Imagine
Imagine the following scenario.
It’s a day just like any other. You are driving back home after work, when suddenly the road in front of you is being blocked by police cars and multiple officers are aiming their guns at you. Of course you stop the car, show your hands and are cooperative. Still, one of the officers drags you out of your car, tells you that they are looking for an excuse to “get this over and done with”, and then suggests you attempt to run away or resist the arrest. You are still cooperative, albeit very confused.
You are being charged with murder. Before your trial begins, you are not put in a usual holding facility. Instead, you are already being put on death row. There are multiple witnesses attesting to where you were at the time of the murder. However, during the trial, those witness statements are either being excluded or ignored. The only evidence that the Prosecution has is a witness statement by a man accused of a different murder himself and with a motive to lie. The jury, which is not made up of your peers, despite constitutional justice demanding that, convicts you and recommends imprisonment for life without parole. The judge exercises his power to override the sentence and suddenly you are being sentenced to death.
You are innocent, but that does not matter. Neither does the fact that there is more evidence of your innocence than of your guilt. You were presumed guilty the second you were born, purely based on the colour of your skin. You will be on death row for a few years before eventually being executed.
This is the real story of Walter “Johnny D” McMillian.
You can watch it in the movie Just Mercy or read it in the book by Bryan Stevenson, on which the movie is based.
Once Upon a Time
Just Mercy follows recent Harvard graduate Stevenson (Michael B Jordan) from Delaware to Alabama where, with the help of Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) and federal funding, he is starting the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). The organisation was originally founded in 1989 to provide legal representation to those who have been wrongly convicted, unfairly sentenced or have been denied a fair trial. Since then, EJI has expanded its mission and is “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.”
While visiting a few potential clients in prison, Stevenson meets Johnny D (Jamie Foxx), and is struck by the injustices in his original trial. Convinced of his innocence, Stevenson is determined to take on the case. Even though Johnny D is reluctant and sceptical in the beginning, based on his previous experience with legal counsel, he agrees as he is impressed by Stevenson’s dedication and persistence. A legal battle of life and death begins, literally.
Racism, Inequality and Oppression
Racial inequality within the criminal justice system and the oppression of African Americans in the US are recurring themes throughout the movie. In light of recent events that have caused a return of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, it is irrefutable that racism is still prevalent and needs to be talked about.
The movie is partially set in Monroeville, which takes pride in being the hometown of Harper Lee and the inspiration behind her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The people of the town seem to confuse fiction with reality. It is beyond their comprehension that idealising a work of fiction, almost elevating it to a true story, does not equate with not being racist.
Racism is the only reason why Johnny D became a suspect in the first place. No motive, no chance, no prior convictions. However, he had been involved in an interracial affair with a married woman which became public months before the murder. There were all sorts of rumours about him, so people eventually believed the police and the media when they claimed that Johnny D was capable of murder.
Stevenson, an African American himself, also constantly faces challenges as the direct result of racism. When he first visits the prison, he has a very dehumanising experience with one of the prison guards. At one point during the movie, he is followed and intimidated by police officers. He, and EJI, receive death threats for providing legal representation. In a later interview, Stevenson recalls a memory when he was early in the court room and the judge asked him to leave, assuming he was the defendant, but laughed once he found out Stevenson was actually the lawyer. As one of the prisoners in the movie perfectly describes, “the only suit they wanna see a Black man in, is the suit I got on” (referring to a prison suit).
Legal Updates
As Just Mercy focuses on death row inmates, it is inevitable to talk about the death penalty. To this day, 28 states in the US still have the death penalty but it is declining across the country. Alabama, however, continues to sentence more people to death per capita than any other state. One of the most recent amendments to relating laws in Alabama was made almost two decades ago. Since 2002, lethal injections have become the default execution method while prisoners may still choose electrocution.
Additionally, Alabama had a history of judges routinely overriding jury verdicts of life imprisonment without parole to impose the death penalty, as in the case of Johnny D. Alabama was the last state to abolish this practice in 2017, and judicial override is no longer permitted in any state across the US.
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Continuing Despite Failure
Stevenson’s motion for a stay of execution and petition for writ of certiorari in the case of another death row inmate had been denied, meaning he could neither postpone nor prevent the execution. As for the case of Johnny D, the original motion to reopen the case had been denied as well even though there was prosecutorial misconduct, a racially discriminative jury selection and no evidence. Stevenson then lost the Rule 32 Trial where the key witness against Johnny D in the original trial recanted his statement, which he made after being pressured and, in effect, emotionally tortured by members of the criminal justice system.
Yet, Stevenson never abandoned hope and his faith in justice. After being featured in a TV program, the case received national attention. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation, under pressure, reopened the investigation and found strong evidence for Johnny D’s innocence. Soon after, the District Attorney joined Stevenson’s petition to drop all charges.
After six years on death row, Johnny D was finally released.
If you fail over and over again, it is easy to throw in the towel. Stevenson shows in Just Mercy that, in the fight for justice, giving up is not an option and hope is never-ending. How does the saying go? “Losing a battle, does not mean that the war is lost.”
Final Thoughts
Just Mercy will make you angry, it will break your heart and you will feel sick. Yet, at the end of the movie, you will also be left with an overwhelming sense of hope and thirst for action. This true story is one of the most truly inspirational movies I have seen within the last year.
In the beginning of this article, I asked you to imagine something. Can you do that again?
In the words of John Lennon:
“Imagine all the people living life in peace,
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one.”
Anna is a third-year Law student who travelled from Germany to Ireland for her studies. Being particularly interested in criminal law, she completed a diploma in Criminology & Forensic Psychology this spring.
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