#jake brigance

[mrs-hats]

They were not playing around with MMC in "A Time to Kill" (1996)

Also, kinda unrelated but the historic preservationist in me was screaming crying throwing up when the historic house he and his wife were fixing up got burned down

[luthientinuvielss]

they really don't have movies with this kind of chemistry and sweat these days...

[samaelhourz]

Please tell me theres a fandom for John Grisham's books on here,,, or even Jake Brigance,,, im gonna need book recs for when im done with a time for mercy,,

[eunoia-goodwill]

“And until we can see each other as equals, justice is never going to be even-handed. It will remain nothing more than a reflection of our own prejudices.”

Kevin Spacey as D.A. Rufus Buckley in “A time to kill” (1996)

[bookishlife]

“He missed the pressureless lifestyle, although at times the pressure had seemed unbearable, especially during the first year when the professors were more abusive than normal. He missed being broke, because when he had nothing he owed nothing and most of his classmates were in the same boat. Now that he had an income he worried constantly about mortgages, the overhead, credit cards, and realizing the American dream of becoming affluent. Not wealthy, just affluent.” 

“Lucien had taught him that fear was good; fear was an ally; that every lawyer was afraid when he stood before a new jury and presented his case. It was okay to be afraid-- just don’t show it. Jurors would not follow the lawyer with the quickest tongue or prettiest words. They would not follow the sharpest dresser. They would not follow the lawyer who preached the loudest or fought the hardest. Lucien had convinced him that jurors followed the lawyer who told the truth, regardless of his looks, words, or superficial abilities. A lawyer had to be himself in the courtroom, and if he was afraid, so be it. The jurors were afraid too. Make friends with fear, Lucien always said, because it will not go away, and it will destroy you if left uncontrolled.” 

Book: A Time To Kill Author: John Grisham Published: Wynwood Press (1989)

My Review: I’ve had approximately four million people tell me how great this book is since they found out I’d started reading it. And my partner has long recommended John Grisham’s work, though clearly I do things in my own (always stubborn) good time. There’s a right time for every book, and the right time for this one was now. 

A brief synopsis of A Time to Kill: 1980′s Mississippi amidst a lot of racial tension. Carl Lee Hailey, a black man, kills the two white men responsible for unspeakable and unforgivable crimes against his ten year old daughter. Seeing the complexity of the case and hoping for a chance to both prove himself as a capable attorney and protect a man whom he perceives to be in the right, young Mississippi lawyer Jake Brigance steps up to the plate and risks everything in the process including the physical safety of himself and his family. 

Here’s why I found this book particularly fascinating right now: a) At the beginning of July, I was selected to be a jury member for a long trial (that’s still going) and it’s been interesting to compare the literary experience with the real life experience of courtroom processes, and b) the non-fictional crime podcast I’ve been listening to also takes place in Mississippi and aims to highlight and unpack the complexities of institutionalized and long-embedded racism in our United States criminal justice system. 

This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it whether you’re serving on a jury and listening to crime podcasts or not. 

*Trigger warning: rape, racism/racist violence, racial slurs, violence.*

[camu2000]

A Time to Kill (1996)

[the-herdier]

Freder Fredersen + Atticus Finch = Jake Brigance

I said what I said

[my-whortleberry-friend]

oh this is so good

Sebastian Arcelus played Jake Brigance, my teen idol lawyer ❤

just when I decided to read A Time to Kill &  Sycamore Row again

just when I thought how nice he would fit as the new Matthew McConaughey in a new adaptation