Bryan Stevenson

I don't think we show our commitment to children by looking at how well we treat talented kids and gifted kids and privileged kids.

Our commitment to children has to be expressed by how we treat poor kids, abused kids, neglected kids, kids that are disfavored, kids that are struggling.

These are the children that reflect our commitment

to children.

And I just think if we took a trauma-informed response to these kids, not only could we help these children, but we could create healthier communities.

I hate violence.

I don't want to see any child commit a crime.

I don't want them to hurt anybody.

I don't want them to be part of gangs.

I don't want them to be part of things that create injuries and violence.

I want healthier communities.

But that means we have to help these kids who are being pushed in all of these unhealthy ways.

And we don't get to that when our policymaking is blinded by our fear and our anger, just like we don't get to healthy parenting.

We don't get to healthy education.

we don't get the healthy relationships with one another, if we're blinded by our fear and our anger, when we don't see the humanity of the people, even that we care about, we do things that can be really destructive.

What gives me some comfort is that I meet very few people who wouldn't

want to do exactly what I did when I met that little boy.

I think if most anyone listening to this, if they had been in that room and held that little boy while he was crying, talking about these things, even knowing what he has been accused of, I think almost everyone would leave there saying, we've got to get that child out of that environment.

And

I think the power in that instinct, in that desire to not add suffering to suffering, not to add violence to violence, not to add wrongdoing to wrongdoing, is that that can yield something extraordinary.