Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Stevenson's central memoir and the best introduction to his legal career, ideas, and social justice work.
Author guide
Bryan Stevenson Books in Order
Bryan Stevenson is an American lawyer, author, and law professor who founded and leads the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization challenging racial and economic injustice in the criminal justice system. His work has focused on capital defense, wrongful convictions, excessive sentencing, mass incarceration, and the historical legacy of racial terror. He is the author of Just Mercy and co-author of A Perilous Path.
nonfictionmemoirlegal writingsocial justice
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (1)
- Just Mercy: Adapted for Young Adults: A True Story of the Fight for Justice
young_adult_nonfiction · 2018
Nonfiction (1)
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
memoir · 2014
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…
Collaborations (1)
- A Perilous Path: Talking Race, Inequality, and the Law
coauthored_nonfiction · 2018
Other (2)
- Alabama Capital Defense Trial Manual
legal_manual · 1997
- Alabama Capital Postconviction Manual
legal_manual · 1998
Frequently asked questions about Bryan Stevenson
Who is Bryan Stevenson?
Bryan Stevenson is an American lawyer, author, and law professor who founded and leads the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a Montgomery, Alabama, nonprofit focused on racial and economic injustice in the criminal-justice system.
Sources: eji.org (opens in a new tab)neh.gov (opens in a new tab)
Where did Bryan Stevenson study, and what is his academic role?
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern College and both a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a master’s in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School. He joined NYU School of Law’s clinical faculty in 1998 and is the Aronson Family Professor of Criminal Justice and a University Professor.
What inspired Bryan Stevenson to work in criminal justice?
Growing up in segregated southern Delaware, he saw how courts could challenge racial inequality; later, a law-school internship in Atlanta with death-penalty defendants helped him find his calling. He has also described legal-aid work with low-income residents and meetings with people on death row as formative.
Sources: neh.gov (opens in a new tab)hls.harvard.edu (opens in a new tab)
Which major awards has Bryan Stevenson received?
His honors include the 1995 MacArthur Fellowship and the National Humanities Medal, along with the Olof Palme Prize for international human rights and the American Bar Association Medal.
Sources: macfound.org (opens in a new tab)neh.gov (opens in a new tab)eji.org (opens in a new tab)
What is Bryan Stevenson’s legacy?
He has broadened criminal-justice advocacy through EJI’s litigation and through the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery. These institutions connect slavery, lynching, and segregation to mass incarceration and present-day racial bias, making public history part of his justice work.
Sources: eji.org (opens in a new tab)neh.gov (opens in a new tab)