You ultimately judge the civility of a society not by how it treats the rich, the powerful, the protected and the highly esteemed, but by how it treats the poor, the disfavored and the disadvantaged. Bryan Stevenson More Quotes by Bryan Stevenson More Quotes From Bryan Stevenson Why do we want to kill all the broken people? Bryan Stevenson broken want people We don't need police officers who see themselves as warriors. We need police officers who see themselves as guardians and parts of the community. You can't police a community that you're not a part of. Bryan Stevenson warrior police community Intuitively we all like to seek the things that are comfortable rather than uncomfortable. But I do think there is a way of saying that if I believe in justice and I believe that justice is a constant struggle, and if I want to create justice, then I have to get comfortable with struggle. Bryan Stevenson struggle believe thinking If you're just the person with power, exercising that power fearfully and angrily, you're going to be an operative of injustice and inequality. Bryan Stevenson inequality injustice exercise 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 punishment race reality My parents, who grew up in terror and dealt with segregation and humiliation, nonetheless taught us to be hopeful and open and loving and not hateful toward anyone. Bryan Stevenson taught-us hopeful parent We all have a responsibility to create a just society Bryan Stevenson responsibility 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 dark heart believe I think hopelessness is the enemy of justice. Bryan Stevenson justice enemy thinking The death penalty symbolizes whom we fear and don't fear, whom we care about and whose lives are not valid. Bryan Stevenson death-penalty penalties care All of our survival is tied to the survival of everyone. Bryan Stevenson tied survival If you love your community, then you need to be insisting on justice in all circumstances. Bryan Stevenson community love-you justice You can be a career professional as a judge, a prosecutor, sometimes as a defense attorney, and never insist on fairness and justice. That's tragic and that's what we have to change. Bryan Stevenson careers judging justice I have to get comfortable with resistance, and even sometimes with hostility. Bryan Stevenson resistance comfortable sometimes When you come to Montgomery, you see fifty-nine monuments and memorials, all about the Civil War, all about Confederate leaders and generals. We have lionized these people, and we have romanticized their courage and their commitment and their tenacity, and we have completely eliminated the reality that created the Civil War. Bryan Stevenson war reality commitment 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 punishment unjust administration Sometimes the facts of the crime are so distracting - there's been some tragic murder or horrific incident, and people aren't required to think as carefully and thoughtfully, and directly, about this legacy of racial inequality and structural poverty. And what it's contributing to these wrongful convictions. Bryan Stevenson legacy people thinking 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 benefits support cost In most places, when people hear about or see something that is a symbol or representation or evidence of slavery or the slave trade or lynching, the instinct is to cover it up, to get rid of it, to destroy it. Bryan Stevenson lynching slavery people If we want to be proud of our country, if we want to be proud as Americans, if we want to be proud of our history, then we can't talk about the things that are inconsistent with pride, about which we can have no pride. Bryan Stevenson pride want country
