I read "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
" a couple months ago and can't get it out of my head. The author, Bryan Stevenson, is a Harvard educated attorney who has dedicated his life and career to helping poor {mostly black} men on death row get the justice they deserve. It really is a real-life version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the parallels between the two stories that the author points out make for thought-provoking irony.
It's one of those books that opens your eyes and makes you realize that there is still much wrong with the justice system in America. I was stunned when I realized that everything he wrote about, happened in my lifetime. I think I had this naive notion that people getting falsely accused for crimes they didn't commit was the very occasional exception. I had never really thought about how much politics and pressure from the public plays a role in making arrests, often with little to no supporting evidence.
Once you read this book, you may want to continue on and read, "The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice
," a memoir written by one of Bryan Stevenson's clients--a remarkable man who served 30 years on death row there was almost zero evidence for him committing. Both books will leave you uneasy and wondering how many innocent people have perished without someone like Bryan Stevenson standing up for them. Then you will wonder what needs to be done to help fix this broken system.
" a couple months ago and can't get it out of my head. The author, Bryan Stevenson, is a Harvard educated attorney who has dedicated his life and career to helping poor {mostly black} men on death row get the justice they deserve. It really is a real-life version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the parallels between the two stories that the author points out make for thought-provoking irony.It's one of those books that opens your eyes and makes you realize that there is still much wrong with the justice system in America. I was stunned when I realized that everything he wrote about, happened in my lifetime. I think I had this naive notion that people getting falsely accused for crimes they didn't commit was the very occasional exception. I had never really thought about how much politics and pressure from the public plays a role in making arrests, often with little to no supporting evidence.
Once you read this book, you may want to continue on and read, "The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life, Freedom, and Justice
," a memoir written by one of Bryan Stevenson's clients--a remarkable man who served 30 years on death row there was almost zero evidence for him committing. Both books will leave you uneasy and wondering how many innocent people have perished without someone like Bryan Stevenson standing up for them. Then you will wonder what needs to be done to help fix this broken system.
“Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; sometimes we’re shattered by things we would never have chosen. But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion.”
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" by Edith Eva Eger. It's a memoir written by a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who is still living. I found myself entranced by her story of healing and hope. She got past the horrors of her past by reinventing her life, going back to school, and helping others to heal. There's a good dose of psychology in it, something I love reading about, and I really was inspired by her energy, her ability to overcome, forgive, and help others to do the same...all the while being true to herself and to the pain she'd experienced. I also love that she tells her story all the while validating that we all have our own "concentration camp" experiences and mindsets that hold us back.
