Every generation has its hero. Meet ours.|Dec. 25, 2019|United States|137 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Crime;Drama;History
Description: In 1989, Bryan Stevenson, a passionate young Harvard Law graduate, moves to Alabama with a mission to assist underprivileged individuals who lack access to proper legal representation. Partnering with Eva Ansley, he establishes the Equal Justice Initiative and begins visiting death row inmates at a local prison. Among them, he meets Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian, an African-American man wrongfully convicted of the 1986 murder of Ronda Morrison, a white woman. After reviewing the case, Stevenson discovers the evidence relies solely on the inconsistent testimony of Ralph Myers, a convicted felon who traded false statements for a reduced sentence in his own trial.
Stevenson’s first step is to seek help from prosecutor Tommy Chapman, who dismisses him without reviewing the evidence. Undeterred, Stevenson enlists Darnell Houston, a family friend of McMillian, to testify that the prosecution’s key witness was untruthful. However, Houston is arrested for perjury. Although Stevenson manages to have the charges dropped, Houston is too intimidated to testify further. Soon after, Stevenson himself faces harassment when two sheriff deputies pull him over at gunpoint, illegally search his car, and release him without explanation.
Meanwhile, Stevenson’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Herbert Lee Richardson, another death row inmate, is rejected. Richardson, convicted of killing his girlfriend with a bomb, is sentenced to death by electric chair. Stevenson offers comfort during Richardson’s final moments and witnesses the execution firsthand.
The film “Just Mercy” (2019) highlights Stevenson’s relentless pursuit of justice and the systemic challenges faced by those fighting against wrongful convictions.
Cast director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast actor: Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, Jamie Foxx, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Rafe Spall, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rhoda Griffis, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Karan Kendrick
Original name: Just Mercy