Welcome to Litsy!

What a fantastic book. So incredibly endearing and infuriating all at the same time!

The author came into this work knowing what he wanted to do, but he didn‘t realize how hard it would be, or that it would change his life even more than those he served. This book isn‘t just about the work of Equal Justice Initiative; it‘s about how we treat others, and the vision of systems of compassion, instead of systems of oppression. The story of Walter McMillian is featured heavily in this book, but there are also stories of other ⬇️

There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can‘t otherwise see; you hear things you can‘t otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity that resides in each of us. What would happen if we just⬇️

America‘s prisons have become warehouses for the mentally ill. Mass incarceration has been largely fueled by misguided drug policy and excessive sentencing, but the internment of hundreds of thousands of poor and mentally ill people has been driving force in achieving our record levels of imprisonment. It‘s created unprecedented problems.

Capital punishment means them without the capital get the punishment.

In debates around the death penalty, I had started arguing that we would never think it was humane to pay someone to rape people convicted of rape or assault and abuse someone guilty of assault or abuse. Yet we were comfortable killing people who kill, in part because we think we can do it in a manner that doesn‘t implicate our own humanity, the way that raping or abusing someone would. I couldn‘t stop thinking that we don‘t spend much time⬇️

#F&nfwithsametopic
#Ittakesallkinds

📚 💙 📚

I had seen the movie and was a little familiar with the authors story. It was good to read this and get more of the story and more details. The Equal Justice Initiative does amazing and much needed work. Thankful for the work they are doing.

This was my favorite from January. It's not something I'd have picked up on my own, but this is why I enjoy trying my hand at the different reading challenges.

#12BooksOf2023 @Andrew65

#VolumesAndVocals #FolsomPrisonBlues

I haven't read many books about prison, so this one I read earlier this year was the first thing to come to mind. I figured I'd add a picture of my guy at the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville to the lineup. No worries...I sprung him loose right after this photo was taken. 😉

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I picked this for #booked23 and found it unoutdownable. The stories of both clear miscarriages of justice that could have ended in death were horrific but I was even more shaken by how many ways there seems to be for justice to go wrong and how hard the author and his team had to fight to put it right. A ton to reflect on and a really powerful read

#redemption #themedthursday

So far this year it‘s been harder choosing my top NF than my top Fiction each month. For March it was Just Mercy. Bryan Stevenson is an excellent author and truly makes the world a better place.

Bryan Stevenson has done so much work to fix our broken justice system and help it‘s victims. It‘s horrifying how many innocent people are sentenced to death, and how many children and disabled people are given unfair and unjust sentences.

If you haven‘t read this yet I can‘t recommend it highly enough. You‘ll learn so much. It‘ll make you angry, but also grateful to people like Bryan who are doing their best to help those who need it.

This book was depressing for me. I can not believe how corrupt the penal system is in the U.S. I read it for the #NSR23 @Nessavamusic
I got two more bingos for #MarchMadnessReadingChallenge @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

Capital punishment means, 'them without the capital get the punishment.'

1/2023

Books have the power to change how we view the world and ourselves.

This book started me on the path of becoming a prison abolitionist. I have a whole new list of books to get to after reading this one.

#SundayFunday Hope you all have a safe and happy Sunday, and don‘t forget to tag me in your posts so I can see your answers!

#ManicMonday @CBee
📕Just Mercy
✍🏻 Marlon James
🍿Juno
🎤 Joe Jackson
🎵Jack & Diane

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just Mercy is simultaneously easy to read & impossible to get through. Stevenson writes in a compelling way, but what he is telling us should make readers pause.
I am grateful for the work Stevenson does with the Equal Justice Initiative and that he took the time to write about it.
I have always been against the death penalty, for all reasons, in all cases. If you think differently, I challenge you to read this book.
Striking work.

“I wasn‘t prepared to meet a condemned man.”

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Harrowing and uplifting tales from the frontline of the American "justice" system which incarcerates children for life and where the law is basically just a continuation of a centuries-old system of oppression.

A book I read each year with students. It never grows old, & stimulates questions, research, reflection, & connects to our neighborhoods,country,world today. We watch the movie after finishing the book. #alphabetgame #LetterJ

This book awakened a desire to add more nonfiction to my reading life.

#AlphabetGame

Read this one twice!
#alphabetgame #LetterJ @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I have apparently only read one book that starts with the #letterJ (that I can remember) but it was an excellent one. Everyone should read this.

#alphabetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Tagging @wideeyedreader and @Crazeedi

Thx for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#ThinkPositiveBePositive

Tagging @LKK526 @Kdgordon88 @Bekkers to share a positive quote👍

Make a great day everyone 🌞

#Two4Tuesday Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView

1. The tagged book - just finished a re-read of this - had my senior seminar class read it - I loved book and movie of To Kill A Mockingbird - but this book - this real life story - has made me see things differently.
2. I used to when I was in college(green beer day was a big event) -seems to be a drinking day in US (not sure how the Irish celebrate it in Ireland) -

Make a great day everyone 🍀

Tagged by the marvelous @TheSpineView ! 💕

1. Tagged! And Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y Davis. These books are what started me on seriously researching the prison abolition movement.
2. Kind of? I decorate a little, but March 17th is the birthday of one of my uncles. So we mostly celebrate that.

#Two4Tuesday

Well I haven't read the book, but I did just watch the movie...which was excellent and should be a must see. #blackhistorymonth

(true story) Bryan and his team are attorneys working to get wrongfully incarcerated people off of death row, whether innocent or mentally ill, etc. knowing how much work there is to be done to right these wrongs and correct the system is a lot to take in but so important. you‘re captivated by how busy these people are and how many cases they‘re constantly working on, such a good read. audiobook read by the author. (this is a movie now too)

I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this, but...wow! It was a rare five-star read for me. Such a powerful story, and so engaging. I highly recommend this one!! #mustread #blackhistorymonth

A harrowing read about the injustices of the justice system and the battle to release the wrongly accused from prison.

This is a hard book to take, but definitely an important one.

“Just mercy” in detonation is sparing someone. In connotation it‘s about a Acclaimed lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson offers a glimpse into lives of the wrongfully imprisoned and his efforts to fight for their freedom.

There have been many books, documentaries and podcasts about wrongful convictions. It seems they are much more common than any of us would like to believe. This explores the injustices that Stevenson has been working to right in the south, especially Alabama where children and those with severe mental disabilities had been sentenced to the death penalty. Shocking how difficult it is to overturn a judgement against a very obviously innocent person.

Great idea from @Andrew65 to post a favorite book for each month of 2021.

Tagged book was my favorite read in #January

#12booksof2021

I found this really interesting, And sad. He (and others) is (are) slowly, so slowly, trying to change things to make them better, but what an uphill battle. I listened to the audio and it was well-done; it held my attention pretty much the entire way through. Initially, I hadn‘t realized until looking as I write this review, but the author read it himself.

This is so true!! I‘ve got this book and haven‘t gotten to it yet!

#ThinkPositiveBePositive

Share a positive post 💗 tag me 💗 tag friends

#currentlyreading #bookblurbs

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

#currentlyreading #bookblurbs

Started reading this one last night on recommendation. I‘m not a huge nonfiction reader but try to read at least 2-3 a year. Looking forward to digging into this one.

I‘m already shocked by the revelations and I am only 70 pages into this one. Feeling angry, sad, disappointed, etc. A must read for sure.

July has been a great reading month. I didn‘t achieve bingo but loved the challenge. Already looking forward to next month @TheAromaofBooks

Stevenson walks you through the inherent racial biases present in the US legal system. Though the story of Walter McMillan opens the book, it is not the only story that Stevenson brings to the forefront to as an example of what injustice looks like when there is no longer mercy.

This completes my #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks :)

Ready for #bookspin! Thanks for letting me join the fun @TheAromaofBooks

2Q2021 results are in! #favoritebooksoftheyear

This was heartbreaking, infuriating, and very informative. I grew up (as a sheltered white kid) believing the system worked, innocent people didn‘t get sent to jail, and wrongful convictions were few & far between. Through this and other reading, I‘m realizing how uninformed I‘ve been & how broken the system is. I appreciated the breadth of this book—focusing on one case, but also bringing in relevant issues throughout the criminal justice system.

I thought I was just getting a story of a wrongfully convicted man and his fight for justice, but it touches on many more stories of cruelty in our criminal justice system. I am unsettled knowing that CHILDREN as young as 13 have been sentenced to death or life without parole as recently as within the decade. And embarrassed that I didn‘t know this was happening. The Equal Justice Initiative does incredibly important and inspirational work. 5 ⭐️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was an excellent book that not only put a spotlight on the injustice of our justice system but also explained how cruel and inhuman the prison system is in the U.S. Stevenson‘s work is admirable and should inspire us all to vote, serve on juries, stop casting stones, and support nonprofit organizations that try to fight for more just sentences for people convicted of crime. This was my #bookspinbingo No. 22 pick.