Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative in the 80s to provide legal representation to people on death row, convicted as children, who are mentally disabled, may have been wrongly convicted, etc. This book splits its time between Stevenson's life and the various cases he represents, as well as one particular case about Walter McMillian, a black man on death row awaiting execution after being wrongfully convicted.

I really loved the structure of this book. Even though McMillian is the only case we see in depth, Stevenson brings in a lot of other cases and victims of the system. Some are children who were sentenced to life in prison at just 13 or 14 whose sentences he tries to commute, arguing all the way up to the Supreme Court. Some are mentally and/or physically disabled. Some are guilty, some are innocent. He treats everyone and each story with respect, regardless of the situation, and fights for their right to live.

I never found it difficult to keep up with the various stories or people involved. They're all so distinct in the book and all have such important meaning to the story. Each case Stevenson mentioned brought in something new to discuss in the book.

I highly recommend this if you're interested in the justice system, prison reform, or just want to educate yourself on a few of the flaws in our current system. For most of the book he does focus specifically on racism, since that was a defining part of McMillian's conviction and so many others. Such an important book and I loved it. I truthfully just wish it could have been longer because he had so much to say. Every second of this was worthwhile.