Think about that a life sentence for writing a bad check for 88 dollars didn't take the

deal and he got the life sentence in the Supreme Court of Hell that and said well that's

just part of the give and take of plea bargaining.

Where was the give and take?

We see a lot of taking but we don't see much giving.

Hi and welcome back to Amicus.

This is Slates podcast about the courts and the law and the rule of law.

I'm Dahlia Lithwick and welcome back to our summer series of conversations about writers

and books and podcasts and thinkers that are shaping the way we think about justice

and the court system.

My guest today is one of the people I admire most in the whole entire legal world.

Stephen B. Wright who has tried capital cases before juries in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi

and argued for capital cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of his client in every one of those cases.

Three involved race discrimination in jury selection and the fourth involved the right to

a mental health expert for a poor person facing the death penalty.

His brand new book co-authored with James Quack was published in June.

It's called The Fear of Too Much Justice, Race, Poverty and the Persistence of Inequality

in the Criminal Courts.

Steve's book is a searing portrait of the ways in which the criminal justice system

fails to live up to the values of equality and justice, particularly for racial minorities,

the poor and the mentally ill.

...