John Grisham, perhaps one of the best dramatic writers of our times spins a tale that is so simple and yet so complex. This book may be one of his bests. It is the only one I have read but I have seen the film, The Pelican Brief starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. Even this book A Time To Kill ha been made into a film starring Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaghey and Samuel L. Jackson.
An African American Carl Lee Hailey’s daughter 10 year old Tonya is raped by 2 White Caucasians. They are caught and arrested. As they are being led out of court after the preliminary hearings, Carl Lee Hailey shoots them with an M-16 and kills them on the spot. The stage is set and it seems like an open and shut case. But in the American system where homicide is classified in Manslaughter, Murder 1 and Murder 2 and terms such as temporary insanity things are far from over. He hands his case to Jake Brigance a young lawyer but sufficiently experienced and good.
The public prosecutor Buckley is running for office and getting a conviction means getting votes. In a highly racial environment things do not get better at any stage. Jake is also not your ideal person. He is vain and loves the camera and in more ways than one, has taken the case because he knows he can become famous. He manipulates the press to his advantage. He is helped to a great extent by Lucien Wilbanks who is in a way his mentor. Lucien who himself has been disbarred helps out Jake. Jake also has his wife for moral support.
Things get a lot worse when the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK as they are unpopularly known. To the uninitiated, this is a group which believes that the minorities are being pampered and so they try to put things straight by taking the law into their own hands. They are always dressed in white and before targeting anybody make it a point to plant a big burning cross in their courtyards. In short, they are racist. Am I the only one who is reminded of similar people in our country? They’re everywhere.
Anyways, they start making life hell for Jake. After burning the cross, they burn his house down, assault and injure his secretary. Jake has to send his family out of town while he fights alone. To counter this threat, thousands of black brothers and sisters pour in from different parts of Mississippi and camp outside the court. The press is there and so are the National Guards. An explosive situation in the least. And then there’s the jury the judge and the lawyers.
This book also deals with almost all aspects of a homicide law. All the terms, terminology and methodology are dealt with in detail. It is a classic in all sense of the word and should make a must read.
As I have said before when the little little things are taken care of the bigger things take care of themselves. In this book, the little little aspects are dealt with beautifully. Once taken up, this book is very hard to keep down. but sometimes you do because you need time to ponder over topics, question your own moralities and beliefs.At least I did.
In the end, Jake floors every one with his defense and Carl Lee Hailey is proclaimed innocent. But just about the time he is about to gloat about his victory, he comes to know that it is the conscience and the brilliance of one juror which wins him the case.
I’d suggest you to also read the review on the same by yzerman if you have not on this site. It is great and I highly recommend it.