Bryan Stevenson on Fresh Air yesterday?

[stealthmom]

I only caught a portion but it gave me a pit in my stomach- particularly of his account of a 13 y/o client who was sent to adult prison for shooting and killing his mother's abuser. 

www.npr.org/2014/10/20/356964925/one-lawyers-fight-for-young-blacks-and-just-mercy


An excerpt:

One of the first cases I ever dealt with where the man was executed was a surreal case where ... I drove down to be with this man before his scheduled execution. ... They shave the hair off the person's body before they put them in the electric chair and we're standing there, [having a] very emotional conversation, holding hands, praying, talking.

I remember him staying to me, "Bryan, this has been such a strange day. When I woke up this morning the guards came to me and said, 'What do you want for breakfast?' And at midday, 'What do you want for lunch?' In the evening they said, 'What do you want for dinner?' " All day long he said they kept saying, "What can we do to help you? Can we get you stamps to mail your last letters? Can we get you water? Can we get you a phone to call your friends and family?" I'll never forget that man saying ... "More people have said, 'What can I do to help you?' in the last 14 hours of my life than ever did in the first 19 years of my life."

I remember standing there, holding his hands, thinking, "Where were they when you were 3 years old being abused? Where were they when you were 7 and being sexually assaulted? Where were they when you were a teenager and you were homeless and struggling with drug addiction? Where were they when you came back from war struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder?" And with those kinds of questions resonating in my mind, this man was pulled away and executed.

It's a really surreal and I think deeply destructive act to kill a person who is not a threat to other people. But that's our system and that's one of the reasons why getting people closer to that system is one of my new priorities — and one of the reasons why I wanted to write this book.

[mrsbro]

I heard this! It was brutal. And the man getting dementia and believe he was still on death row? OMG I almost had to pull over to compose myself.

[stealthmom]

Oct 21, 2014 7:27:17 GMT -5 mrsbro said:

I heard this! It was brutal. And the man getting dementia and believe he was still on death row? OMG I almost had to pull over to compose myself.

ugh.I want to read his book but I am genuinely afraid it will make me sick.

We are failing our children and ourselves.

[mrsbro]

I had to switch the channel when he started talking about the 13 year old boys experience in prison. I couldn't listen to it. I'm with you in wanting to read the book but terrified I will loose all faith in mankind.

[mcfelix]

Wow. Thanks for sharing - I read the article and it's truly heartbreaking. I think our penal system is incredibly flawed - there needs to be more of a focus on rehabilitation which there isn't today. And that a totally separate issue from wrongful convictions and racial bias, which are shameful as well.

The part about asking where people were to help him when he was a kid was the most depressing part. Too many kids are born into poverty and don't have the knowledge or resources to overcome that. The day some kids are born they are already not on a level playing field. It's so unfair.

[secretlyevil]

Just the excerpt had me getting upset. I'd never make it through the whole book.

[stealthmom]

Oct 22, 2014 12:49:31 GMT -5 mcfelix said:

Wow. Thanks for sharing - I read the article and it's truly heartbreaking. I think our penal system is incredibly flawed - there needs to be more of a focus on rehabilitation which there isn't today. And that a totally separate issue from wrongful convictions and racial bias, which are shameful as well.

The part about asking where people were to help him when he was a kid was the most depressing part. Too many kids are born into poverty and don't have the knowledge or resources to overcome that. The day some kids are born they are already not on a level playing field. It's so unfair.

yes. And I really like his point about treating addiction as the medical problem that it is instead of treating addicts like criminals.