To continue my book club's trend of Depressing Non-Fiction Books, we recently read and discussed Just Mercy. Like Evicted, this book is well-written, very detailed, well researched, and incredibly difficult to read. It's difficult not because it's hard to understand but because it reveals truths in our society that are uncomfortable to read about.
Bryan Stevenson went to the south after graduating from law school to defend those who were on Death Row. He helped the poor and the wrongly convicted. In great detail he describes the case of Walter McMillian, a man who is imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. He also writes of many others who he helps including a woman who had a stillborn baby and was later accused of killing the child. And he writes of many children as young as 14 who are placed in prison with no chance of parole.... one of them for killing the man who abused his mother.
While I strongly recommend the book, be prepared to put it down sometimes when it starts to haunt you. I found I had to do this often and take a walk or drink wine or anything to get away from it for a bit. - June
