Tens of millions of filmgoers have recently seen actor Michael B. Jordan steal the show in Black Panther as Killmonger, an antihero who believes justice can be obtained via widespread adoption of weapon technology. But moviegoers will soon see Jordan portraying a real life hero who for decades has used the courtrooms as his weapon of choice in pursuing justice. Jordan, who also played Adonis Creed in the Rocky spinoff Creed, will star as criminal appeals attorney Bryan Stevenson in the Warner Bros. film adaptation of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, the 2014 memoir by Stevenson of his years representing defendants in death row appeals cases across the South.
The Real Life Heroics of Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy tells the story of Stevenson’s path from growing up poor in Southern Delaware, and seeing his grandfather murdered while he was a teenager, to being accepted to Harvard Law School and going to a career of legal accolades. But, much like fellow HLS alumnus Barack Obama, Stevenson passed up post-school opportunities to make a large salary in the corporate law world to instead pursue social justice. At a young age, Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama to help wrongly convicted clients on death row seek justice.
In his decades running the Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson has won numerous appeals for his clients, exonerating many wrongfully convicted inmates while preventing others from facing the ultimate end of Alabama’s notorious electric chair. Stevenson achieved notoriety for exploring creative and ingenious methods for defending his clients, all while running his organization on a shoestring budget. Just Mercy in particular focuses on Stevenson’s long and successful fight on behalf of Walter McMillian, an innocent black man wrongly sent to death row for a murder he did not commit.
If you can’t wait for the film version of Just Mercy, be sure to check out its breathtaking stories of justice and dedication here.
Help In Your Criminal Appeal
The Law Office of Corey Evan Parker is focused on the civil and criminal appeals process in Washington and California. If you are considering filing a criminal or civil appeal, feel free to contact Mr. Parker today for a no obligation 30-minute consultation.