His Harvard classmates took six-figure jobs. Bryan Stevenson opted for $14,000 a year in Montgomery, Alabama.
1985. He graduated Harvard Law School, packed his 1975 Honda Civic, and moved.
Montgomery had the highest per capita death penalty rate in the U.S.
Alabama was the only state that refused to provide legal assistance to people on death row. Stevenson guaranteed he’d defend anyone facing execution.
He founded the Equal Justice Initiative in 1989.
Death threats. Bomb threats. Guns pointed at him.
He’s saved 145 people from death row. Won four of five Supreme Court cases.
When Congress eliminated death penalty funding in 1994, he stayed, converted EJI into a nonprofit.
His office sits where enslaved people were brought ashore and held before auction.
2018. He bought six acres in Montgomery and built the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The first memorial in the U.S. dedicated to lynching victims. Over 4,400 names.
People suggested he put the memorial in Washington, D.C.
He refused.
“I want people to come to Montgomery.”
Theme: “Year’s End Reflection”
Date Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2025