Bryan Stevenson

And I couldn't believe how even in my ignorance, just being proximate,

could have an impact on the quality of someone's life.

That man and I, it turned out, were exactly the same age.

We had the same birth date, same month, same day, same year.

He started asking me questions about my life.

I asked him questions about his life.

And we just fell into this conversation.

And I forgot I was a law student.

I forgot he was a condemned person on death row.

We were just two people talking.

And the visit was only scheduled for an hour, but we kept talking.

I just lost track of time.

And one hour turned to two hours, two hours turned to three hours.

The guards were waiting for me to finish.

And after three hours, they got angry and they couldn't take it anymore.

So they came bursting into the room and they grabbed this man and they threw him against the wall.

They pulled his arms back.

They put the handcuffs on his wrists really tightly.

They wrapped the chain around his waist.

They were treating very roughly.