Chapter 9: Stevenson described the hearing on Walter McMillian’s case. This was the turning point whereby the accuser recant in front of judge and other witnesses were brought in. There were several dramas involving Mrs. Williams appearance, confronting the police dog twice.
Chapter 10: The condemned mentally-ill is the central theme of this chapter. The statistic of over 50% jail inmates are mentally ill is stunning. George Daniel suffered a head drama during a car accident and became disoriented after being kicked out of a bus. He accidentally shot a police officer during a struggle. He was given the death sentence after being diagnosed competent to stand trial by a fake doctor. Then there is this story of Avery Jenkins, raised as a foster child in many foster families due to his mental illness. He kept asking for a chocolate milk shake during the visit by Stevenson, who faced difficulty passing the white prison guard.
Chapter 11: Back to Walter McMillian’s case, Stevenson got 60 Minutes and other media involved and finally won the freedom for Walter after enduring numerous bomb threat and several setbacks.
Chapter 12: Marsha Colbey’s baby died in stillbirth and they buried in the backyard. She was arrested for being a baby killer serving a life sentence and ended up serving 10 years after Stevenson’s successful appeal.
Chapter 13: Now Walter McMillian was out and facing new challenges including the financial one to get back on his feet. His civil lawsuit against the police and prosecutors didn’t go anywhere as they were exempt. Walter’s mental state deteriorated.
Chapter 14: Joe Sullivan was 14 and convicted of the rape assault, most likely wrongfully and became ill and contracted M.S and became wheelchair bound. Here Stevenson described his battle with Supreme Court to ban life sentence for juvenile offenders.
Chapter 15: Walt has deteriorated into a point where he needs constant care. He’s “broken.” Another retarded person, Jimmy Dill had a stuttering problem that brought back an old childhood memory. Despite Stevenson’s gallant effort, he was executed. At this point, Stevenson was “broken” too. “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.” “Embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can’t otherwise see; you hear things you can’t otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity the resides in each of us.” Stevenson also describes his encounter with Rosa Parks and the interesting conversation they had.
Chapter 16: Stevenson in May of 2010 celebrated the victory of winning the Supreme Court’s decision on banning life imprisonment without parole imposed on children convicted of non-homicide crimes is cruel and unusual punishment and constitutionally impermissible. His effort is starting the take effect across the country. Stevenson is the stonecatcher, referring to the Bible story about casting the stone at people. “Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.”
This is a great book to change people’s mind about capital punishment or just enjoyed good stories with good and bad endings. It may cheer you up and feeling hopeful knowing there are people like Bryan Stevenson in the world.
This is a good video on the mission of Equal Justice Initiative by Bryan Stevenson hosted on their EJI website: