Bryan Stevenson

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, 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 I remembered when I was a little boy, 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 I remembered when I was a little boy, 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 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 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. And I was like, mom, I wasn't laughing. I couldn't hear. There were lights going on. There were things happening all around me. My mother said, no, Brian, you know better than that. And then she looked at me. She said, now you go back over there and you tell that little boy you're sorry. I said, okay.

And even at 10, I was a little bit of a young lawyer. And I was like, mom, I wasn't laughing. I couldn't hear. There were lights going on. There were things happening all around me. My mother said, no, Brian, you know better than that. And then she looked at me. She said, now you go back over there and you tell that little boy you're sorry. I said, okay.

And even at 10, I was a little bit of a young lawyer. And I was like, mom, I wasn't laughing. I couldn't hear. There were lights going on. There were things happening all around me. My mother said, no, Brian, you know better than that. And then she looked at me. She said, now you go back over there and you tell that little boy you're sorry. I said, okay.

And I took a step and my mom wasn't satisfied. She grabbed me by the arm. She said, wait, after you tell that little boy you're sorry, I want you to hug that little boy. And I kind of rolled my eyes. I said, okay, mom. And I took a step and then she grabbed me by the arm again. She said, wait. After you hug that little boy, I want you to tell that little boy you love him.

And I took a step and my mom wasn't satisfied. She grabbed me by the arm. She said, wait, after you tell that little boy you're sorry, I want you to hug that little boy. And I kind of rolled my eyes. I said, okay, mom. And I took a step and then she grabbed me by the arm again. She said, wait. After you hug that little boy, I want you to tell that little boy you love him.

And I took a step and my mom wasn't satisfied. She grabbed me by the arm. She said, wait, after you tell that little boy you're sorry, I want you to hug that little boy. And I kind of rolled my eyes. I said, okay, mom. And I took a step and then she grabbed me by the arm again. She said, wait. After you hug that little boy, I want you to tell that little boy you love him.

I said, mom, I can't go over there and tell that little boy I love him. She gave me that look. I said, all right. I remember going over to that little boy saying, look, man, you know, well, I'm sorry. And then I lunged at him and gave him my little boy version of a man hug. And then I remember trying to say as insincerely as I possibly could. I said, you know, well, I don't know. Well, I love you.

I said, mom, I can't go over there and tell that little boy I love him. She gave me that look. I said, all right. I remember going over to that little boy saying, look, man, you know, well, I'm sorry. And then I lunged at him and gave him my little boy version of a man hug. And then I remember trying to say as insincerely as I possibly could. I said, you know, well, I don't know. Well, I love you.

I said, mom, I can't go over there and tell that little boy I love him. She gave me that look. I said, all right. I remember going over to that little boy saying, look, man, you know, well, I'm sorry. And then I lunged at him and gave him my little boy version of a man hug. And then I remember trying to say as insincerely as I possibly could. I said, you know, well, I don't know. Well, I love you.

And what I'd forgotten was how that little boy hugged me back. And then he whispered flawlessly in my ear, he said, I love you too. And I was thinking about that while my client was trying to get his words out. And finally, my client got his words out and he said, I just want to thank you for fighting for me.

And what I'd forgotten was how that little boy hugged me back. And then he whispered flawlessly in my ear, he said, I love you too. And I was thinking about that while my client was trying to get his words out. And finally, my client got his words out and he said, I just want to thank you for fighting for me.

And what I'd forgotten was how that little boy hugged me back. And then he whispered flawlessly in my ear, he said, I love you too. And I was thinking about that while my client was trying to get his words out. And finally, my client got his words out and he said, I just want to thank you for fighting for me.

And the last thing that man said to me, he says, I want you to know that I love you for trying to save my life. He hung up the phone. They pulled him away. They strapped him to a gurney and they executed him. That moment was the moment when I said, I just can't do this anymore. It just seemed too much. And I think it was because I realized with great intensity how broken he was.