Grisham wrote his book in Mississippi in the mid-1980s, and by his telling, racism was alive and well. The fascinating thing about the novel is the social reality it reflects. He wondered what would happen if her father had taken matters into his own hands, and the plot was born. Grisham was inspired by a trial that he saw after the rape of a young black girl. Should the town applaud Carl Lee Hailey for riding the town of two lowlifes or send him to the gas chamber? Reviewīy his own admission, Grisham’s first book is a semi-autobiographical tale of a young lawyer and his first big case. The trial sparks an explosion of racial tension, provoking burning crosses, riots and death threats. He tries to avoid the death penalty on the grounds of temporary insanity. In the ensuing courtroom drama, young lawyer, Jake Brigance, sets about defending Carl Lee. He guns the two culprits down as they leave the courthouse on the first day of the trial. Will Pete and Billy Ray get the sentence that they deserve? Tonya’s distressed and enraged father, Carl Lee Hailey, decides to take matters into his own hands.

But this is small-town Mississippi, in the deep south. The crime was brutal Tonya was horrifically injured, mentally scarred, and will never be able to have children of her own. They didn’t worry about the hurt that they had caused and were quickly arrested and held for trial. James “Pete” Willard and Billy Ray Cobb, two local red necks, were busy bragging about their exploits in a local bar. It doesn’t take the police long to round up the culprits. Tonya Hailey is a black ten-year-old girl who is raped and left for dead.

A time to kill grisham