“I am a
member of a racial minority. Often, a person I do not know will take pains to
bring a matter to my attention (a news article, movie or lecture) that features
the subject of my race. I don’t pretend that people are color blind. But I am
put off when a person I have just met tells me that I should read a book on my
group’s experience with the American justice system. How should I respond?”
This question came to the NY Times advice columnist,
Philip Galanes. In his February 25 column, Galanes suggested several thoughtful ways
to respond, including asking them “Why,
exactly, do you suppose that book will interest me?” Then the columnist added “(And if the book is “Just Mercy,”
everyone should read it.)”
Everyone should read this book.I'm grateful to Alice Levine and Rabbi Sheila Weinberg for urging me to read it. When I finally picked it up last month, I
could not put it down.
Lawyer Bryan Stevenson is a marvel. He is obviously a skilled
and talented attorney, who has freed hundreds from unjust prison sentences. He
has argued to change incarceration laws for juveniles successfully before the
U.S. Supreme Court. Twice. His organization, the Equal Justice Initiative continues to work successfully on behalf of those “who have
been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system.”
Stevenson is also an engaging writer as he unfurls the tale
of Walter McMillian, a death row inmate who was arrested, imprisoned, tried,
and committed to death row based on flimsy evidence (at best) and corruption
and racial bias (at worst). In alternating chapters, he also describes how
women, children, mentally handicapped, and poor people fall victim to our broken
criminal justice system. Nearly every chapter broke my heart.
Surprisingly, this book also offers redemption and hope. Just
as he depicts the system as unbearably out of whack, Stevenson’s honesty and personal
commitment provide a stirring model for making real change.
The title of the book encapsulates Stevenson’s inspiring approach
to his life and work. “Justice” and “mercy” are usually opposing goals. On Yom
Kippur, we ask God to set aside justice and become merciful with us. Others in
our culture embrace punitive justice without regard for mercy. (Angry reactions
to the recent sentencing of Philip Chism are
just one example.) “Just mercy” implies that these two truths can (and ought
to) coexist.
The prophet Micah implores us to find a balance between justice
and mercy in our everyday relationships. “Do
justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with…” (Micah 6:8) Micah lived through
a time of upheaval, moral degradation, dislocation, and fear. He witnessed the
Assyrian conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE and the exile of
its leaders. He surely knew the suffering of the people of the Southern Kingdom
of Judah, who endured the Assyrian siege of the fortified city
protecting the capital, Jerusalem. Micah was one
of the first to have foreseen the ultimate fall of Judah, which finally
occurred more than a century after his death. Despite the terrors of war and
destruction, Micah continued to preach a message of hope: “Do justice, love
mercy and walk humbly with…”
In our own day, we are also witness to upheaval, moral
degradation, dislocation and fear. We may be filled with despair. Like a
prophet, Stevenson offers us a path out of our fear and anguish. At the end of
the book, he tells us that he’s learned that “fear and anger are a threat to
justice; they can infect a community, a state, or a nation and make us blind,
irrational, and dangerous.” Then he turns around and instructs us that “mercy
is just when it is rooted in hopefulness and freely given.” That is, through
love we can find the way to overcome injustice and to embrace hope.
One of the many gifts of having sabbatical time is having
time. Period. Time to read. Time to write. Time to think. Time to cook healthy
meals and enjoy being with loved ones. Time to do one thing at a time.
Coming back from these nine weeks “away,” I felt
reinvigorated. It feels good to do the work that I love. I’m delighted every
time I see someone who has been out of my line of sight for two months. I’m
particularly grateful to learn that, while people are happy to have me back,
the temple and its programs ran very smoothly during my absence.
One
teaching I hold onto from this sabbatical time is not to wait until the next
one. My book project has a long way to go. You are a part of that project, as I
continue to think about Micah’s teaching of justice, mercy, and humility. From
time to time I will share these thoughts with you, to continue to learn how
these prophetic words can make a difference in our lives.
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