. >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative, bryan stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to african americans between the end of reconstruction and world war ii rivals anything we read about in the mideast today perpetrated by isis. >> the lawyer and his staff have worked to help more than 100 wrongly condemned prisoners awaiting death. >> for every nine people we've executed, we've identified one innocent person on death row, who was proved innocent. it's a shocking rate of error. if for every nine planes that took off, one crashed and everybody died, the f.a.a. wouldn't let anybody fly. >> the author of just mercy has also taken on cases to challenge extreme sentencing; to defend children tried as adults. >> we are

, aljazeera.com >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative, bryan stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to african americans between the end of reconstruction and world war ii

. >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative,yan stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to african americans between the end of reconstruction and world war ii rivals anything we read about in

. >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative, stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to afn

. >> this week on talk to al jazeera--lawyer and executive director of the equal justice initiative, bryan stevenson. >> we have to stop telling the lies that we tell about who we are. we celebrate our history of slavery. we celebrate our era of terrorism. >> stevenson has spent his career fighting racism in the criminal justice system--the legacy of slavery and times of "racial terror" continue to impact the lives of african americans today. >> what we did to african reericans between the end of

my guest this week is bryan stevenson, the executive director of equal justice initiative. >> your grandfather was murdered? >> yes >> my great grandmother was murdered in texas, in her 90s, by a young african american woman who was lookin' for money for drugs. there was-- she thought-- my grandmother was blind. she thought the church bus was there to get her. knock on the door. she opened it. there's a scuffle. the girl goes to prison in texas. and while she was in, she got to complete a college degree. i think almost everyone-- before me and my family didn't get to go to college. and then they see the person who murders their beloved grandmother get to go to college. from a societal standpoint, i understand that. from a personal standpoint, i understand the pain and how that looks like unfairness. how would you explain to my family that situation? >> yeah. well, i mean, i think there is no right way to feel after you have lost someone you loved. i think it is wrong for any of us to have expectations that you have to feel a certain way or think a certain way. and what the rest of us ought to

stevenson started equal justice initiative, organizations overturning false convictions. >> they need support. economic, housing, medical, mental health care, they need to know that their victimization, their abuse, has been taken seriously. >> just absolutely unimaginable, i couldn't even explain the horror of it. >> ken ireland lost 21 years. he was misidentified by witness reward. convicted in a 1986 rape and murder, dna proved his innocence. >> good morning. >> good morning, sir. >> reporter: because of the rare perspective of an innocent man who has done hard time, the governor put ireland on connecticut's parole board. >> at some point in your life, sir, you have to step up. >> so this is your new cell? >> yeah. for eight hours a day. >> reporter: it took five years to got this job. at first he lived with his sister and he found work as a counselor for troubled kids. >> i got a small apartment in town. there have been nights where i barricaded myself in a walk-in closet. slept in there, thinking, that someone is going to come kick down my door and drag me back. >> reporter: you

stevenson started equal justice is nsh initiative, organizations overturning false convictions. >> they need support. economic, housing, medical, mental health care, they need to know that their victimization, their abuse, has been taken seriously. >> just absolutely unimaginable, i couldn't even explain the horror of it. he was misidentified by witness whose collected a $20,000 reward. convicted in a 1986 rape and murder, dna proved his innocence. >> good morning. >> good morning, sir. >> reporter: because of the rare perspective of an innocent man who has done hard time, the governor put ireland on connecticut's parole board. >> at some point in your life, sir, you have to step up. >> so this is your new cell? >> yeah. for eight hours a day. >> reporter: it took five years to got this job. at first he lived with his sister and he found work as a counselor for troubled kids. >> i got a small apartment in town. there have been nights where i barricaded myself in a walk-in closet. slept in there, thinking, that someone is going to come kick down my door and drag me back. >> reporter: you

>> pelley: attorney bryan stevenson worked on ray hinton's case for 16 years.started the equal justice initiative, one of a growing number of legal organizations overturning false convictions.d support- - they need economic support, need medical support, they need mental health care. they need to know that theirbuse has been taken seriously. >> ken ireland: it was just absolutely unimaginable and i couldn't even explain the horror of it. lost 21 years. he was misidentified by witnesses who collected a $20,000 reward.pe and murder, dna proved his innocence. >> good morning. >> good morning, sir. because of the rare perspective's done hard time, the governor put ireland on connecticut's parole board. >> at some point in your life,up. >> pelley: so this is your new cell? >> ireland: well, yeah, for eight hours a day. >> pelley: it took five years to get this job.ed with his sister and he found work as a counselor for troubled kids. >> ireland: i got a little small apartment in town. i mean, there was the nightsd myself slept in there. just thinking, you know, someone's going to come kick >> pelley: