Bryan Stevenson

He became very emotional.

And he was literally sobbing on the other end of the phone.

And I just gave him space and I was holding the phone.

And then he said, please don't hang up, Mr. Stevenson.

There's something I want to say to you.

I said, of course.

And then he tried to say something to me, but in addition to being intellectually disabled, when he got overwhelmed, when he got distraught and challenged, he had a speech impediment, and he would really struggle to get his words out.

So he began stuttering terribly.

He could not get out a single word.

And I was standing there holding the phone, and tears were literally running down my face.

It was so challenging that my mind wandered, and I remembered when I was a little boy that

My mom had taken us to church and I was talking to my friends and there was this little skinny kid I'd never seen before.

And I remembered on this night turning to that kid and saying, hey man, what's your name?

And this little boy tried to answer my question, but he also had a speech impediment and he couldn't get his words out and he stuttered terribly.

And then I remembered that I did something really ignorant.

When that little boy couldn't get his words out right, I laughed.

And my mother saw me laughing and she gave me this look I'd never seen before.

And she came over and grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside.

She said, Brian, don't you ever laugh at somebody because they can't get their words out right.

And even at 10, I was a little bit of a young lawyer.