Bryan Stevenson’s memoir compels readers to question what mercy is in America. Through the story of Walter McMillian, Just Mercy shows how the criminal justice system treats people. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, this story involves the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of an innocent man for a crime committed in Monroeville, Alabama. The difference is that Mr. McMillian’s case is the true story of a dream deferred. I invite the campus community to engage in a conversation about poverty, justice, and due process in our country. 

Bryan Stevenson is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1995 MacArthur Foundation (“Genius”) Fellow. His book won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. He is Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama and a clinical professor at the New York University School of Law. He has spent his career serving a population often forgotten: the underrepresented, the poor, and the silenced. The grandchild of former slaves and the product of a poor Delaware neighborhood, Mr. Stevenson has dedicated his life to helping people who face years of incarceration or the death penalty.

 

New students  may pick up a book at the end of August at TERP Fair or at the desk of the Student Union. 

 

Stephenson will speak on campus Tuesday, November 1 at 4:00 p.m. in the Stamp Student Union. 

 

If you have any questions or ideas for additional programming, please contact Lisa Kiely at Lkiely [at] umd [dot] edu.