This book broke my heart a hundred times. I knew about some of the problems in our criminal justice system, but not nearly all of them. Some of these thoughts I remembered almost verbatim from No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row, a different book by a different author that points out many of the same issues. Stevenson describes a few almost transcendent experiences that will stay with me: Mrs. Williams, the visit to Sweden, the stone-catching woman. 
 "Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. 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. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned." 
 "The expansion of victims' rights ultimately made formal what had always been true: Some victims are more protected and valued than others." 
 "I told the congregation that Walter's case had taught me that 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?"