.

I think I most enjoyed watching the arc of the work Stevenson and the EJI over the years. From facing the injustice of wrongfully accused or tried death row adult inmates to women abused behind bars, to juvenile justice. He understood how childhoods of abuse, poverty, and family dysfunction impacted society. Not only did he understand, he was blessed with an uncanny empathy toward his fellow man.

He understood how childhoods of abuse, poverty, and family dysfunction impacted society. Not only did he understand, he was blessed with an uncanny empathy toward his fellow man. ..........
I think this is where his strength lies and what has contributed to his success and he handles it all so well, many just hide behind a carapace of professionalism ;call it what you will but it s a tough job for sure.

Just checking in for the first time on Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. I'm about half way through. I'll be discussing my reactions to Stevenson's powerful memoir freely and openly. Those of you who know me, know I was a career prosecutor for nearly 28 years in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. I retired to become the Director of our Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services program. I will reserve my full discussion until I have completed my read. In short, I agree with Stevenson more than you might think. However, I find the root of the problem in decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Courts comprised of political party appointees who have rendered decisions reflecting conservative political values. Yes, I'm a blue dot in a red state. I disagree with Stevenson's sweeping statements about the problem being with partisan judges being the toughest on crime. I've seen too many make the tough calls Stevenson says they won't. And many DAs consistently do the right thing which is not politically expedient. A John Grisham blurb on the cover doesn't impress me. Grisham's portrayals of prosecuting attorneys may make for a bestseller. However, I 've frequently wanted to explain to a prospective juror reading a Grisham, DA doesn't stand for dumb ass.

Capital cases are a ghoulish Danse Macabre. The US Supreme Court has been chipping away at it for years, killing it by inches. Cases are sent back for retrial opening up old wounds, not only for families of the victims, but the Defendants as well.

I do not doubt that cases such as those of Walter McMillan exist. Every profession has its members that make their colleagues shudder. More in final impressions...

"Lawyer Stevens"

Mike wrote: "Just checking in for the first time on Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. I'm about half way through. I'll be discussing my reactions to Stevenson's powerful memoir fr..."

I look forward to your opinions with relish.

After just two chapters I've come to the conclusion that having a copy from the library just won't cut it. This is a book that belongs on my shelf to be referred to often. The comments by the man in the wheelchair in chapter two had me in tears.

"You see this scar on the top of my head? 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....You see that mark? I got that bruise in Birmingham after the Children's Crusade. People think these are my scars, cuts and bruises. These aren't my scars, cuts and bruises. These are my medals of honor."

We've got to beat the drum for justice.

Tom wrote: "Mike wrote: "Just checking in for the first time on Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. I'm about half way through. I'll be discussing my reactions to Stevenson's power..."

That is particularly powerful. Got to me big time. I recently watched Spike Lee's Four Little Girls again. That documentary about the four young girls killed in the bombing of the 6th Avenue Baptist Church will tear your heart out. Alabama bears its burden of Southern history. However the state has its share of good people who have and continue to beat those drums for justice. Looking forward to continuing the discussion.

Pardon me, Mike (no pun intended), but one question I am going to want to discuss once we have finished the book is how pressure to maintain a conviction rate can lead police and prosecutors to willfully ignore exculpatory evidence. How can the servants of law and order pursue the conviction and execution of Walter McMillian when Walter's family, friends, church members and even police officers could testify that he was at his home when the murder was committed and that the truck he supposedly used to commit the crime was inoperable at the time?

I ask this question because I just read a news report unlike any I have ever read. () Even though it happened far too late, this is the first time I have read of anyone being brought to account for such miscarriages of justice.

Tom wrote: "Pardon me, Mike (no pun intended), but one question I am going to want to discuss once we have finished the book is how pressure to maintain a conviction rate can lead police and prosecutors to wil..."

Great question, Tom. In Brady v. Maryland, 373 US 83 (1963), the US Supreme Court ruled it unlawful for the prosecutor to withold exculpatory evidence from the Defendant. The sanction for doing so is reversal of the conviction and granting a new trial. Ordinarily, a prosecutor is immune. From civil liability while acting "within the scope of his authority." Go figure.

My standard for exculpatory was quite low. If it worried me that the Defense knew it, I considered it exculpatory and handed it over. My attitude was here it is, take your best shot. Perhaps better left for last impressions, I could not and would not have prosecuted Walter McMillan.

More in last impressions.

Mike wrote: "Great question, Tom. In Brady v. Maryland, 373 US 83 (1963), the US Supreme Court ruled it unlawful for the prosecutor to withhold exculpatory evidence from the Defendant. The sanction for doing so is reversal of the conviction and granting a new trial. Ordinarily, a prosecutor is immune. From civil liability while acting "within the scope of his authority." Go figure."

My question is not so much about exculpatory evidence as it is about the pressure prosecutors, law enforcement and judges are under to secure convictions. Having read In Spite of Innocence, I was struck that this appears to be one of the driving causes of wrongful convictions, regardless of what state they occur in. If their jobs, i.e. livelihoods, are dependent upon elections then they are no longer able to carry out their duties without bias.

I look forward to discussing this in the final discussion.

I was struck that this appears to be one of the driving causes of wrongful convictions, regardless of what state they occur in.

This would appear to be true although I hasten to add that I m not a lawyer but do have some knowledge of capital cases ;thankfully some are exonerated if only after years and years in there.

Jane wrote: "thankfully some are exonerated if only after years and years in there. "

Most of us never know someone has been wrongfully convicted until they are exonerated. My chief argument against capital punishment is that the likelihood exists that we have or will execute an innocent person in error. To me, one wrongful execution is one too many.

Tom:To me, one wrongful execution is one too many. Me:Exactly, that is one mistake that cannot be put right.
Since 1973 the total number of exonerations is 154.

The wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent person is certainly a valid concern. The recent report of the significant issues with FBI forensic evidence is one example of that.

Eileen wrote: "The wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent person is certainly a valid concern. The recent report of the significant issues with FBI forensic evidence is one example of that.

..."

It's interesting that the FBI came out with this statement just this year. The Innocence Project was claiming that visual hair analysis was worthless when they wrote Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make it Right back in 2000.

Tom wrote: "Eileen wrote: "The wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent person is certainly a valid concern. The recent report of the significant issues with FBI forensic evidence is one example of th..."

Yes definitely, Tom; apparently people have known about this for some time.

Bryan Stevenson has a charming taste for understatement:

[H]ere in Alabama, police dogs and black folks looking for justice had never mixed well.

Tom wrote: "I started this this afternoon. After just thirty minutes I'm wondering if I should buy my own copy.

I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our s..."

I highlighted that same segment...among many others.

I just read the segment where the author attends an execution at the man's request. That was very hard reading.

I just started this book and am finding it interesting. The author's encounter with the police outside of his home is similar to many accounts we've heard working in criminal defense.

Eileen wrote: "I just started this book and am finding it interesting. The author's encounter with the police outside of his home is similar to many accounts we've heard working in criminal defense." Yes, it reminds me of something your President said in a speech once about how it had happened to him too.

I think the general public is just now learning how widespread such enforcement is and of the negative effects it has on the whole community. There are no easy answers but raising public awareness is an important step. Bryan Stevenson's work does this. Just Mercy could be one of those important nonfiction books that withstands the test of time.

Mmars wrote: "I think the general public is just now learning how widespread such enforcement is and of the negative effects it has on the whole community. There are no easy answers but raising public awareness ..."

It's interesting that while Just Mercy is not about the police shootings that have been so much in the public eye lately, it seems that as if it addresses the same issues, abuses of power perpetrated by those in power against the poor and dispossessed.

I agree Mmars and Tom; much of the public hasn't had the opportunity to know some of what happens within the criminal justice system, but now video and books like this are fortunately helping to change that.

Yes, this book made me see how the issues of race in police enforcement and the justice system go hand in hand.

I finished it today. Easily the best book I've read in a long time. Here's my review.

/review/show...

Listening to the audio version, read by the author himself. Only my third audio book but I do like the way and speed of h is reading. So many things I did not know, but this book is doing just what a book is supposed to do, filling in the blank areas. Have a feeling parts of this one will be hard to listen to given the subject matter.

I'm about 2/3rd through. The mix of individual case histories with general criminal justice history is excellent. I knew some of it but the statistics are overwhelming.

Diane S. wrote: "Listening to the audio version, read by the author himself. Only my third audio book but I do like the way and speed of h is reading. So many things I did not know, but this book is doing just what..."
Diane, I bought the audio as well, and Stevenson certainly reads his own book well and somehow made it all the more poignant if that is at all possible

Just finished the introduction on audiobook. Excited about listening about the criminal justice system from a very different perspective. I'm hooked!

Paula wrote: "Just finished the introduction on audiobook. Excited about listening about the criminal justice system from a very different perspective. I'm hooked!"

I listened to the audiobook version as well and it's nice when the author is the narrator.

Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words.

Paula wrote: "Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words."I just loved the author s audio but had to buy the hardback too to add notes.

Jane wrote: "Paula wrote: "Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words."I just loved the author s audio but had to buy the hardback too to add notes."J

Jane, I agree. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is an essential addition to anyone's library. It addresses core questions of how a society deals with simple humanity or the lack of it. I'm sitting here, having read your comment, as I compose my full review of Stevenson's remarkable work. The review comes a number of days after having completed my read of this remarkable memoir of a life in law. As always, I've chewed on this one for a while, for I have spent the greatest part of my life in law and the pursuit of justice. Perhaps Stevenson and I have each followed the "road not taken" in our own way. Strange that I have lived with the issue of capital punishment for over half my life now. For most of those years it was my duty to uphold capital punishment. A heavy burden to bear. When I was a much younger man I easily accepted the imposition of the death penalty. I found it easy until the first time I found myself asking a jury to kill a man. This book will always be a part of my library.

Jane wrote: "Paula wrote: "Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words."I just loved the author s audio but had to buy the hardback too to add notes."

I did that as well.

Mike wrote: "Jane wrote: "Paula wrote: "Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words."I just loved the author s audio but had to buy the hardback too to add notes."J

Jane, I agree. [book:Jus..."
....waiting for your review Mike ;)

Tom wrote: "Jane wrote: "Paula wrote: "Yes, the audiobook by the author has much passion in his words. "I just loved the author s audio but had to buy the hardback too to add notes."

I did that as well." Yes, I remember you said you had Tom I think it is just one of those books that we will come back to.

I'm also glad to be reading this book now. It seems a fitting part of the building national conversation. I haven't yet written my review but I know it won't/can't compare to your usual eloquence, Mike. I'm looking forward to your review too.