The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.
In this quotation, Stevenson offers a distillation of his many years of legal advocacy and social justice work. Chief among his concerns is how quick people in positions of power are to judge vulnerable people. The message Stevenson would like readers to take away from his memoir is that compassion is required to counteract instinctive and ingrained prejudices.
Capital punishment means 'them without the capital get the punishment.'
In this quote, Steve Bright, director of the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee, initiates Bryan Stevenson into the secret of the skewed American judicial system. At the time Stevenson is young and naive; Bright explains how, contrary to conventional wisdom, the system which leads to the state-mandated murder of Americans is not one driven primarily by issues of justice or the law, but rather economic inequality. The prisoners who the SPDC defends are criminalized due to a system that treats the poor and uneducated as lower-status human beings.
But before I could say anything, Myers blurted out, "I lied. Everything I said at McMillian’s trial was a lie. I’ve lost a lot of sleep and have been in a lot of pain over this. I can’t be quiet any longer."
In this passage, Stevenson and Michael O'Connor visit Ralph Myers in prison to discover, without any prompting on their parts, that Myers is ready to come clean about the lies he told at Walter's trial. Stevenson's heart pounds in response: Myers was the State's primary witness, meaning Stevenson can now get Walter off death row. This passage is significant because it marks the biggest breakthrough in Walter's case.
But Walter's case also taught me something else: there is light within this darkness.
After outlining the many injustices of the United States judicial system and Walter McMillian's wrongful conviction and sentencing on death row, Stevenson reminds the reader of the hope he has witnessed among horrific circumstances. Despite the darkness, the human spirit has shined out.
Loose these chains. Loose these chains.
After Walter's sentencing, he is brought back to death row. Because of his innocence, Walter had expected to be released. Now, on the way back, he realizes that the chains he wears feel tighter than they had on the way to the courthouse, and he asks the guards to loosen them. The guards refuse and Walter repeats his request, coming close to losing control of his usual calm demeanor.
No, Attorney Stevenson, you didn't hear me. I said I'm here.
During Walter's hearing, Stevenson encounters Mrs. Williams, an older woman who, on the second day of the hearing, is intimidated by a police dog in the courtroom. Stevenson learns she was traumatized by the police dogs set on her when marching for civil rights in the 1960s. On the third day, she proudly walks past the dog and announces her presence to the courtroom. Her announcement—I'm here—has a symbolic resonance: she is here despite every insidious force that has tried to keep her away and her spirit subjugated.
Why do we want to kill all the broken people? What is wrong with us, that we think a thing like that can be right?
In this passage, Stevenson is reflecting on the continued injustices of the American judicial system despite decades of effort to bring reforms. He questions the root of the problem that has precipitated such a cruel and unforgiving system, wondering what drives people to want to kill those who have been broken by poverty, abuse, and disability.
Walter made me understand why we have to reform a system of criminal justice that continues to treat people better if they are rich and guilty than if they are poor and innocent.
This quote is taken from Stevenson's recollection of the eulogy he delivered at Walter's funeral. The statement is significant because it sets out in simple language the clear lack of balance in the American judicial system. Rich people guilty of corporate crimes are presumed innocent and treated with impunity while people like Walter have their lives destroyed swiftly and cruelly.
Increasingly, I was recognizing the importance of hopefulness in creating justice.
In this passage, Stevenson reflects on his responsibility not only to Walter but to Walter's family, whose expectations he must keep reasonable while simultaneously inspiring them to remain hopeful. Without hope, people would not be empowered and energized to advocate for condemned people and try to create meaningful reforms.
The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it's necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and—perhaps—we all need some measure of unmerited grace.
At the end of his introduction, Stevenson outlines the need for understanding and compassion. This quote is significant because Stevenson rejects an us-versus-them position and considers all people of understanding, even the people who could easily be written off as villains in the cases he presents. His desire to spread understanding extends even to the corrupt and bigoted people his project is pitted against.
