Just Mercy is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for thematic content including some racial epithets. Rena Mae Callins, was the niece of a woman whod been in a relationship with Richardson, The New York Times reported in 1989. Even though Stevenson has been working on death penalty cases for a few years, personally witnessing an execution brings him even closer to it. Jordan, who rose to fame in films such as Creed and Black Panther, says he has been "forever changed" by being a part of Just Mercy. He was found guilty - based on the false testimony of a criminal, and despite accounts from several black witnesses who could vouch for his whereabouts at the time of the murder - and sentenced to death by electrocution. He was starting to panic, and I wasnt sure what to do. Being on death row was a constant nightmare in which even small gestures of rebellionits an Alabama prison tradition to bang cups on the bars during an executionbring no comfort. We consulted both of those books, contemporary news reports, and court documents to sort out whats true and whats artistic license in the new movie. I don't want any defendants in my courtroom without their lawyer.'. But behind the optimistic veneer, the film actually has a dangerous - or at least problematic - message. Just Mercy came out in select theaters at the end of 2019 and was somewhat overshadowed by the bigger, attention-grabbing films at the time. Stevenson holds public education responsible for instilling compassion and he suggests that education can mean the difference between life or death. "I think we all have a certain perspective of what the criminal justice system is and the judicial system, based on the media, the news, what people tell you, but to actually see it through Bryan's eyes - what could happen to you from a traffic stop all the way to death row to the electric chair, the things that had to happen to get from point A to there - was truly incredible. I was holding his hands, standing there with him and thinking, Yeah, where were they when you were 3 when your mom died? Just Mercy review - death row drama with quiet power. By describing Herbert's history of loss, abuse and violence, Stevenson attempts to show Herbert's humanity and explain the events that affected his mental health. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as a young Harvard lawyer who travels to Alabama to provide proper legal services to death row inmates who could not afford it. "So I would just stare at the two pictures, stare into his eyes, and just imagine his spirit and mind-set coming to life inside of me," says Morgan. Top: Walter McMillian and attorney Bryan Stevenson. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Foxx, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray in 2005, says for him, Just Mercy was personal; he tells the story of how his own father was jailed. as McMillian, in a case overseen by Key in which Pearson called the defendant, who was black, that savage, Key called the defendant boy, black jurors were systematically excluded, and Key was asked to adjudicate whether or not his own behavior had been racist. The State decided to invoke an unprecedented theory of transferred intent. '", He continues: "We heard from a hundred lawyers who are actually going to come to Alabama, who have said [they] want to get involved in working on these cases. But at the end of the day, the filmleaves itup to you to decide whether or not he should have gotten the death penalty. Richardson told his attorney that, "All day long, people have been saying, 'What can I do to help you? Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. @gemmapeplow. ", Stevenson gives an example from his time in court. However, this legal drama based on incredible true events deserves to find an audience for its timely and powerful story. He spends the bulk of the book on the specific case of Walter McMillian and his efforts to get him not only removed from death row, but to get him exonerated completely. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. I n an emotionally charged scene in the new movie Just Mercy, Jamie Foxx, cast as a death row prisoner named Walter McMillian, accosts the young lawyer who has taken up his case with an . Because of his tenacity and determination, he has won relief for hundreds of people on death row who were wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced. Just Mercy emphasizes social justice, enumerating the variety of flaws of a criminal justice system blinded by racism and handicapped by poverty. ", How accurate is 'Just Mercy'? So we didnt have to do too many editing tricks for this scene. I dont want you to think about nothing else. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Herbert is a veteran who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Vietnam, which exacerbated issues stemming from childhood abuse. The differences between Stevenson in the film and Stevenson in his memoir are mostly matters of dramatic compression: anecdotes Stevenson tells about other cases he handled are moved to the McMillian case, which saves the movie the time and trouble of explaining five or six different unjust criminal trials. The film is based on Bryan Stevenson's bestselling 2014 memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Lettingyour mind imagine what is happening on the other side is just enough.". "It's paralysing, so people do nothing and they just watch and they tolerate what's been going on. The Oscar-winning actor stars as the wrongfully convicted real-life Walter McMillan, who was sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit in Alabama, Georgia back in the 1980s. A few years later, lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) moves to Alabama to start offering legal services to death row clients. I whispered to her, We have to let him go. Herbert saw the officers lining up outside, and he pulled away from her slowly and told me to take her out of the room. Refine any search. Another central case that Bryan takes on is that of Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan), a war veteran suffering from PTSD who is on death row for planting a bomb at his neighbor's house and killing them. The book "Just Mercy" is essentially a memoir from Bryan Stevenson about his life, post Harvard, aiding death row inmates in the South. JAKE GILES NETTER/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Are We Finally Ready to See One of the 90s Most Acclaimed Bands for What It Really Was? '", "Bryan, it's so strange," Stevenson recalled his client telling him. McMillian was convicted after a trial that lasted only a day and a half. So in this scene in particular, there really is just the light source thats coming in from outside the jail cell, which gives this kind of amber hue. Black Hawk helicopter from Tennessee National Guard crashes in Alabama killing two, US tornadoes: At least nine dead after southern states hit - as tens of thousands of people left without power, At least seven dead as storm system batters southern US with tornado leaving trail of destruction in Alabama. Stevenson demonstrates the problem of political motivation in the court system, and illustrates the importance of public education by showing the connections between public education, public views, election cycles and court rulings. (?) It seemed like something that might help [] After a few minutes, the family joined me. "So I represent nine and 10-year-old kids who are looking at 50 and 60-year prison sentences in adult prisons. "It's Jamie Foxx." McMillians prosecution and exoneration have been the subject of two books: Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town, a 1995 true crime book about the murder by journalist Pete Earley, and Stevensons memoir, also called Just Mercy, which is structured around the McMillian case but also covers the early years of the Equal Justice Initiative. Yet the prospect of death now . Whats not in dispute is that he arranged McMillians arrest rather differently than it appears in the film. World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner. He moved to Alabama to follow a nurse he had met at the hospital, dated her, and was happy, for a time. "Sometimes this issue feels so big that individuals feel like, what can I personally do to affect change? Richardson, who'd spent 11 years on death row,contacted Stevenson a month before his scheduled execution date. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Morgan says he refused to see the film's execution room until cameras were rolling. Download on Amazon - The Old Rugged Cross Play on Apple Music . Since his release, Foxx's father has lived with his famous Oscar-winning son. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Jake Giles Netter/Warner Bros. Herbert Richardson, a Vietnam veteran who was sentenced to death by the state of Alabama for the 1977 pipe bomb . I don't like visiting jail. He arrested and indicted one of Stevensons witnesses for perjury after the witness came forward with exculpatory evidence, then dropped the charges when Stevenson pointed out they were obviously an intimidation tactic. Herbert is war veteran with a history of trauma and psychological health problems. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. And way too complex to try to fit into a movie that already makes the point that McMillian was railroaded in a billion other ways. But judging from Stevensons memoir, Larsons performance is true to life. In the summer 1989, despite a series of setbacks with obtaining space and securing funding. Walter's story is just one of many similar examples of injustice in America. That hearing was actually overseen by Judge Thomas B. Norton Jr., and Judge Fosters most ludicrous-seeming dialogue is actually taken straight from an order Judge Norton wrote saying that he had no reason to believe Myers had perjured himself during the original trial. The prison officials had pumped themselves up to carry out the execution with determination and resolve, but even they revealed extreme . We can be inspired by Stevenson, who often worked for years to free a client, spending hundreds of hours on one case. "Its not fair that we send people off to war to fight for this country, yetwhen they come back traumatized and they make mistakes, we act as if their sacrifice is irrelevant. Explaining how it impacted his performance, Jamie explained: So that sent me on my artistic journey by the time I got to where Michael [B Jordan] was. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. "I don't think this kind of film would've been made 20 years ago," he says. -Graham S. The timeline below shows where the character Herbert Richardson appears in. Everything gonna be aight.. Stevenson spends most of the chapter discussing the case of Herbert Richardson, who is on death row for the killing a young girl. Bagwells public airing of his disillusionment and his personal lack of concern for death row inmates contrasts with the willingness of Stevenson and Ansley to inconvenience themselves for their cause. Can we get you coffee? Anya Taylor-Joy and Billie Piper stun at Baftas afterparty in sea of glitter, That gave me the confidence to do this the right way. Tom Chapman, the prosecutor who did the most to fight McMillians release, seems to have behaved even more badly in real life than he does in Just Mercy. Scene . Just Mercy is based on a memoir written by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) an organization in Montgomery, Alabama that challenges racial injustice and champions criminal justice reform. And both sides of the conversation were captured. After his girlfriend broke up with him, Herbert, obsessed with getting her back, came up with a misguided plan. The war veteran, who reportedly had unexplained "crying spells" among other issues during his service, was put to death on Aug. 19, 1989, according to an archived report from United Press International. Though Bryan is defeated by the continued injustice they face, Walter has a different outlook. Destin Daniel Cretton shot that scene, but choseto focus instead on Stevenson's horrifiedreaction in the glassed-off viewing area. Struggling with distance learning? However, Stevenson says, "we are still in this struggle". Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Richardson spent 11 years in all on death row, during whichhe busied himself painting religious works of art, according to UPIs report. The incident actually happened during the reading of the initial guilty verdict, before Stevenson was involved, and Earley and Stevenson dont agree about all the factsStevenson has the courtroom tackle, Earley has Sheriff Tate issuing an arrest warrant for Johnny afterwards and making his mom drive him back to court be bookedbut in both versions, Tate claimed Johnny said something along the lines of Somebodys going to pay for what theyve done to my father., Tate also seems to have been the government official who was most reluctant to accept that McMillian was innocent, even after he was finally released from prison. He committed that crime. As the film takes us through the process of appealing a case, we are exposed to the PTSD that Richardson faces after serving in the Vietnam War. I went over to Herberts wife as she held him tightly, sobbing softly. For a thumbnail sketch of the facts, heres the 60 Minutes report about McMillians case that is featured in the movie. And that was something that we were playing with with the camera, was leading up to this very scene. The murder remains unsolved to this day, and the people who ruined McMillians life prospered in the aftermath. Twenty-nine states - more than half - still have the death penalty. Please? 20 of the best book quotes from Just Mercy. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The Irish Times writes that Just Mercy is "gripping, dazzlingly acted and - yes - important drama." Just Mercy presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson and the case of Walter McMillian, who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Volume 6 - Issue 1. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Just Mercy: 10 Most Inspirational Moments, 10 Prison Dramas To Watch If You Like The Shawshank Redemption, Michael B. Jordan's 10 Best Movies (According To IMDb), Brie Larson's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes, Just Mercy: 10 Jamie Foxx Characters Ranked From Heroic To Most Villainous, Netflix's Two Popes: 10 Best Moments From The Biographical Drama, Harry Potter: Why Peeves Wasnt In The Movies, Warner Bros Just Destroyed The Rings Of Power, The Harry Potter Movies Cut A Lucius Malfoy Story (& Ruined A Big Plan). One of Stevenson's first cases is that of Walter McMillian. system on the night of his execution, though. limited budgets and difficult work conditions. Meanwhile, an incident in which the police pulled their weapons on Stevenson for sitting in his car outside of his apartment in Atlanta is relocated to a traffic stop in Alabamaalthough the bomb threats and general creepiness from the locals are mentioned in both books. Here are the most inspirational moments in Just Mercy. 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