OER life writing: Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy

The lesson focuses on Stevenson’s multi-award-winning autobiography Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, which was first published in 2014 and was also made into a film in 2019. In his memoir, Stevenson recounts his career as a criminal defense attorney fighting for the legal representation of his disadvantaged clients. The memoir provides first-hand insights into the injustices of the US justice system (with a particular focus on the issues of mass incarceration and the death penalty), systemic racism and other forms of discrimination. The book’s chapters document Stevenson’s work on cases with clients who were either wrongfully or unjustly convicted: Most of them are People of Color, some of them were still children when they committed the crime for which they received a life sentence, others come from unstable family backgrounds or are mentally disabled and therefore should not have been held accountable for their crime in the same way as non-disabled people. Stevenson strives to provide a comprehensive and detailed account of the lives of his clients, quite a few of whom were victims of domestic violence, rape or social/racial violence and discrimination.

The material designed by the students illustrates how the genre of life writing can be integrated into today’s EFL lessons as an important example of non-fiction texts (see “Info sheet: Overview of 9 lessons”). The material contains tasks for intensive and extensive reading, includes graphic organizers that structure the reading process, and uses digital tools such as the concept board.

As the book deals with sensitive issues such as racism, discrimination and abuse, teachers might consider issuing a warning about certain passages before reading a chapter or several chapters of the book in class.