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"You've got to beat the drum for justice."
WOW. I picked Just Mercy as the July 2020 buddy read pick for my true crime buddy read group and I am disappointed that it took this long for me to read it.
I went through all of the emotions on this one: sadness, irritation, and anger. So many people who were wrongfully convicted that had everything going against them from the start of their trial.
This should be required reading sometime in high school so that teenagers, 1) there are problems within the justice system and 2) innocent men and women are still fighting to be free due to unfair prosecution.
I was aware that the system was flawed, but I didn't realize how flawed it is, specifically in the state of Alabama. In true crime books and documentaries, it's really not shared that people get the death penalty for more than just serial murder. After reading Just Mercy, I can 100% say that I believe that the death penalty should be illegal.
I can't believe how long it took for the Supreme Court to decide that juveniles could not receive the death penalty or that anyone with an intellectual disability should also not be subject to the death penalty (pg. 71). '
Bryan shared so many stories off of death row and from life imprisonment without parole that made me want to throw the book at the wall in anger. The system failed so many times whether it be in racial profiling, assuming someone is bad due to lack of a stable home or income, or lack of an assigned attorney that will actually fight for their client.
Bryan and his team have helped so many people in the south become free after taking up their cases. However, they can't be the only people doing the work. It takes more than just post conviction attorneys taking of appeals. Sheriffs, prosecutors, pathologists, and forensic scientists need to be held accountable. That means no racial profiling (which we know is still an issue in 2020), no getting rid of evidence after a trial, and testing everything that can be tested for DNA evidence. So many people have been cleared of what they were imprisoned for after their attorney finally got the evidence to be tested. SOMETHING THE COPS AND THEIR FORENSIC TEAMS SHOULD HAVE DONE.
WOW. I picked Just Mercy as the July 2020 buddy read pick for my true crime buddy read group and I am disappointed that it took this long for me to read it.
I went through all of the emotions on this one: sadness, irritation, and anger. So many people who were wrongfully convicted that had everything going against them from the start of their trial.
This should be required reading sometime in high school so that teenagers, 1) there are problems within the justice system and 2) innocent men and women are still fighting to be free due to unfair prosecution.
I was aware that the system was flawed, but I didn't realize how flawed it is, specifically in the state of Alabama. In true crime books and documentaries, it's really not shared that people get the death penalty for more than just serial murder. After reading Just Mercy, I can 100% say that I believe that the death penalty should be illegal.
I can't believe how long it took for the Supreme Court to decide that juveniles could not receive the death penalty or that anyone with an intellectual disability should also not be subject to the death penalty (pg. 71). '
Bryan shared so many stories off of death row and from life imprisonment without parole that made me want to throw the book at the wall in anger. The system failed so many times whether it be in racial profiling, assuming someone is bad due to lack of a stable home or income, or lack of an assigned attorney that will actually fight for their client.
Bryan and his team have helped so many people in the south become free after taking up their cases. However, they can't be the only people doing the work. It takes more than just post conviction attorneys taking of appeals. Sheriffs, prosecutors, pathologists, and forensic scientists need to be held accountable. That means no racial profiling (which we know is still an issue in 2020), no getting rid of evidence after a trial, and testing everything that can be tested for DNA evidence. So many people have been cleared of what they were imprisoned for after their attorney finally got the evidence to be tested. SOMETHING THE COPS AND THEIR FORENSIC TEAMS SHOULD HAVE DONE.
Thank you Ecco and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
Unspeakable Acts is an anthology of 13 articles revolving around true crime that were edited into this book by Sarah. Some articles are about popular true crime cases and others are about evidence and border patrol.
As a huge true crime fan, I was very excited to read Unspeakable Acts. However, I was disappointed as the articles included for the popular true crime cases were of very popular cases. I found it hard to want to keep reading when I have already heard all of the same details from countless podcasts and true crime shows such as Dateline. Each of the articles that she chose were very well written and researched. I did learn some new things from one of the articles such as the true identity of author Anne Perry (mindblown) and why her case is similar to the Slenderman case.
I would have preferred some articles on cases that are not as popular as that would have brought some new eyes to cases that are not in the limelight.
Overall, I would recommend Unspeakable Acts to readers who want to get into true crime reading, but haven't listened to a lot of true crime podcasts or watched a lot of true crime documentaries.
Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
Unspeakable Acts is an anthology of 13 articles revolving around true crime that were edited into this book by Sarah. Some articles are about popular true crime cases and others are about evidence and border patrol.
As a huge true crime fan, I was very excited to read Unspeakable Acts. However, I was disappointed as the articles included for the popular true crime cases were of very popular cases. I found it hard to want to keep reading when I have already heard all of the same details from countless podcasts and true crime shows such as Dateline. Each of the articles that she chose were very well written and researched. I did learn some new things from one of the articles such as the true identity of author Anne Perry (mindblown) and why her case is similar to the Slenderman case.
I would have preferred some articles on cases that are not as popular as that would have brought some new eyes to cases that are not in the limelight.
Overall, I would recommend Unspeakable Acts to readers who want to get into true crime reading, but haven't listened to a lot of true crime podcasts or watched a lot of true crime documentaries.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 four Goodreads.
I'm disappointed that I don't have a new favorite Katherine Center book, but this one just fell short for me. As someone that is not a huge romance reader or a huge reader of women's fiction, when I do read those books I find that I like when the romance starts occurring at least halfway through the book, not at the very end. I'd say that this one is definitely more fiction than romance.
Katherine did have representation of epilepsy and school shooting recovery, but I felt like the school shooting recovery was just used as a plot device to justify why a character is absolutely rude to his coworkers. While I appreciate the plot tools that Katherine used to explain how Duncan became how he is now versus how Sam knew him in California, I hate when I absolutely despise a character until after halfway through.
If you find that you prefer romance fiction that is very enemy to lovers and romance doesn't come until end of the book, then I would recommend that you pick upWhat You Wish For . I am still looking forward to her other books as I loved Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away.
TW: epilepsy, school shooting PTSD
Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 four Goodreads.
I'm disappointed that I don't have a new favorite Katherine Center book, but this one just fell short for me. As someone that is not a huge romance reader or a huge reader of women's fiction, when I do read those books I find that I like when the romance starts occurring at least halfway through the book, not at the very end. I'd say that this one is definitely more fiction than romance.
Katherine did have representation of epilepsy and school shooting recovery, but I felt like the school shooting recovery was just used as a plot device to justify why a character is absolutely rude to his coworkers. While I appreciate the plot tools that Katherine used to explain how Duncan became how he is now versus how Sam knew him in California, I hate when I absolutely despise a character until after halfway through.
If you find that you prefer romance fiction that is very enemy to lovers and romance doesn't come until end of the book, then I would recommend that you pick upWhat You Wish For . I am still looking forward to her other books as I loved Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away.
TW: epilepsy, school shooting PTSD
The perfect apocalyptic mixed with humor book to read during a pandemic. Seriously. Pick it up if you need a laugh. I dare you not to laugh at least 10 times.
