-Graham S. By describing Herberts history of loss, abuse and violence, Stevenson attempts to show Herberts humanity and explain the events that affected his mental health. LitCharts Teacher Editions. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. He is aided by a white woman whose sense of fairness is outraged by inequities in the cases of men on Alabama's death row. NEXT: Netflix's Two Popes: 10 Best Moments From The Biographical Drama. After the Alabama Bureau of Investigation reopened the Morrison case, independently investigated, and failed to find any evidence at all that McMillian had anything to do with the murder, Tate was still going around saying things like, It seems to me that we had a pretty airtight case until those two ABI boys pulled into town., Naturally, Tates behavior crippled his career in Alabama law enforcement, andwait, he actually remained the sheriff of Monroe County until 2018, when he decided not to seek re-election because of his age. Unfortunately, the womans 10-year-old niece picked up the bomb and was killed instantly in the ensuing blast. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. In a final statement before his execution, Richardsonsaid, I have no ill feeling and hold nothing against anyone, The Times reported. "Afterwards I was thinking, what is it when this judge saw a middle-aged black man in a suit and tie sitting at the defence counsel table [that] it didn't even occur to him, that's the lawyer. Walter's story is just one of many similar examples of injustice in America. Where were they when you were 7 and you were experimenting with drugs? Despite the intensity of his earlier efforts to fight the courts, it appears that he has now decided to make the best of his last moments. Stevenson humanizes the officer and reveals her inner conflict by describing her emotional reaction and her reluctance about making the family leave. Im the director of Just Mercy. This is a scene between Walter McMillian. Mr McMillian was with his family miles away when Ronda Morrison was killed. Michael B Jordan wanted to make idol Jamie Foxx proud with heartbreaking performance in Just Mercy, Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx scrub up well at Just Mercy premiere, Do not sell or share my personal information. While Bryan takes on many cases in Alabama, the main focus is that of convicted murderer Walter (Jamie Foxx), whose entire case is based on very flimsy witness testimonies and no physical evidence. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Shockingly, despite Myers refuting his previous testimony, the judge denies that this is grounds for a new trial and Walter is sent back to prison. The incident actually happened during the reading of the initial guilty verdict, before Stevenson was involved, and Earley and Stevenson dont agree about all the factsStevenson has the courtroom tackle, Earley has Sheriff Tate issuing an arrest warrant for Johnny afterwards and making his mom drive him back to court be bookedbut in both versions, Tate claimed Johnny said something along the lines of Somebodys going to pay for what theyve done to my father., Tate also seems to have been the government official who was most reluctant to accept that McMillian was innocent, even after he was finally released from prison. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. In any event, if the film version of Just Mercy underplays the slightly disreputable things McMillian may have done before being railroaded, it also underplays the horror of what was done to him. Just Mercy takes us inside America's broken criminal justice system and compels us to confront inequality and injustice.. Based on the bestselling book, the Just Mercy movie presents the unforgettable story of Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and the case of Walter McMillian (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx), who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he . Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) Warner Bros. Herberts new love symbolizes the new beginning he isnt permitted to have, and it explains the fervor of his last-minute efforts to dispute his sentence. Mr McMillian was with his family miles away when Ronda Morrison was killed. That is really going to be a big contrast to the moment when we go outside through Walter McMillians escape vision in his mind that takes him back to the moment in the beginning of the movie when he is out in the forest and looking up at the trees. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 167 people who might have been killed have been exonerated since 1973. That's the thing that hasn't changed. "That's another issue we're dealing with that's not in this film, but we've got 13 states in America with no minimum age for trying a child as an adult. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Stevenson told the Huffington Post in 2015 that his last interactions with Richardson have stayed withhim. The war veteran, who reportedly had unexplained crying spells among other issues during his service, was put to death on Aug. 19, 1989, according to an archived report from United Press International. Michael B Jordan, who in turn admitted he wanted to make his idol proud. His conviction was wrongfully obtained, based on police coercion and perjury.In the 1988 trial, under a controversial Alabama doctrine called "judicial override", the judge imposed the death penalty, although the . Refine any search. Raw and powerful, the film tells their stories: Stevenson a young black lawyer fresh out of Harvard, setting out to help death-row inmates and challenge the racial prejudice he too experiences; McMillian a condemned man who has lost hope in the system he knows is weighted against him. A few years later, lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) moves to Alabama to start offering legal services to death row clients. Jamie Foxx has revealed the exact moment that left him fuming and pushed him to deliver one of the most emotional performances of his career in new drama Just Mercy. Unfortunately, Walter has had many lawyers promise him many things and fail him, so he's uninterested in going down that path again. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his. The civil rights activist also praised Michael for giving justice to the task of portraying his lifes work. But judging from Stevensons memoir, Larsons performance is true to life. Another devastating scene takes place in the prison, when inmate Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) is sent to the electric chair. He stumbles over his words, stalls and finally admits that he agrees with the motion to dismiss all charges. Then he stared crying. Made by movie fans, for movie fans. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. "But before I could say anything, Myers blurted out, 'I lied. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! This mental illness led him to murder a young woman, and as he was opposed to getting the medical help he needed, he was sentenced to death. And just because we dont see things eye to eye doesnt mean that Im not a moral person. Stevenson set up the EJI, a non-profit organisation based in Montgomery, Alabama, to provide legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state jails and prisons, and works to challenge the death penalty. Stevenson says he was initially reluctant to see his story translated to the big screen, worried it might receive the Hollywood treatment to make it more entertaining. McMillian's case is just one example of the systemic racial bias that ran rife through America's justice system. Herbert was one of many veterans with PTSD who was unable to readjust to society after his military service, and so wound up on death row. Refine any search. He was charged with capital murder and sentenced to death after he unintentionally killed the niece of his ex-girlfriend in a delusional effort to win his ex-girlfriend back. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. In the film, which is based on true persons and events, convicted prisoner Herbert Richardson is set to be executed by the State of Alabama in the electric chair. He really gave that heartless 60 Minutes interview. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. I grew up in a small. Over the course of the movie, the guard has a quiet change of heart while observing Stevenson at work and life on death row, which is dramatized by improved treatment of Stevenson and McMillian both. video. The years of being told he was a murderer weighed on him and at that moment he was reminded he is not at fault. JAKE GILES NETTER/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Are We Finally Ready to See One of the 90s Most Acclaimed Bands for What It Really Was? Even being completely exonerated didnt end the torment the state of Alabama caused him. He was charged with capital murder in 1977 after placing a pipe bomb on the porchof a veterans hospital nurse who had broken off a relationship with him. Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. "I could tap into this story, not necessarily easily, but it's close to home," Foxx says. The method works and it becomes clear that this is Walter's own method for escaping the prison walls. Can we get you stamps to mail your last letter? I've lost a lot of sleep and have been in a lot of pain over this. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. The pleas from death row inmates on behalf of their fellow prisoners demonstrate their capacity for selflessness and empathy despite their own dire circumstances. And that was something that we were playing with with the camera, was leading up to this very scene. In 1988, they secured federal funding to set up the nonprofit that eventually became the Equal Justice Initiative. He gathers his belongings and walks out of the cell a free man. Besides McMillian, the segment features the real Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), the real Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson), the real Tommy Chapman (Rafe Spall), and a pantheon of the films minor characters. Earley goes into more detail about the political pressures Tate and Chapman were under, but the circumstances under which McMillian ended up in prison were even dodgier than they appear in the movie. "I don't want to oversell it, but we're trying to knock down that perception of what you see when you see a black man.". Stevenson believes that what he sees as the immoral cruelty of capital punishment is just as evident in those scenes. Then he really joined the defenses motion to have all charges dropped. She retired in 2008. "Herbert Richardson was guilty. As well as racial injustice, Just Mercy highlights the monstrosity of capital punishment, innocent or not; a scene involving one of McMillian's fellow death row inmates, Herb Richardson, is one of the film's many heart-breaking moments. Later he dies when, full of despair, he makes a desperate attempt to escape from prison. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Just Mercy begins with information about Bryan Stevenson growing up poor in a racially segregated community in Delaware. He filed a stay of execution on his clients behalf, but it was rejected. Tom Chapman, the prosecutor who did the most to fight McMillians release, seems to have behaved even more badly in real life than he does in Just Mercy. Complete your free account to request a guide. The familys forgiveness contrasts with the courts lack of mercy. Herbert argued that this was reckless murder, not capital murder. HBO's Saturday night movie this week is Just Mercy, a based-on-a-true-story drama about a young, idealistic lawyer's fight to get an innocent Alabama man off death row in the late 1980s and . "When you see Jamie playing my client, you see the humanity and the dignity of people I've been representing in jails and prisons for decades," he says. "When you have to keep navigating all of that stuff, [when] you have to keep worrying about calming down other people because they are afraid of your blackness, it gets exhausting. RELATED: 10 Prison Dramas To Watch If You Like The Shawshank Redemption. "When you see Michael perform, they're real words.". Just keep your mind on that. Even the characters that were white were still engaged., He added: What I love about this movie is the fact that even the corrections officer gives you the opportunity to see his contrition that he knew things were wrong.. Just Mercy is a seemingly inspirational tale about defense attorney Bryan Stevenson ( Michael B. Jordan ), who represents death row inmate Walter McMillan ( Jamie Foxx ). Even though Stevenson has been working on death penalty cases for a few years, personally witnessing an execution brings him even closer to it. We have so many people who are literally dying for legal assistance on our death row, we have hundreds of people who can't find lawyers. Following Bryan's powerful speech, the District Attorney awkwardly tries to follow. Herbert Richardson was a Black Vietnam War veteran who fought for our country on the front lines until he was honorably discharged due to psychiatric illness that he developed from his service. Though Myers is hesitant with the sheriff sitting in the room watching him, Bryan steps in between them and asks him point-blank if he lied. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. After his girlfriend broke up with him, Herbert, obsessed with getting her back, came up with a misguided plan. Rena Mae Callins, was the niece of a woman whod been in a relationship with Richardson, The war veteran, who reportedly had unexplained crying spells among other issues during his service, was put to death on Aug. 19, 1989, according to an archived report from. new video loaded: Just Mercy | Anatomy of a Scene, Hi, my name is Destin Cretton. The epilogue explains that Anthony Ray Hinton (played by O'Shea Jackson Jr. in the film) was another case Bryan took on and another conviction he had overturned. Crucially, Tate arrested McMillian in his truck, which gave him a pretext to drive the truck to the police stationTate drove it personallywhich made it possible to have a prisoner who said he knew something about the case see the truck and positively identify it as the one he claimed hed seen outside the cleaners around the time of the shooting, which gave Tate the minimum number of witnesses hed need to charge McMillian with Morrisons murder. 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