Hed made the national news again that February, when it emerged that hed pocketed more than $110,000 in funds the state paid him to feed inmates, the beneficiary of an old Alabama law that allowed sheriffs to keep any excess money they didnt spend on prison food. But at the end of the day, the filmleaves itup to you to decide whether or not he should have gotten the death penalty. We are all better than the worst thing we have ever done. Mr McMillian was with his family miles away when Ronda Morrison was killed. A group of women, white, evidently scared, minimise themselves as far into one corner as they can go, until, "Oh!" And that's why this movie is so important.". ", Just Mercy is available to watch on Sky Cinema and NOW TV as part of their programme of shows and films celebrating black talent, culture and history throughout Black History Month, Just Mercy: Sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit - the true story behind gripping drama, Walter McMillian was sentenced to death after being wrongly convicted of murder in Alabama. Destin Daniel Cretton shot that scene, but choseto focus instead on Stevenson's horrifiedreaction in the glassed-off viewing area. Some state officials expressed happiness and excitement that an execution had taken place, but I knew that none of them had actually dealt with the details of killing Herbert. Rob Morgan powerfully portraysthePTSD-suffering Richardson, who is ultimately ledto the electric chair in Alabama's Holman Prison, strapped in and electrocuted just as Richardson was onAug. 18, 1989. In the cells above, his prisoner friends begin banging their cups and dishes on the cell bars. Please get me out of here. We need an era of truth and justice in America. The story is now being played out on the big screen in Just Mercy, starring Jamie Foxx as McMillian and Michael B Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, the man who founded America's Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), and who fought for the truth to come out. He attempted suicide multiple times before landing in a mental hospital, where he fell in love with a nurse. -Graham S. By describing Herberts history of loss, abuse and violence, Stevenson attempts to show Herberts humanity and explain the events that affected his mental health. Herberts mood contrasts with the sobriety of the situation. Just keep your mind on that. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. LitCharts Teacher Editions. JAKE GILES NETTER/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Are We Finally Ready to See One of the 90s Most Acclaimed Bands for What It Really Was? Watch a trailer here. As he's led into the room with shaved eyebrows and prison whites, his legs buckle dramatically. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury.In the 1988 trial, under a controversial Alabama doctrine called "judicial override", the judge imposed the death penalty, although the . In 1987, he travels to Monroeville, Alabama, to join a white. "It's Jamie Foxx." Just Mercy is a new film about a lawyer who helps death row inmates who can't afford it. The method works and it becomes clear that this is Walter's own method for escaping the prison walls. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his. Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, Rafe Spall plays district attorney Tommy Chapman, the man who wants to keep McMillian locked up. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. Dunkins is executed. Larson explained why she found Ansley inspirational at this years Variety Power of Women event, then brought her out on stage to talk about her work: In the 1980s, Ansley was running a project pairing condemned men with lawyers in Alabama while Stevenson was doing similar work at the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee. You know, this is a man who educated people in the city. But after meeting Jordan, Foxx and director Destin Daniel Cretton, he was satisfied they cared. Herbert is a Vietnam War veteran who was traumatized by the war. "We did not show it. Following Bryan's powerful speech, the District Attorney awkwardly tries to follow. We have so many people who are literally dying for legal assistance on our death row, we have hundreds of people who can't find lawyers. NEXT: Netflix's Two Popes: 10 Best Moments From The Biographical Drama. Pic: EJI/ Warner Bros, Stevenson spoke about the film in the House of Lords ahead of its UK release, Death row inmate Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) is in some of the most heartbreaking scenes in the film. Stevenson says he was initially reluctant to see his story translated to the big screen, worried it might receive the Hollywood treatment to make it more entertaining. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. The capacity for the Supreme Court to change its position on the death penalty conflicts with the irreversibility of the death penalty itself; the Court found that executing the mentally disabled was unconstitutional, but this decision cant retroactively impact the fate of Dunkins. Just Mercy is based on a memoir written by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) an organization in Montgomery, Alabama that challenges racial injustice and champions criminal justice reform. The movie is a compelling look at injustices that still exist today and the people who suffer from them. The pleas from death row inmates on behalf of their fellow prisoners demonstrate their capacity for selflessness and empathy despite their own dire circumstances. Eleven years later his execution date has arrived. Unfortunately, Walter has had many lawyers promise him many things and fail him, so he's uninterested in going down that path again. In 1988, they secured federal funding to set up the nonprofit that eventually became the Equal Justice Initiative. The next day there were articles in the press about the execution. They create enough noise for Herbert to hear and remember that he is not alone in his final moments. Stevensons interaction with the victims family suggests that the local system is too focused on punishment to consider the actual needs and wishes of a victims family, which shows an underlying hypocrisy. Still, Richardsons multiple appeals were denied, prompting him to seek out the assistance of attorney Bryan Stevenson one month before he was to face the electric chair, according to the Huffington Post. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! And the judge started laughing and the prosecutor started laughing, and I made myself laugh because I didn't want to disadvantage my client - a young white kid I was representing. There are other aspects of Richardsons story where the film diverges from Stevensons book. The lawyers failure to bring up his clients past contrasts with Stevensons detailed account of Herberts life. Stevenson told the Huffington Post in 2015 that his last interactions with Richardson have stayed withhim. The actual death is not shown but the sound of the electrical charge is audible. You have to get close" (14). Richardson saidit was an accident, that the bomb was meant only to scare the nurse. "I don't think this kind of film would've been made 20 years ago," he says. The familys forgiveness contrasts with the courts lack of mercy. My name is Bryan Stevenson, I am the lawyer.' As Bryan makes his final argument for a dismissal of all charges against Walter, he invokes that feeling. ", Stevenson gives an example from his time in court. Herbert is a veteran who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Vietnam, which exacerbated issues stemming from childhood abuse. While Bryan takes on many cases in Alabama, the main focus is that of convicted murderer Walter (Jamie Foxx), whose entire case is based on very flimsy witness testimonies and no physical evidence. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Made by movie fans, for movie fans. Their eyes are in focus. Find all 31 songs in Just Mercy Soundtrack, with scene descriptions. "Afterwards I was thinking, what is it when this judge saw a middle-aged black man in a suit and tie sitting at the defence counsel table [that] it didn't even occur to him, that's the lawyer. The Irish Times writes that Just Mercy is "gripping, dazzlingly acted and - yes - important drama." Just Mercy presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson and the case of Walter McMillian, who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. "But before I could say anything, Myers blurted out, 'I lied. The movie is centered on Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), a young black man from Delaware who graduates from Harvard Law. He filed a stay of execution on his clients behalf, but it was rejected. In reality,Richardson requested to beblindfolded and never saw the room. Walter McMillians ordeal is more or less accurately portrayed in Just Mercy: He was arrested in 1987 and charged with the murder of Ronda Morrison, an 18-year-old white woman who was shot in broad daylight at the Monroeville, Alabama dry-cleaning shop where she worked. This is relevant in Herbert's case because he had no intent to kill the child. Walter's story is just one of many similar examples of injustice in America. Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, McMillian and EJI founder Bryan Stevenson, and below, played by Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx. "Sometimes, less is more. He really gave that heartless 60 Minutes interview. McMillians prosecution and exoneration have been the subject of two books: Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, and Justice in a Southern Town, a 1995 true crime book about the murder by journalist Pete Earley, and Stevensons memoir, also called Just Mercy, which is structured around the McMillian case but also covers the early years of the Equal Justice Initiative. It is this narrative of racial inferiority, this ideology of white supremacy. In real life, Richardson had psychological problems from his combat experienceshe was the only survivor of an ambush that killed his entire platoonand ended up in a Veterans Affairs hospital in New York after the war. Everyone I saw at the prison seemed surrounded by a cloud of regret and remorse. video. And so that's been really inspiring and encouraging, and if this film helps to create that kind of activity it'll be a really beautiful thing.". I whispered to her, We have to let him go. Herbert saw the officers lining up outside, and he pulled away from her slowly and told me to take her out of the room. "I had my suit and tie on and went into this courtroom, the first time I've ever been in this courtroom. Two death row inmates seek a moment of solace and reflection in this scene from the drama "Just Mercy." The film is based on the memoir of Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer who has devoted most of. Even though Stevenson has been working on death penalty cases for a few years, personally witnessing an execution brings him even closer to it. The scene is emotionally distressing, though filmmakers decided notto show Richardson when1,800 electrical volts were sentthrough his body. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Systemic Power, Oppression, and Dehumanization. Recalling the experience of working with Michael, the Ray actor said: It was a lot of emotions, its so important. 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