Carl Lee was arrested for the double homicide of the two men who raped his daughter. The state was seeking the death penalty and there was no doubt as to the who, what, when, where, and why. The case quickly generated major publicity and the press descended upon Ford County to cover the trial. The state was represented by the D.A. who had long held political aspirations, including a run for governor. He was determined to revel in the spotlight, preening and strutting about the stage for all to see. The defendent was represented by Jake Brigance, a man whose motives are not fully pure either. He sees this case as an opportunity to increase his reputation, but there is something that grounds him a bit. Perhaps it is the fact that he has a young daughter and if anything happened to her, he would not hesitate to act as judge, jury, and executioner. As the trial goes on, Ford County is swarmed by thousands of blacks who support Carl Lee and a polluting seed of the KKK who are using everything in their power to bribe, to extort, and to get a conviction.
As the first published novel by an author, this one was not bad. However, I think that the character of Jake Brigance needed to be developed further to enable us to understand his actions and choices. What were his morals and his convictions? Also, I felt that the courtroom scenes during the trial of Carl Lee were more than a bit lacking. The lawyers lost their cools within moments of the trial starting, and both fell prey to lawyering 101 tactics from the other side. Still, the questions of whether or not vigilante justice is ever appropriate were worth considering. Despite some flaws, I still found this book an enjoyable read.
