“Just Mercy” shadows world-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner whom he fought to free.
In November of 1986, 18-year-old Ronda Morrison was murdered at Jackson Cleaners in Monroeville, Alabama where she worked as a clerk. Nearly seven months later, Walter “Johnny D” McMillan (Jamie Foxx) was arrested and sentenced to death row with no probable cause or evidence for her murder. This film takes you on the journey of a young lawyer named Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization representing prisoners wrongfully convicted of crimes that were denied fair trials.
When Bryan learns of Johnny D’s case, he begins researching the evidence. He finds key witness Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson), a criminal already serving time for murder, had been coerced into lying in order to avoid death row himself and to reduce his prison time. What he doesn’t expect to find are tapes of Ralph telling police that he didn’t want to lie on an innocent man and that Johnny D had nothing to do with the murder. Even after Bryan is able to use the confessions as evidence, the judge orders Johnny D back to death row but Bryan doesn’t give up. After taking to “60 minutes” where the case is reported to the masses, it results in a new trial that eventually ends with the release of Johnny D After serving 6 years on death row, the charges are dismissed and he is finally able to walk free.
As we are in the age of social media where anyone has the ability to broadcast heinous crimes and use them as evidence, I think about the 1980s when that was unlikely unless it was by a news anchor and aired on national television. Had Bryan not reported the crime to “60 minutes” for the world to see and respond, what would have happened? Not only to Johnny D, but all the others on death row denied a proper trial.
This is a great film and an amazing story. I love how there is more conversation about injustice in the legal system and I hope it continues. It makes me slightly hopeful for change because of incredibly passionate attorneys like Bryan Stevenson who dedicate their lives fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves.
Now available on Digital and on Blu-ray and DVD April 14th
