Jake Brigance

Jake Brigance is the main character and hero of the novel. He is the husband of Carla and the father of Hanna. He works as a lawyer at the Wilbanks Firm and is appointed by the circuit court judge to represent Drew, a teenage boy who shot and killed his mother’s policeman boyfriend after that boyfriend beat his mother unconscious.

Jake can be considered an unwilling hero because he is resentful and afraid when he is first assigned to Drew’s case. He worries what people will think of him for representing a boy who killed a police officer. Jake is already struggling financially and fears that taking on Drew’s case will hurt his other cases. He also knows that he will earn, at most, $1,000 from Drew’s case. Lucien, Jake’s mentor warns Jake that it is only when he learns to be unafraid...