The Penalty Review
One small word can best describe this true-life gritty legal thriller - WOW!
Michael Shea's twenty-five years experience as a trial lawyer is revealed in this first-class true-life legal thriller. The novel stems from the author's experience as a court-appointed attorney in defending Joseph Green Brown who was wrongly sentenced to death, dangling for more than a decade on death row before gaining freedom. What started as a routine "freebie" and a favor, slowly became one of the most interesting cases of Shea's career spanning more than fourteen years and developing a bond of mutual respect between the two men fighting the same cause (the author describes Brown as "a wonderful man who never gave up until justice prevailed.")
The author's intricate and practical knowledge of how the legal system works and how the concept "law" is far akin from the concept "justice" is brought out in clear lucid terms. The book tends to be somewhat descriptive in narration - it is actually a sharp statement of the criminal justice system as it exist today. Reading the book, I felt that whatever be the "theoretical" differences in the legal system of U.S. & this part of the world, one thing remains the same - in the "practical working" side of law - there isn't much difference - the "good old boy" brand of justice is holds good over here also.
A Time to Kill, John Grisham's debut work was based upon a murder case that he defended - though critically acclaimed it was not commercially a success until The Firm came along; Scott Turow's One L, was about his experiences as a first year Harvard Law Student - it became hugely successful only after Presumed Innocent was published - these two books, we are informed are the personal favorites of the author's themselves (Grisham waited until he found his almost look-alike - Matthew McConnaughty before he agreed for making Time To Kill a movie.)
The same I believe is the destiny of The Penalty. The author has poured his heart in, in writing the book - the passion is clearly bought out - and judging by the book, the author has in him the power and skill to pen a dashing legal thriller in the style of The Firm or Presumed Innocent - and I wouldn't be surprised if in a couple of years from now, a blurb quoting - "Shea the next Grisham" appears.
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Product Overview
This gripping legal thriller illustrates the ambiguity of justice, where an innocent man dangles fourteen years on death row before gaining his hard-won freedom. Based on the true story of Joe Brown and his young, court-appointed defense attorney, this book examines the illusion of a neutral or impartial jury, particularly in a capital murder trial of a young black man in the South. The attorney's insight into the lengthy appeals process causes one to question the ultimate sentence of society; the death penalty; and the fight for life that ensues once it has been mandated.
In broad strokes, this legal thriller paints a picture of the U.S. criminal justice system. Upon closer inspection, individual brush strokes reveal the underlying themes of racial and socio-economic prejudice, the concept of a neutral jury in capital murder trials, and the ;good old boy; brand of justice so prevalent, still, in law enforcement agencies, courtrooms and judges' chambers, not just in Florida, where this story takes place, but throughout the United States.
Although this is a work of fiction, and some of the names and places have been changed, the details of this story closely reflect the original case history and trial circumstances.
