Time to Kill by John Grisham

Grisham

A Time to Kill was John Grisham's first novel, published in 1989. The novel is multilayered and complex, addressing the social and legal ramifications of institutionalized racism. Two racist rednecks, Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard, rape and beat a ten-year-old black girl. Recalling a case in which a similar situation resulted in the white suspects being acquitted by a jury, the girl's father Carl Lee vows revenge and ultimately kills the two men. Carl Lee subsequently goes on trial for capital murder, and a team of attorneys represents him. Some of the lawyers have political motives, but most of them whom simply want to see Carl Lee vindicated. The trial tears apart the community of Clanton, Mississippi as Ku Klux Klansmen bubble to the surface to terrorize all who would support Carl Lee. Carl Lee's head lawyer Jake represents his client with aplomb, proving to the jury that Carl Lee was temporarily traumatized by his daughter's rape. Carl Lee is acquitted.

Born and raised in the South, John Grisham is intimately familiar with the entrenched racism that characterizes life in the Deep South. Social phenomena like white supremacy have had strong bearings on issues related to social justice and due process of law. A Time to Kill deftly, and with grim detail, explores America's darkest side. Grisham does not shy away from anything, even depicting the rape scene at the beginning of the novel. Opening the novel with the rape of Tonya helps the reader develop immediate sympathy for Carl Lee. Likewise, the depictions of the KKK are chilling reminders of the perpetuation of bigotry and domestic terrorism.

Grisham wrote A Time to Kill in part to expose the nefarious underworld of Southern society. However, A Time to Kill is about more than racism. The central theme of A Time to Kill reflects different layers of justice. Grisham suggests that the law does not necessarily protect all citizens, and that citizens systematically excluded from due process will, like Carl Lee, act outside of the law. Justice is shown to transcend the law, especially in situations like that of Carl Lee. African-Americans in the Deep South have been systematically excluded from access to social, educational, financial, cultural, and legal resources. Grisham subtly addresses the root causes of the problems plaguing African-American communities decades after the Civil Rights movement and more than a century after the abolition of slavery.

John Grisham wrote A Time to Kill while he was practicing law in Mississippi. Although far from autobiographical, the novel nevertheless reflects the author's experiences and perceptions of racism and Southern culture. The story is partly based on Grisham's first-hand experiences as a criminal trial lawyer and public defender in Mississippi (Academy of Achievement 2010). Grisham also dabbled in politics, an experience that undoubtedly adds an extra dimension to the novel because of the author's willingness to show how racism is systemic.