Book Review

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“A Time to Kill”

This unique novel by John Grisham takes place in a small Mississippi town of Clanton. The book A Time to Kill is one of these examples based on racial tension and capital punishment. This book is a perfect representation of our criminal justice system from start to finish. This book has examples of police and court procedures. The book also portrays many of the racial stereotypes that people of the south faces every day.

A little black girl named Tonya Hailey was walking home from the grocery store one day when she abducted by two white men- Billy Ray Cobb, Pete Willard. The two were driving a yellow pick-up truck with a rebel flag in the back window. The two rednecks tied her up and raped her and took every last bit of innocence from her. After they were done beating her they threw her into Foggy Creek where a black fisherman saw them. The poor girl was left for dead.
It didn’t take long for the whole town to find out, and the two men were arrested by Sheriff Ozzie for the rape of ten-year-old Tonya Hailey. The girls father, Carl Lee Hailey was enraged with vengeance. Carl Lee met with Jake Brisance , a lawyer who helped his brother Lester in a case a few years back. Carl Lee asked Jake if he will be there for him. Jake not knowing what Carl was thinking agreed to help him out . The question is What would You do if someone did that to your 10-year-old Daughter.

A few days later, after the arraignment, Carl Lee stayed at the courthouse and studied every part of it, and hid in the broom closet. At the bail hearing of Cobb and Willard, Carl Lee shoots both of them repeatedly until he is sure that they are dead. When he quits shooting, Carl Lee realizes that he has not only killed the two men that rapped his little girl, but also that he has shot a police officer who has been a life long friend. Carl Lee‘s action have torn what was once a quiet, Mississippi town into a war zone. ...