Michael B Jordan, who in turn admitted he wanted to make his idol proud. 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. That hearing was actually overseen by Judge Thomas B. Norton Jr., and Judge Fosters most ludicrous-seeming dialogue is actually taken straight from an order Judge Norton wrote saying that he had no reason to believe Myers had perjured himself during the original trial. 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. Marriage, which would normally be considered the beginning of a life together, takes on a very different meaning in this context. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. He goes on to tell what he calls his "pheeew" joke. You can see it, Michael was engaged, everyone on that set. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. While many of the cases featured in the upcoming, crime drama Just Mercy have relative happy endings, the story of Herbert Richardson, unlike that of, Richardson, a Vietnam War veteran, was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death following the killing of an 11-year-old girl, according to the. To convince Walter that he is here to help, Bryan visits Walter's family in the poor African American community. In the book Just Mercy: A story of Justice and Redemption Bryan Stevenson details his story of his experiences as a lawyer fighting for justice. Richardson, who'd spent 11 years on death row,contacted Stevenson a month before his scheduled execution date. He had Stevenson's account of thecase from his memoir, "Just Mercy," on which the film is based, and twophotographs of Richardson. He really gave that heartless 60 Minutes interview. Ralph Myers, the career criminal who testified that Walter McMillian killed Ronda Morrison, only to recant the entire story years later at Stevensons prodding, really did the things hes shown doing in the movie. "It was so clear to me that Herbert Richardsonwas more than the crime he committed. Well, Im just as smart as that guy, even if I didnt go to Harvard. Just Mercy details Bryan Stevenson's hard-fought legal battles as he tries to bring Walter McMillan back home after six long years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Walter 'Johnny D' McMillan (Jamie Foxx) is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death row for the murder of Ronda Morrison - a crime he did not commit. Unlike the other scenes (which were filmed in Alabama and Georgia), all the death row scenes,. 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.". "The fear was so present.". The film is based on Bryan Stevenson's bestselling 2014 memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. There is mention of the strangling and shooting death of a young woman. Twenty-nine states - more than half - still have the death penalty. TV Shows; Movies; . However, Stevenson says, "we are still in this struggle". Brie Larson plays Eva Ansley, who in real life co-founded the Equal Justice Initiative with Stevenson and currently serves as its operations director. Where were they when you were 7 and you were experimenting with drugs? "I don't think you could have got a major studio to put the kind of resources behind it that we've seen here. 8 most alarming findings from NFLPA report cards: From a lack of bananas to locker room rats, The real case behind Michael B. Jordan's Bryan Stevenson movie, Powerful performances by Michael B. Jordan, JamieFoxx elevate predictable'Just Mercy', Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. One of Stevenson's first cases is that of Walter McMillian. Richardson spent 11 years in all on death row, during whichhe busied himself painting religious works of art, according to UPIs report. Walter's story is just one of many similar examples of injustice in America. The only judge who comes out of the movie (or the books about the real-life McMillian case) without looking terrible is Judge Pamela Baschab (played by Rhoda Griffis in the movie), who issued the order that finally freed McMillian. Everything I said at McMillian's trial was a lie. He is aided by a white woman whose sense of fairness is outraged by inequities in the cases of men on Alabama's death row. You wont be able to achieve the kind of justice that has to be achieved.. When he was sentenced to death, Herbert's lawyer ignored his request for appeal. "If you haven't been to the States, you should know when you come to the States; you can be a lawyer here in the UK, you can be a doctor, you can be an educator, but in the States, you're going to be in situations where you're going to have to navigate a presumption of dangerousness and guilt. So thats what Tate went with, after a search of McMillians truck yielded no marijuanaalthough he had to explain to Walter what the word sodomy meant. The book "Just Mercy" is essentially a memoir from Bryan Stevenson about his life, post Harvard, aiding death row inmates in the South. I can't be quiet any longer.'". It nevertheless got McMillian sentenced to death. Stevenson told the Huffington Post in 2015 that his last interactions with Richardson have stayed withhim. The corruption displayed in the film regarding Walter's conviction is staggering and infuriating. "We've represented children prosecuted as adults," says Stevenson. An overwhelmingly white jury sentenced him to life in prison, but the judge overrode the jury and condemned him to die. I dont know why exactly, but I started to hum it as I saw more uniformed officers entering the vestibule outside the visitation room. As Bryan makes his final argument for a dismissal of all charges against Walter, he invokes that feeling. During his years in prison, he seeks redemption. Photos by Warner Bros. and Brad Barket/Getty Images for POLITICO. video. The years of being told he was a murderer weighed on him and at that moment he was reminded he is not at fault. . Just Mercytells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation's highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice. It aired on Nov. 22, 1992, and if that seems like a long time ago, it was the middle segment in an episode that also featured Woody Allen defending himself against molestation charges and a piece about a grassroots anti-deficit group that was coincidentally funded by a private equity billionaire, so how long ago could it have been? ", "It's a joke," he says, cutting through the laughter from the audience. I'm motivated to help try to tell more stories like this.". In rejecting the request, District Court Judge Robert Varner said that it was 'beyond the bounds of reason to believe that a device which maimed and killed an 11-year-old child by exploding in her hands could be thought of as not presenting a serious risk of harm, according to The Times. How does Stevenson get close to the incarcerated people he is helping? The war veteran, who reportedly had unexplained "crying spells" among other issues during his service, was put to death on Aug. 19, 1989, according to an archived report from United Press International. One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence. The cameras started off wider on these characters. 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? You can see by the look on his face that this is a moment he never thought would actually come. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Whats not in dispute is that he arranged McMillians arrest rather differently than it appears in the film. Chapter Summary Of Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy ' 1012 Words | 5 Pages. Following Bryan's powerful speech, the District Attorney awkwardly tries to follow. Jamie Foxx has revealed the exact moment that left him fuming and pushed him to deliver one of the most emotional performances of his career in new drama Just Mercy. Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. Due to your consent preferences, youre not able to view this. system on the night of his execution, though. Finally, in real life, Stevenson isnt quite as good-looking as Michael B. Jordan, but few people are. Bottom: Actor Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson and Jamie Foxx as McMillian. Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, McMillian and EJI founder Bryan Stevenson, and below, played by Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx. Date February 18, 2020 " Just Mercy ," the film based on the memoir of the same name by Harvard Law graduate Bryan Stevenson, ends with a sobering statistic: For every nine people executed in this country, one person on death row has been exonerated. Theyre going to execute me for no good reason, and I dont want to die in no electric chair. He was crying now with a forcefulness that alarmed me. "It's Jamie Foxx." All of that stuff, its really interesting to see it play out on the screen because when youre in it, youre just living through it., Bryan continued: Im glad its part of the story because people need to know that you cant do justice if youre not willing to do uncomfortable things and position yourself in difficult places. Where were they when you were a young teenager returning from Vietnam traumatized and drug-addicted? Herberts narrative here reinforces that.". Issues such as racial injustice can seem insurmountable, Jordan acknowledges. Recent episodes in Anatomy of a. Except for 60 Minutes and a constant scrum of reporters outside the courthouse, the media is mostly absent from this story about someone being railroadedfor a movie with the exact opposite problem, see Richard Jewelland thats a shame, because Chapman spent almost the entire process complaining to the Monroe Journal about the case. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. I've represented 14-year-olds sentenced to death by execution.". Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs The footage of seeing real-life Hinton released from prison and reuniting with his family is a powerful moment. Just Mercy came out in select theaters at the end of 2019 and was somewhat overshadowed by the bigger, attention-grabbing films at the time. He was executed in 1989 by the State of Alabama after being convicted of capital murder in 1978. #3. Attorney Bryan Stevenson took McMillians case in 1988, and in 1993 secured McMillians freedom after demonstrating that the prosecution had withheld evidence and pressured their star witness into lying. Faced with public opprobrium, Tate told the Monroe Journal, It hurts my feelings to be accused of doing something wrong., The judge at McMillians criminal trialthe one who decided that the death penalty was more appropriate than the life sentence the jury had decided onreally was named Robert E. Lee Key, Jr., and really did describe the crime as the vicious and brutal killing of a young lady in the first full flower of adulthood. Not too surprisingly, McMillians case is not the only stain on his record: In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to let the State of Alabama execute a man named Brian Baldwin. NEXT: Netflix's Two Popes: 10 Best Moments From The Biographical Drama. Tate has categorically denied saying any of this. Warner Bros. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web In 1987, McMillian was sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman in Monroeville, Ala., despite mounting evidence proving his innocence. Eleven years later his execution date has arrived. It was sad like few other hymns Id heard. When hetells the inmate he will not be executed this year, the man says it's the best news he's gotten in a long time because now his family can visit. Speaking to the outlet in 2015, Stevenson said that Richardson had been left traumatized and disturbed by his time in the war but did not have the support he needed upon his return home. he hears one of the women exclaim, the relief palpable. Recalling the experience of working with Michael, the Ray actor said: It was a lot of emotions, its so important. The intimate scenes with Herberts wife and the image of Herberts family pulling away as they hum the church hymn further humanizes the moment and evokes a sense tragedy. As he walks out, the rest of the death row inmates reach out and shake his hand, happy to see him walking to his freedom. The film traces his journey from indifference to McMillians casehe wasnt the original prosecutorto fanatical opposition to McMillians release, to grudging acceptance of McMillians innocence in exactly the same way the book does, and Chapman really did all those things. Seeing the outrageous and horrific injustices of this case broadcasted out for the world to see is a powerful moment. Tate was also responsible for the scene in which McMillians son Johnny is tackled by deputies in the courtroom. Just Mercy shows an African American lawyer fighting injustice in the U.S. legal system. Entertainment reporter Also featured: death row at Holman Prison, meticulously recreated in the movie, plus a news report about McMillians exoneration. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Systemic Power, Oppression, and Dehumanization. The scene is emotionally distressing, though filmmakers decided notto show Richardson when1,800 electrical volts were sentthrough his body. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Herbert is a Vietnam War veteran who was traumatized by the war. And that was something that we were playing with with the camera, was leading up to this very scene. 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. Baldwin was prosecuted by Theodore Pearson, the same D.A. It just shows how much Bryan genuinely cared about Walter, while the other lawyers did not. Stevenson receives a desperate call from another man on death row, Herbert Richardson. "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. After the unnamed woman ended her relationship with Richardson, he allegedly left a pipe bomb on her porch that detonated when her niece picked it up, according to the outlet. That is really going to be a big contrast to the moment when we go outside through Walter McMillians escape vision in his mind that takes him back to the moment in the beginning of the movie when he is out in the forest and looking up at the trees. The differences between Stevenson in the film and Stevenson in his memoir are mostly matters of dramatic compression: anecdotes Stevenson tells about other cases he handled are moved to the McMillian case, which saves the movie the time and trouble of explaining five or six different unjust criminal trials. "I had to apologise. as McMillian, in a case overseen by Key in which Pearson called the defendant, who was black, that savage, Key called the defendant boy, black jurors were systematically excluded, and Key was asked to adjudicate whether or not his own behavior had been racist. Stevenson exhibits the power of empathy in Just Mercy most clearly in a case involving a Vietnam War veteran with PTSD. Even the characters that were white were still engaged., He added: What I love about this movie is the fact that even the corrections officer gives you the opportunity to see his contrition that he knew things were wrong.. The Oscar-winning actor stars as the wrongfully convicted real-life Walter McMillan, who was sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit in Alabama, Georgia back in the 1980s. "Just Mercy" tells the story of Walter McMillian, a wrongfully convicted man who fights a flawed criminal justice system "This was an important story, a moving story and one that we felt could. There we see all Walter's family, friends and neighbors are still standing by him all these years later despite being ignored by authorities. This is a hospital., Theyve got me again, and youve got to help me.. But at the end of the day, the filmleaves itup to you to decide whether or not he should have gotten the death penalty. However, this legal drama based on incredible true events deserves to find an audience for its timely and powerful story. The Word file is viewable with any PC or Mac and can be further adjusted if you want to mix questions around and/or add your own headers for things like "Name," "Period," and "Date." The Word file offers unlimited customizing options so that you can teach in the Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Herbert, a Vietnam veteran who lost some of his marbles in the war, isn't trying to escape the crime he committed; quite the contrary, he's drowning in guilt. "Bryan Stevenson was not able to save every person that he represented," says Jordan, anexecutive producer on the film,explaining the importance of the scene. The prison officials had pumped themselves up to carry out the execution with determination and resolve, but even they revealed extreme . Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. Crucially, Tate arrested McMillian in his truck, which gave him a pretext to drive the truck to the police stationTate drove it personallywhich made it possible to have a prisoner who said he knew something about the case see the truck and positively identify it as the one he claimed hed seen outside the cleaners around the time of the shooting, which gave Tate the minimum number of witnesses hed need to charge McMillian with Morrisons murder. We need an era of truth and justice in America. If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. 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. The morning after his disastrous 60 Minutes interview aired, Chapman told the paper, For them to hold themselves up as a reputable news show is beyond belief and irresponsible., In the movies scene in which Tate arrests McMillian, he taunts him by saying things like, Those rims look like they cost you a pretty pennywhove you been working for?Thats shitty, but in Walter McMillians version of the story, as reported in court filings, Tate said much worse: He said he was going to stop us niggers from fucking these white women himself. Earley goes into more detail about the political pressures Tate and Chapman were under, but the circumstances under which McMillian ended up in prison were even dodgier than they appear in the movie. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as a young Harvard lawyer who travels to Alabama to provide proper legal services to death row inmates who could not afford it. Based on a true story, Just Mercy(2019) follows civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) as he recounts his experiences and details the case of a condemned death row prisoner, Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), whom he fought to free, as he becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and The other scene being when Herb was to be put to death. I wrote a letter to my father, I said I'm not gonna come see you, I don't wanna see you like that because I see you as a king.". 'Just Mercy' | Anatomy of a Scene By Mekado Murphy January 10, 2020 Destin Daniel Cretton narrates a sequence from his film, featuring Jamie Foxx and Rob Morgan. The real Stevenson, circa 1992, is heavily featured in the 60 Minutes segment above. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. However, Richardsonclaimed that the girls death was an accident, andthe bomb was not intended to kill anyone only to scare her family. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. 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. Instant PDF downloads. Richardson saidit was an accident, that the bomb was meant only to scare the nurse. But the drama (in theaters now)also tellsthe story of black Vietnam War veteran Herbert Richardson, who was guilty of his crime andexecuted despite the efforts of Stevenson and hisnon-profit Equal Justice Initiative. Just Mercy review - death row drama with quiet power. limited budgets and difficult work conditions. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. After the Alabama Bureau of Investigation reopened the Morrison case, independently investigated, and failed to find any evidence at all that McMillian had anything to do with the murder, Tate was still going around saying things like, It seems to me that we had a pretty airtight case until those two ABI boys pulled into town., Naturally, Tates behavior crippled his career in Alabama law enforcement, andwait, he actually remained the sheriff of Monroe County until 2018, when he decided not to seek re-election because of his age. 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. Herbert Richardson, the Vietnam veteran whose execution Stevenson attends after failing to save him from the death penalty, was a real client, but the movie doesnt dwell on how he got there. Much of this talk was about Johnny D. There was no mention of marijuana, no talk about an affair with Karen Kelly or weekends spent at nightclubs. The Oscar-winning actor . Destin Daniel Cretton shot that scene, but chose. Richardson, a Vietnam War veteran, was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death following the killing of an 11-year-old girl, according to the Huffington Post. Refine any search. ", How accurate is 'Just Mercy'? Just Mercy is a new film about a lawyer who helps death row inmates who can't afford it. Guy Hunt also refused to grant clemency for Richardson, according to the Times. Though he is obviously pained to be back behind bars, he admits that hearing Myers admit he lied was the first time Walter felt like himself in a long time. "It's paralysing, so people do nothing and they just watch and they tolerate what's been going on. Review: Just Mercy Film. McMillian was convicted after a trial that lasted only a day and a half. I want people to walk away [from seeing Just Mercy] feeling like they could be a part of change.". "There was a shamefulness about the experience of Herbert's execution I couldn't shake. But neither version of Just Mercy captures the level of animosity Chapman felt for Stevenson that Circumstantial Evidence describes, nor his description of their first meeting, from the same book: Stevenson didnt know me or anything about me, and yet he comes in here and he has this attitude of Im a Harvard-educated lawyer and Im going to come down here and tell these honkies how to do their job. This mental illness led him to murder a young woman, and as he was opposed to getting the medical help he needed, he was sentenced to death. "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.". Herbert shall be put to death by electrocution. While injustice still exists, what has changed since McMillian's case, says Stevenson, is that more people are aware of it, and working to fight it, whether that be lawyers helping the EJI or filmmakers highlighting real-life stories. Based on the real-life experiences of attorney Bryan Stevenson, "Just Mercy" is a legal drama about the plight of a wrongly convicted inmate on death row in Alabama. The real Bryan Stevenson continues to fight for people on death row to this day. Shockingly, despite Myers refuting his previous testimony, the judge denies that this is grounds for a new trial and Walter is sent back to prison. We were all banging on the bars to protest, to make ourselves feel better, but really it just made me sick, McMillian said about one execution during his time there. The film is about inertia as much as anything: When Stevenson looks into McMillians case, it is immediately apparent he had nothing to do with the crime, but it still takes years to clear his name, simply because the gears of justice have started grinding. Heres Stevensons account of a conversation he had with McMillian in the common room of a nursing home he was staying in, years after hed been completely exonerated: Well, it looks like Im back here, [McMillian] said with a heavy sigh. In a community that is still angry and grieving over the murder in question, Bryan realizes he will no find justice in Alabama and must look elsewhere. Just Mercy also introduces other clients represented by Stevenson, including Herbert Richardson. Recalling some of the particularly difficult scenes he had to relive on the big screen, Bryan told Metro.co.uk at the premiere: I remember being forced to strip search and I remember when they executed my client Herbert [Richardson]. 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. The actor mockingly wipes his brow. Jan 8, 2020, 6:00am PST. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He had the fire-related phobias youd expect, and really was moved to death row when he stopped cooperating with the police. "Its not fair that we send people off to war to fight for this country, yetwhen they come back traumatized and they make mistakes, we act as if their sacrifice is irrelevant. "Pheeew. But behind the optimistic veneer, the film actually has a dangerous - or at least problematic - message. 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. Stevenson's fight for justice for McMillian provides the heart of the narrative to Just Mercy, but the film lays bare the horrifying fact that this tragic story is no one-off. He did really play The Old Rugged Cross over the prison P.A. "Mudbound" and "Stranger Things" star Morgan didn't have much background material on which to base hisRichardson performance, and no audio or video recordings. Though Bryan is defeated by the continued injustice they face, Walter has a different outlook. "That was real, my knees just gaveout," Morgan says. To capture the performances of this scene, we actually shot with two cameras running simultaneously, with Jamie Foxx in one cell and Rob Morgan in the other which was very helpful for a scene like this, because it was quite loose. "Once you see it, you can't unsee it. Just Mercy is a new film about a lawyer who helps death row inmates who can't afford it. That's the thing that hasn't changed. Sheryl Van Horne. Director Destin Daniel Cretton Writers Destin Daniel Cretton Andrew Lanham Bryan Stevenson (based on the book by) Stars Michael B. Jordan Jamie Foxx Brie Larson See production, box office & company info Watch on HBO Max The scared but dignified man says goodbye to his friends and is led down to the waiting room. Earley also sniffs at Stevenson sanding off his clients rougher edges at a prayer breakfast at Montgomerys AME church shortly after McMillian was freed: [Stevenson] spoke passionately, without notes, about how politics, racial bias, and money all corrupt the justice system. World-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner. He told me he was going to stop that. And then Tate said, according to McMillian, I ought to take you off and hang you like we done that nigger in Mobile, but we cant stand that suit.. Just Mercy reminds us of the power of identity and perspective. 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