Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction |Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction | Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award | Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize | Finalist for the Prize | An American Library Association Notable Book

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justicefrom one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time

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. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didnt commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanshipand transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyers coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Praise for

Every bit as moving as and in some ways more so . . . a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.David Cole,

Searing, moving . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be Americas Mandela.Nicholas Kristof,

You dont have to read too long to start cheering for this man. . . . The message of this book . . . is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.Ted Conover,

Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, hes also a gifted writer and storyteller.

As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.

Brilliant.

Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing Gods work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. is his inspiring and powerful story.John Grisham

Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and is extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.Michelle Alexander, author of