Just Mercy

In this chapter, Stevenson utilizes the cases of several prisoners convicted as teenagers to show how life imprisonment for children is “cruel and unusual punishment.” He begins with the case of Joe Sullivan, who at thirteen was coerced by two older boys into robbing an empty house. Later, one member of the group sexually assaulted an elderly white woman in her home, though the victim could tell which boy it was—all three were black. The two older boys pinned the assault on Joe, and he was convicted after a one-day trial. Prison is hard on Joe, who is mentally disabled and becomes physically disabled due to the trauma of being raped by other prisoners. Stevenson takes the case and goes to visit Joe. He notes that Joe is extremely childlike.

Stevenson takes Joe’s case as part of a larger effort to vacate the life sentences of people convicted as children, since the Supreme Court has ruled against the execution of such convicts. And isn’t, Stevenson argues, death in prison analogous to a state execution? Two other cases include those of Ashley Jones, who killed abusive family members, and Evan Miller, an abused, suicidal child whose attempted robbery escalated to murder. Stevenson is impressed by the transformation these prisoners have undergone—they are thoughtful, reflective, and remorseful.