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Just Mercy tells the story of many different prisoners on death row in conservative states who are either innocent or too harshly convicted for crimes. The author of the book also takes on the role of narrator and is the lawyer to all of these prisoners throughout the story. All of the examples in the book are true and really helped me see how broken and corrupt the United States judicial system was and still is today. I enjoyed this book because it really taught me a lot about the death row system in the US and how corrupt it is. I was extremely moved by the stories the author shares in this book and would find myself crying while reading about the hardship and awful treatment so many of these people faced. The only problem that I had with Just Mercy was the extreme density of the content in the book and how the storyline could get very confusing very fast if you were not on top of your reading game. Throughout the book, the author jumps between dozens of court cases and personal stories which are all very memorable but for a reader, can get tricky to decode. Other than the scattered storyline this book is great and really provided me with a new outlook on life and the complex issue of the death penalty.

I would rate this book a 4.75/5 and would recommend this read to anyone who is interested in crime and/or wants more insight on the death penalty and other controversial punishment issues. Another book that deals with similar issues to Just Mercy is When Affirmative Actions Were White by: Ira Katznelson. This book dives into racism during the new deal era in the US.