Jason and Devin McCourty. (WBZ NewsRadio)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Their battle on the field may be over for the season, but Patriots players Devin and Jason McCourty are fighting another kind of battle off the field—advocating for social justice.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe sat down with the McCourty twins Monday night at an advance screening of the new movie "Just Mercy" at the Showcase Cinemas Patriot Place in Foxborough.
The film is based on the true story of Harvard-educated civil rights defense attorney Brian Stevenson, and his fight to exonerate a wrongly-convicted death row inmate in Alabama in the 1980s. The McCourty twins said the film highlights the need for criminal justice reform and racial equity in our country.
They are encouraging others to get involved in those causes, saying there is more work to be done.
"In our country today, you look and see so many flaws that need to be changed," Devin McCourty said. "Each person that has time here on this earth can make a difference. We were blessed to play football, and honestly, to be on the New England Patriots, one of the better teams in the league. We're granted a platform to make a difference. I've been excited to go out there and really explore and exploit that platform, to help others that just don't have the voice."
Devin and Jason speak at schools about social justice, and they helped lobby the state to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 12 years old.
"I think I'd be excited in Massachusetts just to see that age limit raised on the upper end, try to get it to 19-20 years old, just to give some of these kids an opportunity," "When you look deeper into their situation, a lot of times you can see so much trauma that starts at home that kind of causes them to act out, and sometimes you just need a real opportunity, a real chance to actually make something of their life that's a little better than what's right outside their window."
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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