This is a compelling book about a Harvard trained lawyer who has spent his career defending the people most in need of legal help: the poor, the wrongly convicted, and women and children trapped in the unfairness of our criminal justice system. He founded an organization in Montgomery called the Equal Justice Initiative as a legal practice dedicated these ends.
The book recounts stories of people unfairly treated by our legal system. We're talking about people unable to afford proper representation and people who received poor representation by court appointed public defenders. The stories will break your heart. The flaws in our criminal justice system that unfairly target the poor are legion.
The primary story is that of Walter McMillian who spent years on death row for a murder he did not commit. Approximately 1 in 9 of death row inmates have been freed by DNA testing. This is appalling. McMillian was victimized by corrupt police and uncaring judges in Monroeville. The legal hoops that have to be surmounted in our system for the poor are unbelievable.
McMillian was eventually freed but he was scarred for life. How many people have been scarred for life by our unfair legal system? Too man to count.
Attorneys doing this kind of work deserve our praise and support. It is difficult work. There is hope going forward, but this book will bring tears along the way.
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