Book Recommendation

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

 

A young black lawyer joins an obscure organization to speak for those who have no hope.... 

That's the beginning of Bryan Stevenson's true story. The reader's journey begins with Bryan's own journey from those early years as a very nervous and inexperienced attorney, to a man who matures into a strong, persistent, and very competent advocate for a group of individuals who have no one else to speak for them. 

I lived in Mississippi for four years of my life, in the late 1980's. During those years I saw racial prejudice, both on the part of blacks and whites. We were a mixed group on the nursing until where I worked. There were undertones of distrust and discomfort at times, but usually the working relationships went well. In my personal and professional life there were none of the experiences I read about in the newspapers of violence and unrest that occurred years earlier.  Some of the churches I attended had both black and white members. 
So reading about the true accounts and the results of deep seated prejudices that found their way into the criminal justice system not only in the 1960's but for years into the future was an eye opener. 

The facts bear out the conclusions: many of the people in Just Mercy were convicted on flimsy evidence by judges, juries, and lawyers who are clearly biased. The victims are poor, usually black, and have no resources to fight back. Some are mentally incompetent, guilty of lesser crimes and thus easy prey for law enforcement officials of dubious integrity, or simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and can't afford the proper legal council that takes the trouble to prove it. Now they are sentenced to life or decades in prison, or may spend years on death row after a very questionable conviction. 

Thanks to Bryan and his colleagues there are many happy endings here, and their work continues. 
You have to be very naive to think all convictions are just and everyone in prison "deserves what they got." The sad truth is that life is fragile and often very unfair. Wrongful convictions aren't limited to the poor in Alabama and other southern states; they happen everywhere. 

But where would we be without the Bryan Stevensons in this world? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JYWVYLY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 

Any young person who reads Just Mercy should glean a very important lesson from this book: make poor choices early in your life and you can be marked for life, losing your reputation and making it very hard to overcome your mistakes. Some of Bryan's clients do not fit in this category but many do. 

My choices for true account book recommendations are those that provide hope and lift the spirit. This is a memoir about mercy extended, with some life-giving results.