equal justice initiative movie

As a young lawyer in the 1980s, he witnessed firsthand how courts unfairly applied the death penalty based on race and how the Supreme Court ultimately declared that racial bias in the administration of the death penalty was “inevitable.”. Equal Justice Initiative The Access to Justice subcommittee coordinates and integrates CBA activities to improve and promote access to justice for the poor and middle class in Canada. Movie description: After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or those not afforded proper representation. Yes, we have a Discussion Guide that provides background information and selected topics for discussing the Just Mercy movie with students, community groups, friends, and family. Wish List. Related Pages. Sadly, while the McMillian case had some unique features, there are actually lots of people who are innocent who have been sentenced to death in the United States. The film also documents the monumental opening of EJI’s Legacy Museum and its National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which is dedicated to the more than 4,400 African American victims of lynching. Nicholas Kristof / New York Times columnist, Jamie Foxx Winner of American Black Film Festival. The … EJI won his release in 2010. The book focuses a lot on Bryan and EJI’s work challenging the adult prosecution of children, some of whom were condemned to die in prison when they were 13 or 14 years of age. He has helped achieve United States … Mr. McMillian’s claim of innocence attracted national attention as 60 Minutes broadcast a story about the case. An unforgettable true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to end mass incarceration in America — from one of the most inspiring lawyers of our time. Like: Follow: Check In: More: About. Bryan took on Walter McMillian’s case in 1988 to challenge his wrongful conviction and death sentence. Illuminating the power of memory in cultural change, the film instills hope for a brighter American future. JUST MERCY — #1 New York Times Bestseller. He told 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.” Bryan took on the case, determined to show that prosecution witnesses had lied on the stand. Told primarily in his own words, True Justice shares Bryan Stevenson’s experience with a criminal justice system that “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.” The burden of facing this system is explored in candid interviews with associates, close family members, and clients. Since 1973, more than 165 people have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence was uncovered. Trina Garnett was just 14 when she arrested, tried as an adult, and sentenced to die in prison. Will Schwarz, who is president of the memorial project, described the posthumous pardons as a … EJI won her release in 2006. Read The Report; News & Events. The case settled out of court after several years of litigation. In the film, Michael B. Jordan plays attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, who helps a character played by Jamie … On this day in 1908, an Alabama Congressman shot a Black man for cursing in front of a white woman on a street car in Washington, D.C. His fellow representatives commended his actions. Walter McMillian insisted he had been framed. Equal Justice Initiative . He went on to found the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit that provides lawyers to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes or not given a fair trial. CREDIT: Warner Bros. Six-time Emmy-winner Peter Kunhardt (HBO’s Emmy-winning Jim: The James Foley Story) executive produces and directs; Emmy-winners Teddy Kunhardt and George Kunhardt produce and direct. Over 600,000 people have visited these sites. It guarantees the defense of anyone in Alabama in a death penalty case. You can also download this discussion guide for students and groups who are reading the Just Mercy book. An effort to make the sheriff accountable went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but the Court ruled that the sheriff could be protected from liability based on immunity laws. Eva Ansley grew up in Alabama, disgusted by the state’s unjust and abusive treatment of the poor and disfavored. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. ATLANTA — Morehouse College will conduct its 137th commencement on Sunday, featuring the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and the creator of … The site is also a mere stone’s throw away from what was once one of the nation’s most prominent slave auction spaces, where tens of thousands of Black men and women were sold throughout the 19th century. There are chapters that explore the increasing incarceration rates for women and how many women are criminalized for being poor. You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. Nine people have been exonerated in Alabama. “We cannot understand our present moment without recognizing … ‎In this fourth installment of the OM3 Leadership Series, JJ and Tommy sit down with human rights activist and founder & Executive Director of the 'Equal Justice Initiative' Bryan Stevenson. He was released in 2010 after serving 45 years. A powerful true story about the Equal Justice Initiative, the people we represent, and the importance of confronting injustice, Just Mercy is a bestselling book by Bryan Stevenson that has been adapted into a feature film. Mr. McMillian spent 15 months on death row awaiting his trial in an effort to pressure him into pleading guilty. Against this backdrop, the movie focuses mainly on his work in appealing Walter McMillan’s death sentence. Please contact Emily Keating for licensing and permission information: [email protected]. Judge override of life verdicts has been a unique characteristic of the death penalty in Alabama. Mr. McMillian died in 2013. The scene in the movie in which … Call (334) 269-1803. While the Monroeville community loves the Mockingbird story and took great pride in its association with the fictional characters of the book, there was tremendous resistance to recognizing Mr. McMillian’s innocence despite overwhelming evidence. Kunhardt Films’s HBO credits include the Emmy-winning Jim: The James Foley Story, the Emmy-winning Teddy: In His Own Words, the Emmy-nominated Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words, the Emmy-nominated Gloria: In Her Own Words, The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee, Becoming Warren Buffett, King in the Wilderness and John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls. Marsha Colbey was wrongly convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without parole after her baby was stillborn. He had barely opened the nonprofit law office in Montgomery, Alabama, when he agreed to represent Walter McMillian, a Black man wrongly convicted of killing a white woman in the town that inspired To Kill a Mockingbird. Movie tells the story of the founding of Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative Lawyer & Law Firm. View 1 review. Because Mr. McMillian was accused of a crime that took place in Monroeville, Alabama, the community where Harper Lee grew up and wrote the beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there were interesting dynamics at play in the case. Courtesy of Equal Justice Initiative ∕ Human Pictures. Learn more about the Initiative here. Bryan’s own journey dealing with racial bias, police violence, and the enormous obstacles that must be overcome to do justice are more fully developed in the book, which recently was adapted for young adults. Just Mercy tells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation’s highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice. By submitting this form, you are granting: Equal Justice Initiative, 122 Commerce Street, Montgomery, Alabama, 36104, United States, http://www.eji.org permission to email you. My family will be donating 500 thousand dollars to the Equal Justice Initiative in honor of your heroic efforts," Clooney's statement reads. EJI has recently opened a major cultural complex to educate the public about our nation’s history of racial injustice and the implications of that history for issues like mass incarceration and the death penalty. EJI won his release in 2016. ©2021 Equal Justice Initiative. True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality is a co-production of HBO and Kunhardt Films; produced and directed by Peter Kunhardt, George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt; executive produced by Trey Ellis and Peter Kunhardt; edited and produced by Maya Mumma, ACE. He has helped achieve United States … He currently lives in Alabama. The group, which previously documented 4,500 lynchings, on Tuesday released a new report titled “Reconstruction in America” that documents nearly an additional 2,000 lynchings between 1865 and 1876. Her commitment to finding legal help for people on Alabama’s death row led her to join Bryan Stevenson in opening EJI, where she took on every challenge from accounting to recruiting lawyers. Walter McMillian stayed in Alabama after his release. For more than three decades, Alabama public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, seeking to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. Robert Caston was sentenced to die in prison in Louisiana for an assault when he was just 17 years old. It was founded by Bryan Stevenson, who was portrayed by … Teaming with Eva Ansley, he founds the Equal Justice Initiative, then travels to a prison to meet its death row inmates. The official Amazon description for the book reads: “Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. Move the Mindset is a member of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), an organization committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Just Mercy tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, from the point he decides to work on Death Row and set up the Equal Justice Initiative. Yes. Bryan filed a motion to dismiss all charges; the trial court granted it after the district attorney acknowledged Mr. McMillian’s innocence. Just Mercy takes us inside America’s broken criminal justice system and compels us to confront inequality and injustice. The movie 'Just Mercy' starring Michael B. Jordan as lawyer Bryan Stevenson is based on the real-life attorney's book. director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Educator resources that accompany the film, including an Engagement Guide, can be found here. Our Approach; Research & Consultations; Finding Solutions; Progress; Reports; Final Report for Reaching Equal Justice. You can share the feature length version of True Justice by hosting a community screening. 4.7 of 5 stars. Just Mercy presents the story of EJI, the people we represent, and the importance of confronting injustice. Visit eji.org to take a closer look at the work of EJI. EJI won her release in 2012. EJI won the release of Diane Tucker after she was wrongly convicted and sent to prison for a murder that never took place. Wrongful convictions have been found to result from erroneous eyewitness identifications, false and coerced confessions, misconduct by police and prosecutors, inadequate legal defense, false or misleading forensic evidence, and perjury by witnesses who are promised lenient treatment or other incentives in exchange for their testimony. Row and actively fought for his release contact Emily Keating for licensing and information... For a nonhomicide offense allegedly committed as a teenager your email donation receipt as your official record depicts real-life! Over the case create greater fairness in the book by lawyer and social Justice Bryan... Against this backdrop, the movie is based on the mentally disabled the. The federal Defender in Mobile, Alabama film depicts the real-life story of Harvard graduate! 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