Everybody’s blessed with perfect mental health. He’s never seen a legally insane defendant. He’ll examine the defendant for a few hours, and then drive up for trial and testify that the defendant is the sanest man he’s ever met. “They will have one psychiatrist from Whitfield. Here, Jake explains to Carl Lee how much money he would charge to defend a capital murder case for someone with 'plenty of money.' At the same time, Jake comments on how people with that kind of money don't often find themselves on trial, which speaks to the socio-economic factors that drive people's relationship to the criminal justice system. 'I haven’t seen too many people on trial for murder with that kind of money.” Jake, p. Walls assures Jake that Carl Lee is thinking what any father would be thinking in that moment, but Walls also assures Jake that Cobb and Willard are under tight security and would not be vulnerable to an attack by Carl Lee.

Here, Jake tells Sheriff Walls that Carl Lee told him about a plan to kill Cobb and Willard. What would you be thinkin’, Jake?” Ozzie Walls, p. I think my kids need me at home a whole lot more than Parchman needs me. “It’s easy to say I would, but a man don’t know what he’d do. Jake tries to convince Carl Lee not to kill anyone, so Carl Lee asks Jake what he would do if the roles were reversed. If it was your little girl, and if it was two niggers, and you could get your hands on them, what would you do?”īefore Carl Lee kills Cobb and Willard, he consults Jake about the legal fallout and asks Jake if he will represent him after he kills them. Roark argues that the death penalty is barbaric and should never be used. Here, Jake argues over the efficacy of the death penalty with Ellen Roark. “Death is too good for them, much too good.” Jake, p. While it's difficult to say definitively what the 'most horrible crime of all' is, Jake's argument proves powerful for many members of the jury. A child will have to contend with their expanding understanding of what has happened to them for the rest of their childhood and, on top of that, may suffer from PTSD. This is a line from Jake's closing argument, where he suggests that the long-term consequences of this particular crime, the rape of a child, are worse even than murder, because a child doesn't understand immediately what is happening to them or why it is happening. “Perhaps the most horrible crime of all is the violent rape of a child.” Jake, p. To act unafraid would be disingenuous, so, Lucien says, act afraid if you feel afraid. He faces the death penalty, and the outcome of the case determines whether he will live or die. The jury is also afraid, and Carl Lee is the most afraid of all. He encourages Jake to embrace fear and points out that he is not the only one in that courtroom who feels afraid. Here, Lucien prepares Jake to face the jury for the first time.

A time to kill book