Summary

In Chapter 49, Dyer and Jake gave their closing arguments. Dyer made the argument that Stuart was not a danger to Drew when he shot him, so the murder was not justifiable. In Jake’s closing statements, he asked the jury not to ignore the reports of violence and concentrate only on the last ten seconds of Stuart’s life. He also requested that they show Josie and her children “a little mercy, a little compassion” (425) and give them a chance to rebuild their lives.

In Chapter 50, the bailiffs broke up a verbal fight between the jurors as John Carpenter insisted on being chosen as foreman while Joey Kepner argued he should not be foreman because he was not impartial. When the jurors were alone again, Regina Elmore volunteered to act as the foreman. An hour later the bailiffs had to intervene again when...