Just Mercy

Just Mercy is a 2019 American biographical legal drama film co-written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, and Brie Larson. It explores the work of young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson who represents poor people on death row in the South. Featured is his work with Walter McMillian, who had been wrongfully convicted of the murder of a young woman. The film is based on Stevenson's 2014 eponymous memoir, in which he explored his journey to making his life's work the defense of African American prisoners. Just Mercy, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2019, was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 25, 2019. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $50.4 million. Foxx was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Both he and Michael B. Jordan won NAACP Image Awards for their respective roles. Plot In 1989, Harvard law graduate Bryan Stevenson travels to Alabama, intending to help defend poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation. Teaming with Eva Ansley, he forms the Equal Justice Initiative in the state capital, Montgomery. He embarks on trying to combat social injustices in criminal law and practice, which has resulted in a high rate of African Americans convicted and incarcerated in the state and nationwide. Stevenson goes to a state prison to meet inmates who are on death row and who are seeking appeals of their convictions or sentences. Among these is Walter "Johnny D." McMillian, an African-American man who was convicted of the 1986 murder of Ronda Morrison, an 18-year-old white girl. McMillian has maintained his innocence.