Title
Honoring Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson for his lifelong pursuit of justice, vindicating the rights of the accused, and fighting mass incarceration.
Body
WHEREAS, Bryan Stevenson was born on November 14, 1959, in Milton, Delaware. Stevenson began his schooling at a "colored" elementary school, but soon schools became desegregated. Even though schools were to be desegregated, old behaviors still applied when it came to children playing and interacting within their own races. He attended Henlopen High School where he graduated in 1978. He earned straight A's and won a scholarship to Eastern University where he directed the campus gospel choir and graduated with a B.A in philosophy. In 1985, he earned a J.D and an M.P.P. from Harvard University. During his time at law school, he interned for the Southern Center for Human Rights, which represents death-row inmates throughout the South. It was this opportunity that jumpstarted his storied career; and
WHEREAS, After graduating, he moved to Atlanta where he became a full-time attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights. Stevenson was assigned to the Center's Alabama office, which focused on death-penalty litigation, and he was chosen to lead the office just four years later. That office was later defunded when Congress discontinued funding of death-penalty defense; and
WHEREAS, Despite the funding cuts, Stevenson found a way to continue his essential work by founding the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). In the 30 years since, it has grown to an organization of more than 150 people. EJI is a unique legal organization in its approach to pursuit of justice. It undertakes death-penalty, juvenile-lifer, and prisoner-rights litigation, but it does much more. It assists returning citizens with re-entry, and it advocates for better policy and public understanding. That advocacy includes publication of reports, production of short films, and history projects. Among those projects are the Legacy Mu...
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