Then he really joined the defenses motion to have all charges dropped. Stevenson receives a desperate call from another man on death row, Herbert Richardson. 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. The next day there were articles in the press about the execution. Herbert is a veteran who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Vietnam, which exacerbated issues stemming from childhood abuse. The capacity for the Supreme Court to change its position on the death penalty conflicts with the irreversibility of the death penalty itself; the Court found that executing the mentally disabled was unconstitutional, but this decision cant retroactively impact the fate of Dunkins. What it is is this presumption of dangerousness and guilt. And this was the scene where we actually bring the camera as close as possible to both Walter McMillian and Herbert Richardson. Just Mercy is a new film about a lawyer who helps death row inmates who can't afford it. He returned to death row, having already served his time on bail there after his arrest a year earlier; guilty until proven innocent. "I had to apologise. They done put me back on death row., Walter, this isnt the row. 20 of the best book quotes from Just Mercy. He was starting to panic, and I wasnt sure what to do. For every nine people executed in the US, one person on death row has been exonerated, Stevenson says. Herbert Richardson was convicted of killing an 11-year-old girl with a pipe bomb and put on death row, and his story features in the new film "Just Mercy.". He did really play The Old Rugged Cross over the prison P.A. Just Mercy takes us inside America's broken criminal justice system and compels us to confront inequality and injustice.. Based on the bestselling book, the Just Mercy movie presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and the case of Walter McMillian (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx), who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he . Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Rob Morgan powerfully portraysthePTSD-suffering Richardson, who is ultimately ledto the electric chair in Alabama's Holman Prison, strapped in and electrocuted just as Richardson was onAug. 18, 1989. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. During his years in prison, he seeks redemption. Photo illustration by Slate. Herbert Richardson: Herbert Richardson's story is told in chapter four of Just Mercy.It begins with Richardson reaching out to Bryan Stevenson and begging for his help to stop his execution scheduled in just 30 days. But it didn't matter. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. 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. -Graham S. The timeline below shows where the character Herbert Richardson appears in. "Sometimes, less is more. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his. Michael plays Bryan Stevenson, the real-life lawyer who worked tirelessly to prove Walter was wrongfully convicted. "Just Mercy" opens in limited release on Christmas Day, and hits theaters everywhere on Jan. 10. Stevensons arguments suggest that those in powerful positions are able to perpetuate the death penalty because they never see it up close. The real Bryan Stevenson continues to fight for people on death row to this day. limited budgets and difficult work conditions. In 1988, they secured federal funding to set up the nonprofit that eventually became the Equal Justice Initiative. (In the screenplay, the location is identified as an officie building in Montgomery, so the landlord is not a stand-in for University of Alabama officials: The school is in Tuscaloosa.) The way the content is organized. "I had my suit and tie on and went into this courtroom, the first time I've ever been in this courtroom. 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. Twenty-nine states - more than half - still have the death penalty. 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. "I think there's still a lot of work to do. The method works and it becomes clear that this is Walter's own method for escaping the prison walls. But judging from Stevensons memoir, Larsons performance is true to life. 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. The real case behind Michael B. Jordan's Bryan Stevenson movie, Review:Powerful performances by Michael B. Jordan, JamieFoxx elevate predictable'Just Mercy'. He stumbles over his words, stalls and finally admits that he agrees with the motion to dismiss all charges. The corruption displayed in the film regarding Walter's conviction is staggering and infuriating. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Though little information is given about Herberts new wife, it is noteworthy that she develops a relationship with a man she knows is destined to die. Everyone I saw at the prison seemed surrounded by a cloud of regret and remorse. 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.". A powerful and thoughtprovoking true story, "Just Mercy" follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. The film opens with the introduction of Bryan Stevenson (Jordan), a young law student sent to deliver news to a death row inmate. In the summer 1989, despite a series of setbacks with obtaining space and securing funding. You wont be able to achieve the kind of justice that has to be achieved.. Herbert shall be put to death by electrocution. It nevertheless got McMillian sentenced to death. Foxx, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray in 2005, says for him, Just Mercy was personal; he tells the story of how his own father was jailed. 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. Before his death, he refused to have a last meal, and requested to be blindfolded as he was led to thechamber, according to the outlet. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 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. It was sad like few other hymns Id heard. Stevenson says he was initially reluctant to see his story translated to the big screen, worried it might receive the Hollywood treatment to make it more entertaining. It dramatizes the courageous efforts by Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), an. Stevensons interaction with the victims family suggests that the local system is too focused on punishment to consider the actual needs and wishes of a victims family, which shows an underlying hypocrisy. Hislawyernever brought up his military service or resultingtrauma in court, where Richardson was tried beforean all-white jury, convictedand sentenced to death. Just Mercy emphasizes social justice, enumerating the variety of flaws of a criminal justice system blinded by racism and handicapped by poverty. (including. "My father, who was an educator for 25 years, they put him in jail for $25 worth of illegal substance," he says. Stevenson spends most of the chapter discussing the case of Herbert Richardson, who is on death row for the killing a young girl. The book "Just Mercy" is essentially a memoir from Bryan Stevenson about his life, post Harvard, aiding death row inmates in the South. Guy Hunt also refused to grant clemency for Richardson, according to the Times. Struggling with distance learning? Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. But I found "Just Mercy," from director Destin Daniel Cretton ("Short Term 12"), profoundly moving and, at times, almost unbearably sad, as when Walter's fellow death row inmate, Herbert . 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 pleas from death row inmates on behalf of their fellow prisoners demonstrate their capacity for selflessness and empathy despite their own dire circumstances. I don't like visiting jail. He has a dialogue in this scene in which he states that this day is marks the first time that people have asked him what he needs. 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 incident actually happened during the reading of the initial guilty verdict, before Stevenson was involved, and Earley and Stevenson dont agree about all the factsStevenson has the courtroom tackle, Earley has Sheriff Tate issuing an arrest warrant for Johnny afterwards and making his mom drive him back to court be bookedbut in both versions, Tate claimed Johnny said something along the lines of Somebodys going to pay for what theyve done to my father., Tate also seems to have been the government official who was most reluctant to accept that McMillian was innocent, even after he was finally released from prison. When he was sentenced to death, Herbert's lawyer ignored his request for appeal. 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. 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. 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. Just Mercys McMillian corresponds pretty closely to the man depicted in both the 60 Minutes segment and Stevensons memoir, but its perhaps worth noting that Earleys bookis a little harsher on him, alleging thatalthough rumors during the trial that McMillian was a player in the Dixie mafia were nonsensehe really was a small-time marijuana dealer, whod been investigated by both the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and local police, for whatever thats worth. Which means to make the crime eligible for the death penalty. This is relevant in Herbert's case because he had no intent to kill the child. The Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson) lesson plan is downloadable in PDF and Word. Just Mercy begins with information about Bryan Stevenson growing up poor in a racially segregated community in Delaware. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. I've represented 14-year-olds sentenced to death by execution.". As you can see in the 60 Minutes clip, Tim Blake Nelsons performance eerily recreates Myers tics and delivery, while Just Mercys makeup team recreate the injuries Myers suffered in a childhood fire. Anya Taylor-Joy and Billie Piper stun at Baftas afterparty in sea of glitter, That gave me the confidence to do this the right way. 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. I don't want any defendants in my courtroom without their lawyer.'. Im the director of Just Mercy. This is a scene between Walter McMillian. Rena Mae Callins, was the niece of a woman whod been in a relationship with Richardson, 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. He gathers his belongings and walks out of the cell a free man. ", How accurate is 'Just Mercy'? Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. Pic: Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, Jordan says he wants people to see Just Mercy 'and feel like they could be a part of change'. One day, a death row inmate and Vietnam veteran, Stevenson files several stay motions at the state level on behalf of, Stevenson realizes he isnt prepared to see, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. And that was something that we were playing with with the camera, was leading up to this very scene. At a screening of the film set up in London by the UK's Urban Lawyers charity, which works to improve diversity in the legal profession, he is speaking alongside Foxx and Jordan. Despite the intensity of his earlier efforts to fight the courts, it appears that he has now decided to make the best of his last moments. The following contains plot details from Michael B. Jordan's new movie "Just Mercy." supports HTML5 Then he stared crying. "So I represent nine and 10-year-old kids who are looking at 50 and 60-year prison sentences in adult prisons. For an introduction to what hes like today, here is his 2012 TED Talk. I think you need it in the UK, too.". The Just Mercy true story reveals that the real Bryan Stevenson took the case in 1988, the year of McMillian's murder conviction. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Dunkins is executed. The scared but dignified man says goodbye to his friends and is led down to the waiting room. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. "But at the same time, [the women] were really frightened. 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. In the film, which is based on true persons and events, convicted prisoner Herbert Richardson is set to be executed by the State of Alabama in the electric chair. 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. Just Mercy review - death row drama with quiet power. 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. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. A group of women, white, evidently scared, minimise themselves as far into one corner as they can go, until, "Oh!" Just Mercy is a seemingly inspirational tale about defense attorney Bryan Stevenson ( Michael B. Jordan ), who represents death row inmate Walter McMillan ( Jamie Foxx ). Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. RELATED: Brie Larson's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes. I'm motivated to help try to tell more stories like this.". It is this narrative of racial inferiority, this ideology of white supremacy. Played by Jamie Foxx, and Herbert Richardson, played by Rob Morgan. But for him to do this movie, I tell him my kids will continue to be a supporter of his.. In a final statement before his execution, Richardsonsaid, I have no ill feeling and hold nothing against anyone, The Times reported. 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