Monday, Oct 5, 2015
The book was chosen as Rider's Shared Read selection for this academic year
by Kristine A. Brown
Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of the New York Times best-selling book “Just Mercy” will speak at Rider University on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6:45 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center. The event, a part of Rider’s annual Unity Days celebration, is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and pre-registration is required.
Just Mercy is Stevenson’s memoir focused on injustices in the court system as they relate to children and people of color. The book, chosen as Rider's Shared Read selection for this academic year, focuses on one lawyer's quest to free inmates on death row who have been falsely convicted, many of whom are African Americans and whose court cases were mishandled. It also tells the stories of young children who were prosecuted as adults and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As a person of color, Stevenson, who grew up in Delaware and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School, offers some of his personal interactions with law enforcement. The main focus, however, is on the individuals who have spent years on death row for crimes they didn't commit and how Stevenson and his team fight to set them free.
Stevenson’s lecture is the keynote presentation of Rider University’s Unity Days celebration, traditionally held in October each year to bring students, faculty, staff and the community together to celebrate all the diverse elements that make up the overall Rider community.
In the 1980s, Stevenson co-founded the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama. Since then, he has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court five times and played a role in landmark court cases that have transformed how the criminal justice system deals with violent youths.
Last year President Barack Obama appointed Stevenson to a task force established to recommend police practices that can improve relations between officers and the people they serve, particularly in minority communities.
The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and pre-registration is required for the public at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Bryan-Stevenson-Rider. (Students, faculty and staff do not need to register.)