Bryan Stevenson, J.D. Closed Now

Bryan Stevenson (born 1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), an organization dedicated to ending mass incarceration, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most marginalized in the United States. Through his groundbreaking legal advocacy and public education efforts, Stevenson has become a leading figure in connecting racial justice with broader concepts of transitional justice.

Raised in a poor, segregated community in Delaware, Stevenson attended Eastern University and later graduated from Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Early in his career, he recognized the deep racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system and dedicated himself to representing prisoners on death row, particularly in the South.

In 1989, he founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Under his leadership, EJI has won dozens of landmark legal cases, including overturning wrongful convictions, reducing excessive sentences, and protecting children prosecuted as adults. Stevenson’s litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court has reshaped national standards, including the prohibition of life-without-parole sentences for juveniles.

Beyond the courtroom, Stevenson has been a pioneer in promoting public memory as a tool of transitional justice. He spearheaded the creation of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum, both in Montgomery. These institutions confront America’s history of slavery, racial terror lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration, linking past injustices with contemporary inequities. This approach mirrors truth-telling and memorialization practices in global transitional justice contexts.

His best-selling memoir, Just Mercy (2014), chronicles his work defending marginalized clients and his vision for a justice system grounded in mercy and equality. The book was later adapted into a major motion picture, further amplifying his message.

Stevenson has received numerous honors, including the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and over 40 honorary degrees. His career demonstrates how transitional justice principles—truth, accountability, and reconciliation—can be applied within established democracies to address systemic racial injustice.