A Time to Kill: Summary

A Time to Kill showed the true feelings of the Old South. Two drunken men raped a young black girl, and the girl’s father kills them. Charged with two counts of murder, Carl Lee goes to court. His lawyer, a young white man by the name of Jake Brigance, defends him in court. Jake is then hated by the rest of the community. The Ku Klux Klan is called on one of the rapists’ brother, Freddy. The KKK then attempt to plant a bomb under Jake’s porch, which forces him to send his wife and daughter away until trial is over. On the day of trails, the KKK and black people start fighting outside the courthouse. Grand Dragon, Stump Sisson, is killed apparently by some black people. After Stump’s death, Freddy is outraged and increases efforts in getting revenge/killing Jake. Because of the occurrences on trial day, the National Guard is called on to keep peace for the remainder of Carl Lee’s trial. Despite having the National Guard in Clanton, Freddy and the KKK continue their efforts in killing Jake. While being escorted into the courthouse one morning, Jake is shot at by the KKK, but they miss and seriously hurt a guardsman. After their failed attempt at shooting him, they decide to burn down his house. Jake is not stopped from defending Carl Lee, however. Carl Lee is acquitted by reason of “temporary insanity,” and is reunited with his family.
Throughout the entire book, Grisham portrays the social racism towards black people very well. I believe that the two white men were wrong for raping the girl, but Carl Lee was also at fault for lashing out and killing them. Had the two white men been black, people would have acted much more different than they did, but they were white, and since they were white, they would have probably been acquitted of rape. If Carl Lee had been a white man, defending his rights, the trial may have never happened, but being that he was not, people would not stand to have a black man come back into their society.
In the end,