Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018 - 32

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject

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to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall

any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process

Beating the
Drum of Justice

of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of
the laws.

Just Mercy
Reviewed by Daniel C. Nevins, Esquire

n Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, the U.S. Supreme
Court case held that life without parole (LWOP) for
juveniles sentenced in the criminal justice system is
unconstitutional and in violation of the 8th Amendment's
restriction on cruel and unusual punishment. The attorney for the
petitioner in that seminal case, Bryan Stevenson, is the founder
of the Equal Justice Initiative and also the author of Just Mercy, a
2014 New York Times bestselling memoir. Just Mercy showcases
how Stevenson stands at the forefront of the modern day civil
rights battles occurring in courtrooms across the American
South. The spirit of the 14th Amendment is also very much alive
throughout this important, inspiring and award-winning book.
Stevenson recounts the case of an early client, Walter
McMillian, a man on death row in Alabama after his conviction
for killing a white woman. The case arose in Monroeville,
Alabama, the hometown of To Kill a Mockingbird's author, Harper
Lee. Though the town was proud of its connection to the novel, it
remained deeply segregated. McMillian, a relatively prosperous
African American, had entered into a romantic relationship with
a white woman, which did not sit well with the locals. After
32 | Berks Barrister

another local white woman was found murdered, McMillian was
quickly scapegoated as the likely actor. Despite a solid alibi, and
with only shaky evidence, McMillian found himself convicted of
First Degree murder and on death row.
"Mr. Bryan, I know it may not matter to you, but it's
important to me that you know that I'm innocent and didn't do
what they said I did, not no kinda way."
Stevenson took on the McMillian case several years postconviction. When he meets McMillian for the first time,
the convicted man professes his innocence. Two things are
striking about the client's statement to Stevenson. First, that
he understands that the defense attorney will represent him
zealously regardless of his personal belief ("I know it may not
matter to you..."). Second, that he wants him to know about his
innocence anyway. Elsewhere, Stevenson explains part of his core
philosophy is believing clients until "the facts suggest something
else" - good advocacy and mental health advice for attorneys in
any practice area.

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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018