Tonight, with one of my closest friends, I sat to watch "Just Mercy." It isn't uncommon for us to order take-out and binge-watch a show or rent a movie even during life's "normal business hours," but despite being on lockdown for the last five weeks we hadn't done much of that lately. However, in the midst of this pandemic and the heightened emotions that come with it, the conversation in choosing a movie always seems to start with, "Let's just please watch something light and funny. I can't really do anything heavy right now." Yet, here we were, with our club sandwiches, french fries and vats of honey mustard dipping sauce in hand and a movie we had both said on more than several occasions we wanted to see.
"Heavy" doesn't even begin to describe the weight of this film.
I want to issue a warning that this film is not for the faint of heart. It's a hard to watch. Harder still because the depictions in this movie are real; real circumstances; real people. It happened then and it is still happening today. And maybe it's because once upon a time I was an attorney and I too went in to law school wide-eyed and passionate about achieving great victories for the wrongfully accused or those who couldn't afford representation; or maybe it's because of the wild times in which we are currently living, confined to our homes and separated from connection; or maybe it's simply because of the density of this film, but this tragic reality is arresting and agonizing. Regardless of the reason, the outcome is the same: I am affected. We both were.
"Just Mercy" tells the powerful true story of Walter McMillan, a innocent black man condemned to execution for the murder of a white teen-aged girl in the late 80's in Alabama, and Bryan Stevenson, the young lawyer whose pursuit for equality and justice eventually wins his client's exoneration and freedom.
As my friend here likes to say about me and subjects that I am passionate about, "Uh, oh. You're coming in hot!" And the truth is that he is right! When something resonates deeply with my soul; when something pulls on one of my heart strings; when something really, but really matters to me, (and spoiler alert, inequality and prejudice are two of my hot button issues), I confess that I get quite heated during discussion. I mean next-level heated; the "I can't continue to know you if we disagree on these big topics" type of heated. In fact, I'm feverish just telling you about how very heated this makes me! (Deep breath). . .
The truth is that I have so so very much to say on the many significant and critical subjects this movie contends with. I have so so many thoughts on the prejudices' addressed throughout but I am going to refrain from engaging this one time. I am not going to share or debate any of my opinions or convictions. Instead, I am going to urge you to watch the film for yourself, or read the book, or read Stevenson's memoirs, or watch the HBO Documentary, "True Justice" or simply turn on the daily news and determine for yourself where YOU stand morally. Where do these topics sit with you? In the meantime, I am going to leave you with some borrowed words.
The following is an excerpt from Stevenson's court argument during his appeal for the dismissal of the charges against McMillan. May they provoke compelling reflection and weigh heavy on your heart as they have on mine. . .
"It's easy to see this case as one man trying to prove his innocence. But when you take a black man and you put him on death row a year before his trial and exclude black people from serving on his jury; when you base your conviction on the coerced testimony of a white felon and ignore the testimony of two dozen law-abiding black witnesses; when any evidence proving innocence is suppressed and anyone who tries to tell the truth is threatened, this case becomes more than the trial of just a single defendant. It becomes a test of whether we are going to be governed by fear and anger or by the rule of law. If the people standing at the back of this courtroom are all presumed guilty when accused; if they have to leave here and live in fear of when this very thing might happen to them; if we're just going to accept the system that treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent, then we can't claim to be just. If we say we are committed to equal justice under law; to protecting the rights of every citizen, regardless of wealth, race, or status, then we have to end this nightmare. . .the false construction of desperate people fueled by bigotry and bias, who ignored the truth in exchange for easy solutions. That's not the law. That's not justice. That's not right."
"We all need justice. We all need mercy. And perhaps, we all need some measure of unmerited grace."
- Bryan Stevenson
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