bryan stevenson

“ I'm persuaded that if most people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would want change. ”

“ The first time I visited Death Row, I wasn't expecting to meet someone the same age as me... from a neighborhood just like ours coulda been me. ”

“ The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. ”

“ I love museums, and I think they're fantastic, but they don't touch the people who I frequently think need to be touched with at least some reminder of legacy. ”

“ I came out of law school with grand ideas in my mind about how to change the world. But Mr. McMillian made me realize we can't change the world with only ideas in our minds. We need conviction in our hearts. This man taught me how to stay hopeful, because I now know that hopelessness is the enemy of justice. Hope allows us to push for word, even when the truth is distorted by the people in power. It allows us to stand when they tell us to sit down, and to speak when they say be quiet. ”

“ I do think there is a way of saying that if I believe in justice and I believe that justice is a constant struggle, and if I want to create justice, then I have to get comfortable with struggle. ”

“ I don't think there's been a time in American history with more innocent people in prison. ”

“ You dont change the world with the ideas in your mind, but with the conviction in your heart. ”

“ Capital punishment means them without the capital get the punishment. ”

“ We have a system of justice in [the US] that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes. ”