Serving the punishment of a crime one knows nothing about, is comparable to the feeling of being crucified alive. Of course, this is only possible in corrupt systems where racism and favouritism thrives. This was the state of Alabama in the 1980s, several poor and helpless people convicted for various crimes which they are not the real perpetrators. These were the fate of many African American inmates on death row in the movie 'JUST MERCY'
In the movie, Bryan Stevenson (Micheal B. Jordan) — a fresh law graduate, just moved to Alabama with the intention of defending poor people who couldn't afford proper legal representation. He formed the Equal Justice Initiatives with Eva Ansley as his partner, at the state capital, with the focus on social injustices in criminal law and practice.
Though it came with a lot of drawbacks/challenges, Stevenson's journey was a success, especially his success in making sure Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx) — who was on death row for the murder of an 18 year old Ronda Morrison ( a white girl), was released. The success of this particular appeal — though came with some personal prizes, motivated Stevenson into taking up a lot more cases, with a significant success rate.
I consider this movie 'Just Mercy' as my best courtroom movie, not just because of the characters (I love the characters) that it featured but its main purpose. Which is defending the innocent and making sure the real perpetrators of a crime are caught and punished.
The movie was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, produced by Gil Netter, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and was released in 2019, with a running time of 137 minutes. I swear, the movie is worth the time. Each scene and action have a way of keeping the audience attentive.