50 Bryan Stevenson Quotes on Justice and Hope

By Samantha Williams | Published July 12, 2022

These Bryan Stevenson quotes on mercy and justice will give you a new perspective on race and the death penalty.

Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer and social justice activist who founded the Equal Justice Initiative.

He is known for his memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, which has since been adapted into a film.

In this incredible story, Bryan Stevenson helped to overturn the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian, a Black man who was sentenced to death.

These Bryan Stevenson quotes on justice will inspire you to learn more about race and the death penalty in the United States of America.

As a prominent activist for social change, Bryan Stevenson has made it his goal in life to reform the criminal justice system.

Let his quotes about grace, hope, and mercy transform the way you think about justice.

At the end of the day, it is up to all of us to always do the right thing.

Don’t forget to also check out these insightful lawyer quotes about justice for all.

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom.

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

Bryan Stevenson quotes about justice and hope

1. “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: The worst thing that we have ever done is a snapshot in time. Remember your self-worth is not defined by this moment. Now, if you make a habit of doing terrible things, then you might want to get some help in making better choices. However, everyone is human and makes mistakes. One bad moment does not define who you are, especially if all the other moments have been amazing.

2. “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. In too many places, the opposite of poverty is justice.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: This is a scary sentence. However, the best lawyers cost a lot of money. It does also seem like the very wealthy are not held accountable to the same set of standards.

3. “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: It is easy to treat people who are like us, or people that we perceive to be successful or hard working, like we would want to be treated. It is much harder to treat the people who are constantly struggling, don’t put in the effort we expect, or have done terrible things, with kindness and empathy. How we act in those situations reveals a lot about who we are.

4. “It’s that mind-heart connection that I believe compels us to not just be attentive to all the bright and dazzling things but also the dark and difficult things.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: It is good to focus on the positive things in life. It helps us keep our mental health in an optimal state. However, those dark and difficult things are when we grow and there is a kind of beauty in that too.

5. “The reality is that capital punishment in America is a lottery. It is a punishment that is shaped by the constraints of poverty, race, geography and local politics.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: There are many things that can be said about capital punishment. According to the ACLU, though, the death penalty does little to protect us from crime. They also state that vast majority of death sentences are carried out in the 10 states from the South. In fact, 35% of all death sentences are happen in Texas.

6. “But simply punishing the broken–walking away from them or hiding them from sight–only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: How can we teach and help people to be better than their worst moments? We do not have to take on responsibility for their actions, but we can show human decency. We can be patient, kind, and remember we all make mistakes.

7. “Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: You will likely never realize just how important mercy can be to someone else. Especially, if they feel like they do not deserve it. Will your forgiveness or encouragement be what inspires them to recognize their worth and transform their lives? You might never witness it, but it might be what makes all the difference.

8. “I think if somebody tells a lie, they’re not just a liar. I think if somebody takes something that doesn’t belong to them, they’re not just a thief. I think even if you kill someone, you’re not just a killer. And because of that, there’s this basic human dignity that must be respected by law.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: There are more facets to what makes us people than the sum of our deeds. This doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions, but they should still have the same basic rights of humans.

9. “The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving. It’s when mercy is least expected that it’s most potent—strong enough to break the cycle of victimization and victimhood, retribution and suffering. It has the power to heal the psychic harm and injuries that lead to aggression and violence, abuse of power, mass incarceration.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: The power that mercy holds is endless! If you are struggling with how you can show mercy to those who have really wronged you, hopefully these few tips will help. First, you can give them a second chance. Next, try and be kind to those who wrong you. This might include being patient and doing something good for them.

10. “All of our survival is tied to the survival of everyone.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: The world would be a wonderful place if people were willing to help one another survive. Unfortunately, many people operate on a me first mentality, instead of one that focuses on the collective community. This is known as individualism and collectivism. Those who practice collectivism tend to be more dependent and loyal to the group. Conversely, those with higher individualism are more rational in their decision making process.

Bryan Stevenson quotes on justice and mercy

11. “Why do we want to kill all the broken people?” ― Bryan Stevenson

12. “I don’t think there’s been a time in American history with more innocent people in prison.” ― Bryan Stevenson

13. “The death penalty symbolizes whom we fear and don’t fear, whom we care about and whose lives are not valid.” ― Bryan Stevenson

14. “We’re all burdened by our history of racial inequality. It’s created a kind of smog that we all breathe in, and it has prevented us from being healthy.” ― Bryan Stevenson

15. “We are all broken by something. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. We all share the condition of brokenness even if our brokenness is not equivalent.” ― Bryan Stevenson

16. “The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?” ― Bryan Stevenson

17. “One of the things that pains me is we have so tragically underestimated the trauma, the hardship we create in this country when we treat people unfairly when we incarcerate them unfairly when we condemn them unfairly.” ― Bryan Stevenson

18. “I can’t identify a race of people in this country who are more committed to the health of this country, who believe more in the Constitution, who believe more inequality and liberation and fairness to everyone else than black people.” ― Bryan Stevenson

19. “Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us.” ― Bryan Stevenson

20. “There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can’t otherwise see; you hear things you can’t otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity that resides in each of us.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson quotes that will give you a new perspective

21. “Slavery didn’t end in 1865; it just evolved.” ― Bryan Stevenson

22. “We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated.” ― Bryan Stevenson

23. “You don’t change the world with the ideas in your mind, but with the conviction in your heart.” ― Bryan Stevenson

24. “I think when you see that the status quo creates pain and anguish and suffering, what I am most afraid of is that things will stay the same.” ― Bryan Stevenson

25. “Many states can no longer afford to support public education, public benefits, public services without doing something about the exorbitant costs that mass incarceration have created.” ― Bryan Stevenson

26. “The great evil of American slavery was involuntary servitude or forced labor. I really believe that the true evil of American slavery was the narrative of racial difference that we created to justify it.” ― Bryan Stevenson

27. “An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it’s necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and-perhaps-we all need some measure of unmerited grace.” ― Bryan Stevenson

28. “We all have a responsibility to create a just society.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: How can you help create a just society? First, be involved in your local community and prioritize the needs of the young and disadvantaged people. Challenge your own beliefs and work on understanding the people who are different than you. Finally, support policies that are inclusive and benefit the people who need help the most.

29. “Somebody has to stand when other people are sitting. Somebody has to speak when other people are quiet.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: Are you going to be that somebody? Doing something that you know is wrong because others are doing it, might feel easier. However, it is going to make you feel bad if it is against your own moral code. Silently watching other people inflict injustice on others will also eat away at you. Be brave enough to stand up for those who need a little help and are being treated unfairly.

30. “I desperately wanted mercy for Jimmy Dill and would have done anything to create justice for him, but I couldn’t pretend that his struggle was disconnected from my own. The ways in which I have been hurt—and have hurt others—are different from the ways Jimmy Dill suffered and caused suffering. But our shared brokenness connected us.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: The quote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” is a popular phrase that demonstrates what happens when we become complacent. If you stand by and allow other people to mistreated because it is not affecting you, then you are implicated. Now, you might wonder what exactly you could do. It depends on the situation in which you find yourself. However, as a general rule don’t mistreat others, speak up when you see something that is not right, and fight for those who can not defend themselves.

Insightful Bryan Stevenson quotes

31. “It is unevolved to want to celebrate the architects and defenders of slavery.” ― Bryan Stevenson

32. “I grew up in the country in the rural South, and I have a brother a year older than me and a sister a year younger.” ― Bryan Stevenson

33. “I know this might be broadcast broadly. But I’m 52 years old, and I’m going to admit to you that I’ve never had a drop of alcohol.” ― Bryan Stevenson

34. “I grew up in a house that was the traditional African-American home that was dominated by a matriarch, and that matriarch was my grandmother. She was tough. She was strong. She was powerful.” ― Bryan Stevenson

35. “My parents lived in a poor rural community on the Eastern Shore, and schools were still segregated. And I remember when lawyers came into our community to open up the public schools to black kids.” ― Bryan Stevenson

36. “When I went to Harvard Law School, my first year, I didn’t want people to know I started my education in a colored school. I didn’t want them to know I was the great-grandson of enslaved people. I thought it might diminish me.” ― Bryan Stevenson

37. “It saddens me that African Americans – when they express their pain, when they protest about police violence, when they question inequality when they raise issues of bondage and discrimination – African Americans are seen as not patriotic.” ― Bryan Stevenson

38. “Are you the sum total of your worst acts?” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: The worst acts of your past do not have to define your future who determine who you are today. You can overcome those choices and decisions and make better ones going forward. Forgive yourself, accept yourself for who you are, and do the best you can to grow into the person you wish to become.

39. “It can be a challenge, but my legacy, at least for the people who came before me, is you don’t run from challenges because that’s more comfortable and convenient.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: Almost anything worth doing is going to be uncomfortable, inconvenient, or challenging. These things will push you to be the best version of yourself. As you begin to attempt the things that put you outside your comfort zone, you will realize how strong you are. You don’t have to be successful at them, you just have to try to begin to realize your own power.

40. “That’s my mission: I really want to get in the heads and hearts of kids and persuade them that they can believe things they haven’t seen, they can do things that maybe others haven’t done before them, that they are more than their worst acts.” ― Bryan Stevenson

Everyday Application: Just because someone hasn’t done something before, does not mean it can not be done. Believe in yourself and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. Sure, your past acts have helped shape you, but they do not need to define you. You can change and be better. It might take a little while for the people around you to trust you, but if you are trying to be better and trust in yourself, that will come with time. Are you willing do to the work?

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of legacy quotes that will inspire you to start making your mark on the world today.

More Bryan Stevenson quotes

41. “Always do the right thing even when the right thing is the hard thing.” ― Bryan Stevenson

42. “You can’t segregate and humiliate people decade after decade without creating long-lasting injuries.” ― Bryan Stevenson

43. “I grew up in a segregated community: I couldn’t go to the public schools, beaches, certain parts of town.” ― Bryan Stevenson

44. “We’ve done a very poor job at really reflecting on our legacy of racial inequality… You see it in the South, but it’s everywhere.” ― Bryan Stevenson

45. “Most parents have long understood that kids don’t have the judgment, the maturity, the impulse control and insight necessary to make complicated lifelong decisions.” ― Bryan Stevenson

46. “When we create the right kind of identity, we can say things to the world around us that they don’t actually believe makes sense. We can get them to do things that they don’t think they can do.” ― Bryan Stevenson

47. “If you read the 13th Amendment, it doesn’t talk about narratives of racial difference. It doesn’t talk about ideologies of white supremacy. It only talks about involuntary servitude and forced labor.” ― Bryan Stevenson

48. “You can’t understand what happened to Michael Brown in Ferguson, you can’t understand what happened to Eric Garner in New York City, without understanding this narrative of racial difference that was created during the slave years.” ― Bryan Stevenson

49. “If we had done the work that we should have done in the 20th century to combat our history of racial inequality, no one could win national office after demonizing people because they’re Mexican or Muslim. We would be in a place where we would find that unacceptable.” ― Bryan Stevenson

50. “Embracing a certain quotient of racial bias and discrimination against the poor is an inexorable aspect of supporting capital punishment. This is an immoral condition that makes rejecting the death penalty on moral grounds not only defensible but necessary for those who refuse to accept unequal or unjust administration of punishment.” ― Bryan Stevenson