Sycamore Row

A Time to Kill, published in 1989, was John Grisham’s debut novel. After two white men abduct, rape, and attempt to kill a 10-year-old Black girl named Tonya Hailey in Ford County, Mississippi, Tonya’s father, Carl Lee Hailey, kills both men. When Carl Lee is charged with murder, an ambitious young attorney named Jake Brigance agrees to defend him. The trial amplifies tensions originating from the county’s legacy of racial prejudice and inequality. This prejudice is epitomized by the Ku Klux Klan, who are determined to perpetuate a racist, white supremist ideology through acts of terror and violence. After a failed attempt to bomb Jake’s home with his family in it, they succeed in burning down his house and killing his dog. They also abduct and violently assault Jake’s legal aid and paralyze a National Guardsman in an attempt to shoot Jake.

Jake’s legal strategy—claiming Carl Lee was temporarily insane—crumbles when his expert witness is discredited on the stand. However, moved by Jake’s stirring words during closing arguments, the jurors ask themselves what they would do if their own (white) daughters had been raped, and they return a verdict of not guilty. Despite a payment of only $900 for the case, Jake is optimistic about the opportunities this win will bring him and upbeat about his career prospects.