With public sentiment and fellow police officers standing behind Stu and his family, Jake’s efforts to keep Drew from being tried as an adult and facing possible execution put him at odds with the community. But deep down, he realizes he’s the best chance the Gamble family has. Jake only wants to handle preliminary matters for the Gamble case until a permanent public defender can be appointed. Drew, his younger sister and their mother lived in constant fear of beatings by Stu, who often returned home in a drunken stupor. Drew contends that he shot Stu in self-defense after believing Stu had killed his mother. There’s no question that Drew pulled the trigger, but Jake faces an ethical challenge over whether the shooting was justified. Jake Brigance-the hero of Grisham’s 1989 debut, A Time to Kill-is court-appointed to represent 16-year-old Drew Gamble in the shooting death of his mother’s boyfriend, deputy sheriff Stu Kofer. With nationwide calls for police reform and defunding, literary giant John Grisham’s novel A Time for Mercy is undoubtedly timely, as it explores the ways that violence committed by or against law enforcement officials can complicate the pursuit of justice.
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