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ENGWR 300 - Professor Arellano (Fall 2023): Bryan Stevenson

What Will I Find on This Page?

On this page, you'll have access to the website for the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), the human rights organization that Bryan Stevenson founded and writes about in Just Mercy.

You'll likely find resources related to your topic that include background information, data, reports, and personal narratives in a variety of formats that include text and video.

Equal Justice Initiative: Our Work

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a human rights organization located in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Access the EJI site to learn more about its founder, Bryan Stevenson, and access videos, and articles about the work the EJI is committed to, including: 

  • Criminal Justice Reform
    • "The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country. Mass incarceration disproportionately impacts the poor and people of color and does not make us safer."
  • Racial Justice

    • American history begins with the creation of a myth to absolve white settlers of the genocide of Native Americans: the false belief that nonwhite people are less human than white people. This belief in racial hierarchy survived slavery’s abolition, fueled racial terror lynchings, demanded legally codified segregation, and spawned our mass incarceration crisis.

  • Anti Poverty
    • "The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice."
  • Public Education
    • "We are haunted by our history of racial injustice in America because we don't talk about it. Ending mass incarceration and achieving equality, justice, and fairness for all Americans starts with learning and sharing the truth about our past."

 

Equal Justice Initiative: Issues

Explore some of the issues Bryan Stevenson and the the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is challenging. 

Death Penalty
"The question we need to ask about the death penalty in America is not whether someone deserves to die for a crime. The question is whether we deserve to kill."

Children in Adult Prison
"Children threatened by abuse, neglect, violence, racial bias, and poverty are usually ignored—unless they do something violent."

Wrongful Convictions
"Thousands of people have been wrongly convicted across the country in a system defined by official indifference to innocence and error."

Excessive Punishment
"EJI challenges excessive punishment, especially for children and people living with poverty, addiction, or mental illness."

Prison Conditions
"Millions of Americans are incarcerated in overcrowded, violent, and inhumane jails and prisons that do not provide treatment, education, or rehabilitation. EJI is fighting for reforms that protect incarcerated people."