While the Monroeville community loves the Mockingbird story and took great pride in its association with the fictional characters of the book, there was tremendous resistance to recognizing Mr.

McMillian was accused of a crime that took place in Monroeville, Alabama, the community where Harper Lee grew up and wrote the beloved novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there were interesting dynamics at play in the case. Sadly, while the McMillian case had some unique features, there are actually lots of people who are innocent who have been sentenced to death in the United States.īecause Mr. The movie accurately introduces other people represented by Bryan Stevenson, including Herbert Richardson, a Vietnam War veteran who was executed in 1989, and Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent nearly 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. McMillian’s claim of innocence attracted national attention as 60 Minutes broadcast a story about the case. While the movie condenses the six years of litigation, it mostly tracks the actual account presented in the book. Bryan filed a motion to dismiss all charges the trial court granted it after the district attorney acknowledged Mr. Bryan appealed the ruling and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new trial because the State withheld evidence of Mr.

McMillian a new trial despite overwhelming evidence of innocence, including the recantation of the State’s main witness, Ralph Myers. Over the next six years, Bryan filed multiple legal challenges and conducted several hearings, but the trial court refused to grant Mr. The movie is based on an actual case that is detailed in Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, published in 2014.īryan took on Walter McMillian’s case in 1988 to challenge his wrongful conviction and death sentence.

Just mercy young adults