Episode 21: Rule of Law Season Finale – 2020 Lantos Prize Laureate Bryan Stevenson on Justice

06/23/21 • 23 min

On the final episode of our 7-part Rule of Law season, we return to the subject of the state of the rule of law right here in America. We hear from our 2020 Lantos Human Rights Prize Laureate Bryan Stevenson, who has been a tireless advocate for applying the rule of law equally and fairly in the United States, regardless of race or economic status, as well as for dealing more honestly and openly with this country’s history of inequality. Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of the best-selling book Just Mercy, has spent more than three decades advocating on behalf of incarcerated people who have been wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced. In this episode, we hear his perspective on the difference between law and justice, how America compromises its standing as a human rights leader when it fails to confront its own human rights challenges, why mercy is as fundamental a principle as justice, and more. Listen to this powerful and inspiring conclusion to the Rule of Law season.

Equal Justice Initiative

Just Mercy (best-selling book adapted into a film)

2020 Lantos Human Rights Prize Recipient

Bryan Stevenson: From the courtroom to Hollywood (BookTube)

The Moment to Close America’s Hypocrisy Gap, by Katrina Lantos Swett (Medium)
This season of The Keeper is made possible with the generous support of Ambassador April H. Foley, the United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2006-2009.

This episode of The Keeper is proudly brought to you by Shaheen & Gordon – providing full-service legal advocacy across New Hampshire & Maine since 1981. Shaheen & Gordon is dedicated to protecting people’s rights and upholding the Rule of Law.

This final episode of our Rule of Law season is also supported by John & Patricia Broderick.

Equal Justice Initiative

Just Mercy (best-selling book adapted into a film)

2020 Lantos Human Rights Prize Recipient

Bryan Stevenson: From the courtroom to Hollywood (BookTube)

This final episode of our Rule of Law season is also supported by John & Patricia Broderick.

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Episode 20: Rule of Law Season – Seeking Justice on an International Stage

On this season of The Keeper, we’ve heard harrowing first-hand accounts of what happens in a country when its government or leaders choose to disregard the rule of law; freedom, justice and human rights all tend to be casualties. Oftentimes, the oppressors and abusers face few consequences for their actions...but not always. When it comes to the worst of the worst crimes, there is an international instrument for accountability – the International Criminal Court, or the ICC. It is the first and only permanent international court with the legal jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. In this episode, we speak with Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, who recently finished his term as ICC President after serving on the Court for nearly a decade. We cover the origins of the ICC, its complicated and often fraught relationship with the U.S., criticisms of the Court and points of deep controversy over which countries it chooses to investigate – or not investigate – but also Judge Eboe-Osuji’s fundamental belief in the Court’s power to “loosen the grip of tyranny in our time”.

International Criminal Court

Farewell Message of ICC President Chile Eboe-Osuji

Third Annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture with Judge President Eboe-Osuji

I.C.C. Won’t Investigate China’s Detention of Muslims (New York Times)

The United States Opposes the ICC Investigation into the Palestinian Situation

This season of The Keeper was made possible with the generous support of Ambassador April H. Foley, who served as the United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2006 -2009.
This episode is supported by former Congressman Herb Klein of New Jersey and by Jim Gottstein, author of The Zyprexa Papers.

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Episode 22: Pavel Khodorkovsky

Over the past several weeks, we have watched Russia’s unprovoked attacks on the people of Ukraine with horror, outrage, and a deep sense of fear for what this will mean for freedom and democracy in Europe – and the world. We have sought out trusted experts on the situation to help us better understand what the future may hold, for both Ukraine and Russia. In this special episode of The Keeper, we share a conversation between Lantos Foundation President Katrina Lantos Swett and Pavel Khodorkovsky. Pavel is the son of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Putin’s most prominent political prisoner and now one of his most vocal critics. Pavel is the U.S. Executive Director of Project Sunrise, an initiative to deliver humanitarian aid directly to Ukraine. In this interview, he shares his unique and hard-earned insights into the conflict in Ukraine and what is happening inside Russia.

Project Sunrise

Russian Anti-War Committee

Washington Post Live: The Future of Russia – The Oligarchs with Pavel Khodorkovsky

CNN: He was Russia’s Richest Man. Hear what he has to say about Putin.

The Guardian: History demands the west deploy every legal and financial weapon against Putin

The Economist: Mikhail Khodorkovsky on how to deal with the “bandit” in the Kremlin

Vanity Fair: “The Oligarchs Are Financial Outposts in His War”: Why the West Must Ramp Up Its Campaign Against Putin’s Billionaires

The Atlantic Council: Peace in Europe ‘will not exist’ as long as Putin is in power, says Mikhail Khodorkovsky