Conviction

A Novel

By: Richard North Patterson

Narrated by: Patricia Kalember

When the body of nine-year old Thuy Sen is found in the San Francisco Bay, the police quickly charge Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A twelve-person jury, abetted by an incompetent defense lawyer, is nearly as quick to find the brothers guilty, and to sentence them both to die for their crimes.

Fifteen years later, overworked pro bono laywer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband Chris, and stepson Carlo, a recent Harvard law graduate, become convinced not only that Rennell didn't receive a fair trial but that he may well be innocent. Racing against the clock and facing enormous legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris, and Carlo desperately try to stay Rennell's execution, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and to an enormously moving and powerful conclusion.©2005 Richard North Patterson; (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

A Tour de Force

This is a complete tapestry of the anatomy of our criminal justice system, its complexities and especially its flaws. But the narrative is richly woven through a whole cross section of lives of real fully realized human beings living the story. It approached the level of War and Peace — for me anyway. Maybe you need to be a lawyer to fully appreciate it.

I had a hard time making it through this book.

There is so much sadness for the retorted people. They are domed from birth. This person should have not died. For the rape he did not do. I think some times the justness doe not no what to do with them so that is why they use death for the as she last resort in life.

The Nature of

Richard North Patterson, who has transcended the legal-thriller genre a few books ago has created a novel which explains how the appeals process in death penalty cases has become a stylized dance of arbitrary rules where political expediency trumps justice, fairness and truth. In telling the story of a last minute appeal of a retarded, and probably innocent man facing execution we are taken step by step through a grinding, mindnumbing and depressing process which exposes, in explicit terms, some very troubling truths about the death penalty today.

Patterson, in using a fictional case, has made a baroque and irrational system accessible to those open to be challenged on their assumptions about "activist courts" "coddled criminals" and other cleverly framed phrases which cloud the truth about a justice system which metes out the ultimate punishment without much concern for guilt or innocence.

This is not a fun book. However, it is an important book for those who truly want to understand an important issue, and how it defines us as a people. And Patterson does provide an excellent road map, for those with the courage and character, to proceed down that road.

Wish I'd bought the abridged version....

This title isn't one of Patterson's best, but still worth a listen. A well written but predictable story line. My only gripe is that it just seems to go on and on. I almost always choose unabridged versions, some much longer than this title, but this one seemed to drag and at times plod toward the inevitable conclusion.

Very, very good!

RN Patterson is a wonderful author who researches the heck out of his novels. I love his writing style and his character development. This is a great insight into so many aspects of death penalty law!