"Just Mercy," the new film about crusadingattorney Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan), focuses onWalter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a wrongfully convicted death-row inmate fromMonroeville, Alabama – the birthplace of Harper Lee, whose beloved novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" dealt with a lawyer fighting to free an innocent African-American defendant.
Thelocation, and thereaction of proud locals whoresisted Stevenson's efforts to free McMillian, were true.
"It was ironic to have people in the community tell me, 'You’re a lawyer, you should go to the "To Kill a Mockingbird"Museum,'" Stevenson says."I had the same response every time:'I'd love to, but I’m really busy freeing an innocent black man who has been wrongly convicted of a crime andfacing execution.'Thedisconnect between romanticizing that story and indifference to injustice ina real wrongful conviction, that very much parallels my story."
Jordan, who also executive produced "Just Mercy" (in theaters now in New York and LA, opens nationwide Friday),based on Stevenson's 2014 memoir of the same name, thought it vital to lean into the truth.
"After meeting the man and understanding his work, to tell an honest portrayal is the only morally correct thing to do," Jordan says.
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Here's how thatgoes down in "Just Mercy."
Our 'Just Mercy' review:Performances by Michael B. Jordan, JamieFoxx elevatepredictablelegal drama'
Walter McMillian was nearly put to death for a crime he did not commit
One of young lawyer Stevenson's firstand most incendiarycases after founding the non-profitEqual Justice Initiative was McMillian, who had been sentenced to die in 1988for the murder of an 18-year-old white woman on dubiousevidence. After a day-and-a-half trial, the jury ignored multiple black witnesses who testified that McMillanwas at a fish fry at the time of the crime.
As shown in the film,McMillan was ordered held ondeath row even before his trial started.
"It’s the only case I have ever worked onwhere my client spent months on death row, before ever having been convicted," says Stevenson. "The newspapers would refer to him as 'death row defendant Walter McMillan.'All of that led to the conditions that would make the wrongful conviction almost inevitable. That’s very accurate to what happened to Walter."
Bryan Stevenson was intimidated and threatened during the case
Just as in the film, Stevenson received death threats for hiswork. "You're trying to do the right thing,trying to obtain justice and your life is being threatened," Jordan says.
Stevenson says a scene where prison guards subjected him to a strip searchtook place. Likewise, hewas pulled over and held at gunpointwithout provocation by police.
"I had police officers pull their weapons out, point the gun at my head, and say, 'Move and I’ll blow your brains out,' " Stevenson says. "Sadly, it’s a scene that’s familiar to a lot of people in this country."
Eva Ansley (played by Brie Larson) plays a large role in the film's fledglingEqual Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes. Now operations director of EJI, Ansley has been an integral partsince the organization'sbeginnings.
Some EJI actions depicted duringMcMillian's long fight for freedominvolved other lawyers. But for the sake of storytelling, these deedswere incorporated through Larson's Ansley.
"When we had to figure out how to represent the other work, it was easy to decide that it should be represented through Eva’s commitment and the work she has done," Stevenson says.
A pivotal '60 Minutes' expose really did turnthe tide for McMillian
McMillian's case eventually drewnational attention and was the subject of a 1992 "60 Minutes" expose that showed how flimsy the case was against the convicted man awaiting death by electrocution.
"Perception is everything.To be able to put the facts out there for the world to see brought the pressure of society and helped wrongs get righted," Jordan says. "That '60 Minutes' piece helped Walter McMillianget off death row."
In 1993, Alabama's Court of Criminal Appeals heard his case again. After turning down four previous appeals,the court ruledthat McMillianhad been wrongfully convicted. McMillian was freed after six years on death row and remained close with Stevenson until his deathin 2013.
While the timeline of the case was condensed for story reasons,Stevenson says he was relieved and impressed with the filmmakers'effortsforaccuracy.
"It was remarkable," says Stevenson, who can laugh about one aspect of Jordan's realistic portrayal. "I told Michael the one area where hedidn'thave to be authentic was my body. He didn't have to lose the "Black Panther"/"Creed" body. He could keep all of those abs to play me. I wanted him to go on a warrior diet."
