Flashcards for Just Mercy

antonio-nu_ez

Antonio Nuñez is one of the juvenile clients whose case Bryan Stevenson takes on at the Equal Justice Initiative, highlighting the systemic injustice faced by children tried and sentenced as adults.

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Antonio Nuñez

Antonio Nuñez is one of the juvenile clients featured in Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, which showcases the tragic outcomes of sentencing children as adults and condemning them to life without parole.

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Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson is the author, narrator, and central figure of Just Mercy, a memoir that details his journey as a capital defense attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama.

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Charlie

Charlie is a death-row inmate at Holman Correctional Facility in Alabama, whose brief yet haunting presence in Just Mercy reveals the psychological damage caused by long-term solitary confinement and the threat of execution.

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Eva Ansley

Eva Ansley is Bryan Stevenson’s vital co-founder and operational backbone of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama.

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Herbert Richardson

Herbert Richardson is a Vietnam War veteran on death row in Alabama, featured in Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.

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Ian Manuel

Ian Manuel stands out as one of the most haunting figures in Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.

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Karen Kelly

Karen Kelly is a staff attorney at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) who plays a crucial role in supporting Bryan Stevenson’s fight for wrongfully convicted and unjustly sentenced individuals in Alabama.

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Marsha Colbey

Marsha Colbey is a secondary yet significant figure in Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir about fighting for justice on behalf of those wrongfully convicted and condemned.

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Ralph Myers

Ralph Myers is a white convict whose false testimony is central to the wrongful murder conviction of Walter McMillian in Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy.

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Tom Chapman

Tom Chapman serves as the executive director of the Alabama Prison Project and stands out as one of Bryan Stevenson’s earliest and most dedicated allies in Just Mercy.

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Trina Garbo

Trina Garbo is one of the juvenile offenders featured in Just Mercy, where Bryan Stevenson advocates against sentencing children to life without parole.

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Walter McMillian

Walter McMillian is the heart and soul of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir that sheds light on wrongful convictions and the failings of the American justice system.

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“Somebody has to stand when other people are sitting. Somebody has to speak when other people are quiet.”

This powerful statement comes from Bryan Stevenson, who narrates and authored Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014).

Bryan Stevenson

“You can't understand most of the important things from a distance, Bryan. You have to get close.”

This line comes from Bryan Stevenson’s grandmother, who shared it during one of their close, intimate conversations recalled early in the memoir Just Mercy.

Bryan Stevenson's grandmother · Chapter 1 / Prologue

“Proximity to the condemned and incarcerated made the question of each person's humanity more urgent and meaningful.”

This line comes from Bryan Stevenson’s memoir and social justice manifesto Just Mercy (2014), where he narrates his own experiences and insights.

Bryan Stevenson (narrator/author)

“I believe we are all broken and we all need mercy.”

This line is spoken by Bryan Stevenson, the author and narrator of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014).

Bryan Stevenson (author-narrator) · Epilogue / concluding chapters

“We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated.”

This powerful declaration comes from Bryan Stevenson, who is the author and narrator of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014).

Bryan Stevenson · Introduction / Prologue

“We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent.”

This powerful line is delivered by Bryan Stevenson, the author and narrator of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014).

Bryan Stevenson · Introduction / Chapter 1

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.”

This line is spoken by Bryan Stevenson, who is both the author and narrator of Just Mercy (2014), a memoir detailing his experiences as a civil rights attorney and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.

Bryan Stevenson · Introduction / recurring thematic refrain

“The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving.”

This line is spoken by Bryan Stevenson, the author and narrator of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014), and it stands out as one of the book's key thematic declarations.

Bryan Stevenson · Epilogue / Closing Chapter

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth. I don't believe it. I think the opposite of poverty is justice.”

This powerful declaration comes from Bryan Stevenson, the author and narrator of Just Mercy (2014), a memoir detailing his experiences as a civil rights lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.

Bryan Stevenson

Broken People

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson shares his journey as a capital defense attorney and highlights how "broken people" represent our shared human experience of suffering, failure, and vulnerability.

Death Row

In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, Death Row represents systemic dehumanization and the harmful effects of unchecked institutional power.

Music and Song

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir on his fight for justice for those on death row, music and song represent resilience, spiritual support, and the enduring humanity of the condemned.

The Courthouse

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson reflects on his experiences with the Equal Justice Initiative, using the courthouse as a symbol of the stark divide between the American legal system’s promise of equal justice and the reality faced by the poor, Black, and marginalized communities.

The Stone (Stonecatcher)

In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, the stone—most vividly illustrated through the metaphor of the "stonecatcher"—represents the moral courage needed to stand with those who are condemned, broken, and wrongfully accused.

Allusion

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson uses allusion to connect his clients' individual suffering to the larger history of injustice in America.

Juxtaposition

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson uses juxtaposition as a key theme throughout the story.

Anaphora

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson uses anaphora to create a powerful moral pressure, especially when detailing the systemic failures that led to the condemnation of Walter McMillian and others like him.

Narrative Poem

Bryan Stevenson presents Just Mercy as a braided narrative, intertwining his journey as a young lawyer with the harrowing story of Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit.

Imagery

In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson uses vivid imagery to bring the harsh reality of mass incarceration into sharp focus.

Metaphor

In Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, metaphor elevates legal argument to a moral challenge.

Irony

In Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, irony is a constant underlying theme that reveals the disconnect between America's proclaimed ideals and its prison reality.

Tone

Bryan Stevenson’s tone in Just Mercy drives the book's moral authority: it’s both measured and urgent, filled with grief yet undefeated.

mitigation

Evidence or arguments presented in a legal case to reduce a defendant's sentence or moral blame, such as a difficult childhood or mental illness, without excusing the crime itself.

noun · Chapter 10

capital murder

A category of homicide so serious — typically involving aggravating factors — that it is punishable by the death penalty under law.

noun · Chapter 1

death row

The section of a prison that houses inmates who have been sentenced to death and are awaiting execution.

noun · Chapter 1

appellate

Relating to a higher court that reviews and can overturn decisions made by a lower trial court, without holding a new full trial.

adjective · Chapter 3

exculpatory

Describing evidence that tends to clear a defendant of guilt or fault; information a prosecutor is legally required to share with the defense.

adjective · Chapter 3

recant

To formally take back or withdraw a previous statement or testimony, often because it was false or given under pressure.

verb · Chapter 3

incarcerated

Imprisoned; confined in a jail or prison as a result of a criminal conviction or while awaiting trial.

adjective · Chapter 2

indigent

Too poor to afford legal representation; in a legal context, qualifying for a court-appointed attorney at public expense.

adjective · Chapter 3

habeas corpus

A legal petition demanding that a court examine whether a prisoner's detention is lawful; a fundamental safeguard against unlawful imprisonment.

phrase · Chapter 5

prosecutorial misconduct

Improper or illegal actions by a prosecutor during a trial or investigation, such as hiding evidence or coaching witnesses, that violate a defendant's right to a fair trial.

phrase · Chapter 3

commutation

An official reduction of a criminal sentence to a lesser punishment — for example, changing a death sentence to life in prison — granted by a governor or other authority.

noun · Chapter 6

lethal injection

The method of execution used in most U.S. states, in which a series of drugs is administered intravenously to cause death.

noun · Chapter 6

diminished capacity

A legal defense arguing that a defendant's mental impairment, though not rising to full insanity, reduced their ability to form criminal intent and should lessen their punishment.

phrase · Chapter 10

cruel and unusual punishment

A constitutional standard from the Eighth Amendment prohibiting punishments that are barbaric, grossly disproportionate, or shocking to a civilized society.

phrase · Chapter 14

mandatory minimum

A fixed minimum prison sentence required by law for a particular crime, removing a judge's discretion to impose a lighter penalty.

noun · Chapter 8

disenfranchised

Stripped of the right to vote or otherwise deprived of full civil rights, often as a legal consequence of a felony conviction.

adjective · Chapter 2

stay of execution

A court order that temporarily halts a scheduled execution, allowing more time for legal appeals or review.

phrase · Chapter 6

traumatic brain injury

Physical damage to the brain caused by an external force or blow, which can impair judgment, impulse control, and behavior — often raised as mitigating evidence in sentencing.

noun · Chapter 10

fetal alcohol syndrome

A condition caused by exposure to alcohol before birth that results in physical and cognitive disabilities, sometimes presented as mitigating evidence in criminal cases.

noun · Chapter 10

solitary confinement

A form of imprisonment in which an inmate is isolated alone in a cell for most or all of the day, with little or no human contact.

noun · Chapter 9

competency

In a legal context, a defendant's mental ability to understand the charges against them and meaningfully participate in their own defense.

noun · Chapter 5

exoneration

The official clearing of a person from criminal charges or blame, typically after new evidence proves they did not commit the crime.

noun · Chapter 13

Eighth Amendment

The provision of the U.S. Constitution that forbids the government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.

noun · Chapter 14

allocution

A formal statement made directly to the court by a convicted defendant before sentencing, often expressing remorse or explaining circumstances.

noun · Chapter 3

proximate

Nearest or most directly responsible; in legal reasoning, the cause most immediately connected to a harmful outcome.

adjective · Chapter 7