He was a poor man in a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.
-- Bryan Stevenson (Foreword)

Importance: This quote highlights one of the main flaws in the legal and criminal justice system: the necessity of money in putting up an adequate defense. This is a particularly significant issue because the legal system is supposed to provide legal services for those who cannot afford them. However, as demonstrated in detail in Ray's story, the system is rigged against the poor and accused since the system is unwilling to provide the funds needed for proper representation. In this way, the State is able to stack the deck in its own favor when prosecuting the poor, since the poor are entirely dependent on the State for their representation. This is highlighted pointedly at the end of the first chapter when Ray notes that...