A Time For Mercy

Jake goes to Hanna’s school on Thursday to join her for lunch with other parents. During lunch, a mother sitting across from Jake asks why he would represent a killer, and Jake responds that it’s part of the US Constitution. Carla appears, and the conversation changes.

Reverend McGarry, his family, and Mrs. Carol Huff pick up Josie and Kiera from the hospital in Tupelo and take them to Good Shepherd Bible Church. McGarry and some deacons have converted a classroom into a living space for them, and there’s a kitchen and well-stocked fridge for them to use. Two to three deacons will provide security each night, and the women have a meal schedule planned for the coming week. A retired teacher will also tutor Kiera until she has caught up. Josie and Kiera thank everyone for their help and support as they leave and plan to visit Drew tomorrow.

At 5pm that evening, Dr. Rooker calls Jake and tells him she’s sending a fax to him and Judge Noose. The fax contains Drew’s examination results, which include neglect, physical and psychological abuse, and witness to domestic violence. Dr. Rooker recommends the court send Drew to the state mental hospital in Whitfield for a more thorough exam and long-term treatment. An hour later, Jake receives a fax from Noose, who orders Drew’s transfer to the state hospital as soon as possible.

Stuart Kofer’s funeral is Saturday, March 31. The weather is gloomy, but a huge crowd gathers at the National Guard Armory, including the press and multiple law enforcement agencies. The family has to pay a preacher from another county to conduct the service. Ozzie, one of only 10 Black people in the audience, thinks about transferring Drew to the state mental hospital the previous day and how angry Earl Kofer was. Ozzie warns Jake that the Kofers and their supporters are upset. However, Ozzie knows the kid is in bad shape after a two-hour drive listening to Drew hum and groan. Jake doesn’t attend the funeral but watches the burial from a distance. During the family meal following the burial, Earl and his friends discuss the unfairness of Drew getting off through an insanity plea. Someone threatens to hurt Jake if he sees him on the street.

Over the weekend, District Attorney Lowell Dyer’s office receives numerous calls and voice messages pleading with him to prevent Drew from getting away with murder. Dyer calls Noose and agrees to call a special meeting for the grand jury. Noose also tells Dyer he can’t find anyone else to take Drew’s defense because no one wants the case. He asks Dyer for suggestions, but Dyer tells Noose to stay with Jake. Dyer then hangs up with Noose and calls Jake, telling him the grand jury is assembling tomorrow.

At 4pm on Monday, Ozzie and his chief investigator, Kirk Rady, go to Jake’s office to interview Josie and Kiera as potential witnesses. Rady first asks Josie to describe what happened on March 25, the day Stuart died, and she describes her experience waiting for Stuart and how he came home drunk and started beating her. Rady also asks about Drew’s current condition and if Stuart ever took Drew hunting. Josie says Stuart took Drew fishing once but became angry when Drew lost his fishing rod. Stuart also took him shooting behind the barn once, but he mocked Drew for being timid and a poor shot. Josie then explains that Stuart hit all of them frequently, but Jake prevents further explanation.

Rady then questions Kiera and asks her what happened that night. Kiera describes what she heard and saw, wiping tears away as she spoke. She also says she never saw Stuart or his gun before or after Drew shot him. Ozzie stands abruptly, thanks the women for their time, and leaves the office.

At sunrise on Tuesday, Reverend McGarry picks up Josie and Kiera to take them to visit Drew. Almost immediately, he must stop the car because Kiera is going to be sick. Both women are crying when they return to the vehicle, and Josie tells McGarry that Kiera has always struggled with car sickness. Josie also says Drew is doing well and is now on antidepressants and feeling better. She is comforted by having Jake as their lawyer. When they get to the hospital, Kiera and Josie go to a room where he is waiting for them. As they visit, McGarry meets with one of Drew’s counselors, who asks if he can leave Kiera and Josie here for 24 hours. McGarry agrees and returns home.

Also on Tuesday, the 18 people comprising the Ford County grand jury meet in a small courtroom. Lowell Dyer presents the facts of the case. After some discussion, the grand jury unanimously indicts Drew for capital murder. However, some jurors question the simplicity of the case based on the details Dyer and Ozzie provide.

On Wednesday, April 4, Jake arrives at the coffee shop at 6am. He sips coffee and reads the newspaper. He then talks to a factory foreman, maintaining that he wants off Drew’s case. Another patron joins the discussion and tells Jake he shouldn’t be defending Drew. Jake leaves and arrives at his office at 7am. No one has arrived at the office yet, but he finds Portia’s motion asking Noose to move Drew’s case to youth court. Jake knows Noose will deny it, but he will file it as a formality.

That day, Harry Rex meets with a friend and lawyer named Doby Pittman to discuss the Smallwood case. Doby tells Harry Rex that he hears Jake has gotten himself into a difficult situation, especially with the rumored insanity suit to get Drew off. Harry Rex defends Jake and reinforces that Jake is defending Drew temporarily and won’t be on the case much longer. The conversation then turns to Smallwood. Harry Rex suggests a $2 million settlement, but Pittman warns that Drew’s case is a liability and that the railroad’s lawyers won’t agree.

At 3:40pm on Friday, McGarry visits Jake at his office. He describes driving Josie and Kiera to visit Drew in Whitfield and Kiera’s constant sickness. McGarry also says Kiera took a pregnancy test, which came back positive. Jake is shocked at the news and learns that Stuart started raping Kiera around Christmas and threatened to kill her if she told anyone. He asks McGarry if Drew knows about the rapes, but he isn’t sure. McGarry does say that Josie wants Kiera to get an abortion, but if she does, Good Shepherd will no longer help the Gamble family. Jake tells McGarry to keep the pregnancy secret, and McGarry agrees and says Josie and Kiera are waiting for Jake to visit them.

Jake drives to Good Shepherd and thinks about the consequences Kiera’s pregnancy will have on the trial. When he arrives, Jake asks Josie if Drew knows Stuart was raping Kiera, but Josie doesn’t think he does. She then tells Jake about Drew’s father and getting pregnant at 15. Josie regrets not giving Drew up for adoption and says it was the biggest mistake of her life. She doesn’t want Kiera to have the same experience she did. Jake asks if there’s any chance the baby isn’t Stuart’s, but Josie says no. She also says Stuart hit all of them but never enough to leave marks. Kiera comes downstairs, and Jake emphasizes that everyone must keep her pregnancy secret. Josie brings up abortion again, and Jake reminds her an abortion will destroy a life as well as valuable evidence against Stuart, as it’s the only proof they have that he raped Kiera. Keeping the baby will also elicit a lot of sympathy from the jury.

Jake drives home to pick up Carla for a dinner date with friends. On the way, Carla tells Jake about another threatening call and says they need a new phone number. She also says she’s worried Jake will get stuck with the case and how it will affect her family’s safety. They arrive at Stan Atcavage’s house. Stan is a banker and holds most of Jake’s mortgages and a loan Jake took out to pay the expenses of the Smallwood case. Five couples are at the house; the women congregate on the patio while the men gather around a beer keg.

At the end of the party, Carla asks Jake how many drinks he’s had, but he insists he’s fine to drive home. As they approach town, a deputy Jake knows pulls him over. The deputy takes Jake’s license and registration back to his patrol car; when he returns, he asks Jake if he’s been drinking, and Jake says he has. He agrees to a BAC test when another patrol car pulls up. The officers discuss Stuart and what it would mean if his killer wasn’t held accountable. Jake sympathizes with them and says he’s only on the case temporarily. One deputy then says he called Ozzie, who wants them to follow Jake home. All the men return to their cars and drive to Jake’s house.

When Jake and Carla arrive home, Jake plays the answering machine and listens to a message from Josie, who apologizes for asking him for money for an abortion. Carla overhears this, so Jake tells Carla about Kiera’s pregnancy.

Jake drives to Chester on Tuesday to meet with Judge Noose at his home courthouse. Noose asks about Drew, and Jake says he’s well but has a long road to full recovery after all the trauma he’s experienced. Noose then tells Jake he can’t find another lawyer to take the case. Jake says he’s concerned the case will bankrupt him, especially since he’s already logged 41 hours, but the state will only pay him $1000. Noose reassures him that he’ll get paid. He tells Jake to track his hours and submit them to the county with a bill. Jake can sue them when the country refuses to pay it, and Noose will rule in his favor. Jake finally accepts that he is stuck with the case, and Noose says he’ll even set a trial date for Smallwood for April 23. Noose then asks if Jake’s worried about jury selection for Drew’s case. Jake’s worried but thinks he can find 12 open-minded jurors. Noose suggests they get Drew back in the county jail to calm the rumors of an insanity plea, and Jake agrees.

On the drive back to Clanton, Jake calls Harry Rex and tells him about the trial date for Smallwood. He also says they’ll get a list of jurors in 24 hours, but Harry Rex says he already has it.

Jake and Harry Rex travel to Atlanta to hire a jury consultant specializing in small-town juries. The consultant and his team immediately begin polling rural Mississippi voters and investigating the background of the 97 potential jurors. Jake and Harry Rex are hopeful about the jury, and their focus shifts from Drew to the Smallwood trial.

At 8am on Saturday, Jake assembles a mock jury and runs through a mock trial of the Smallwood case. At the end of the mock trial, the jurors discuss and ask questions, ultimately ruling 9 to 4 in Jake’s favor.

Jake continues to piece together all the people at the Smallwood crash scene in his workroom. A few months ago, there was one witness Jake had yet to identify, so he paid a private investigator to locate the man. Jake learned that the man is Neal Nickel from Nashville. Neal saw the Smallwoods collide with the train despite the flashing crossing lights. He overheard another witness tell a state trooper that the lights weren’t working, but Neal didn’t want to get involved with the case and still refused when he talked to the private investigator. This report makes Jake feel sick because it could negatively affect his case. He decides to hide the report and keep it secret. When the defense lawyers asked Jake for a list of all people with any knowledge about the case. Jake and Harry Rex decide to continue hiding Neal.

Now that the trial is underway, Neal reappears. Jake, Harry Rex, and the defense lawyers meet with Noose before they begin jury selection. The defense explains how Neal Nickel came forward as a key witness in the crash and accuses Jake of hiding him and violating the rules of discovery. Jake says it must have been an oversight, but Noose doesn’t believe him and grants the motion for a continuance, postponing the trial.

Jake leaves the courthouse immediately and drives south to clear his head. He knows his mistake will delay the Smallwood trial for some time and might even cost him the payout he desperately needs. Jake eventually ends up at Good Shepherd and sees Josie and Kiera sitting at a picnic table outside the church. Josie tells him they visited Drew yesterday and that he’s doing better now that he’s on medication. Kiera’s tutor arrives, and Josie says her daughter is catching up with her schoolwork. Kiera leaves to meet with her tutor, and Josie tells Jake she’s been given a job at the feed mill.

Jake then drives to Lucien’s home, where Lucien is on the porch reading and drinking whiskey before noon. The men talk about Jake’s blunder, and Lucien says he probably would have done the same and hid Neal. He then tells Jake to go after Neal and find out everything he can because there must be a reason he held back before but then suddenly came forward. Lucien also tells Jake not to show weakness and to push for a new trial date. He is confident Jake can still win. Jake then returns to his house and mows his lawn while waiting for Carla and Hanna to come home. When they do, Jake and Carla sit on the patio, and Jake tells her about his day in court.