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UH LAW CENTER’S ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY PROJECT
BEGINS WITH ANALYSIS OF ‘JUST MERCY’
niversity of Houston Law Center faculty, students and staff the state should be engaged in executing its own citizens. All of the
Uexamined “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by reasons attached to the “yes” and “no” answer to that question are
Bryan Stevenson during a virtual discussion held in April. The award- addressed in the course of Bryan Stevenson’s book.
winning book tells the powerful story of Stevenson’s work as a lawyer “The title of the book is ‘Just Mercy.’ Just is an extremely interesting
representing death row clients in Alabama. word in the English language. It can be a noun, adverb and an
It marked the inaugural event of “UHLC’s One Book, One adjective. Any one of those uses of the word ‘just’ makes sense in the
Community Project,” an initiative launched by the Law Center’s context of Bryan’s book. It can be, “only mercy.” Or it can be that,
Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The Diversity and Inclusion “mercy is what justice requires.” Or it can be that mercy is just in this
Committee was co-chaired by Professor Meredith J. Duncan, particular case. What to me is one of the most extraordinary things
Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Metropolitan about the book, is that by the time you get to the end of it, it’s not
Programs and Clinical Professor Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the clear which of those meanings he means, or maybe he means all of
Immigration Clinic. them in the title.”
The primary goal of UHLC’s One Book, One Community Project is Following Dow’s remarks, attendees went into breakout rooms for
to provide students, staff, and faculty a shared encounter with race, additional discussion of the book.
ethnicity, and legal justice issues, engendering greater awareness and The event closed with remarks from Dean Leonard M. Baynes.
understanding as well as conversations, both informal and formal.
Introductory remarks were provided by Cullen Professor of Law “I want to thank the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for
organizing this event,” Baynes said. “I was most impressed with the
David R. Dow, the founder of the Texas Innocence Network. Dow students. They did an excellent job of asking incredible questions
has represented more than 100 death row inmates in their state and and thinking deeply about issues of the death penalty presented in
federal appeals. the book.
“The question of the death penalty is the most important ethical “This project is a great way for us to educate each other and
question in contemporary American law,” Dow said. There are other learn from each other. To advance the legal challenges to capital
important questions having to do with re-distribution of wealth punishment is going to require advocacy, fearlessness and continued
and healthcare, but the most important question in contemporary conversations where we listen to each other.” ^
Constitutional law is the morality of capital punishment and whether
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