The Price of Mercy

“In a political moment in which so much of the narrative around our criminal legal system is being distorted, misrepresented, and weaponized, The Price of Mercy steps in to provide a necessary corrective. It is grounded in research, based in evidence, and centers the experiences of real people entangled in the system. I learned so much from these pages and I’m so glad this book exists.”—Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed

“Unflinching, refreshingly pragmatic and bracingly humane, Emily Galvin Almanza commits us to a street-level systemic understanding of what’s actually working and what’s failing in American criminal justice. This book, required reading for defense lawyers and prosecutors, is an awesome labor of love for our country and all of the people who live here.”—Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-8), Ranking Member, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Unthinkable

“The Price of Mercy is a searing, compassionate, and utterly necessary book. Emily Galvin Almanza pulls back the curtain on America’s criminal legal system with the clarity of a lawyer and the heart of someone who’s seen the system’s devastating consequences up close.”—Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow

“The Price of Mercy is a clear-eyed examination of the failures of the system, and a hopeful blueprint of how we can create something better. Though it focuses on criminal justice, it is in many ways a commentary on something much broader–American politics, public service, and the institutions that define our lives.”—Josie Duffy Rice, author, journalist, podcast host

“Never have the failings of the system been more insightfully cataloged than in Emily Galvin Almanza’s new book, The Price of Mercy.”—The Progressive

“The Price of Mercy is, quite simply, the gutsiest book ever written about the gritty reality of something nobody who reads this astonishing inside-the-walls account can continue to call the criminal justice system.”—Laurence H. Tribe, author of Uncertain Justice and Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law Emeritus, Harvard Law School

“Anyone who cares about justice should read this urgently needed book.”—Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money

“A thoughtful, persuasive call for a truly just system of justice.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This is a necessary work, a welcome addition to all general collections, and an excellent choice for book clubs.”—Library Journal, starred review

“A searing indictment… . A powerful look at incarceration… . With compelling arguments and a detailed narrative, The Price of Mercy will appeal to readers of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and Byran Stevenson’s Just Mercy and to anyone concerned with criminal justice. Highly recommended.”—Booklist, starred review

“Hard-hitting … This trenchant and surprisingly hopeful explainer outlines not only how the system is broken but how to fix it.”—Publishers Weekly

Emily Galvin Almanza is the co-founder and executive director of Partners for Justice, a nonprofit creating a new collaborative model of public defense designed to empower defenders nationwide. Prior to founding PFJ, Emily fought for clients inside the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office, and the Bronx Defenders, and with the Stanford Three Strikes Project. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Time, among other publications.

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