Bryan Stevenson, JUST MERCY

This book was like a window into another world: the South and particularly Alabama, dangerous prisons, a deeply flawed legal system, death-row inmates, problematic laws and litigation, and the historical contexts that led to today's racism. Partly because Stevenson sustains such a balanced, calm tone, there were times when I felt the injustices so deeply I wanted to hunt down these judges and law enforcement personnel and ask "What on earth were you thinking?" But as the author says, Everyone is more than their worst act, and he includes several anecdotes that reflect how people can grow and change. The book reads a bit like the suspenseful page-turner A TIME TO KILL but also reflects wryly on how TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is, in fact, a novel about an attorney who *fails* to defend an innocent black man. I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of what attorneys working to defend people in poverty, particularly people of color, are up against. I'm deeply grateful that the author wrote this book, on top of what sounds like an impossibly busy and challenging day job.