Well, I'm almost done with John Grisham's book, The Last Juror. What have I read so far. Willie Traynor is an Ivy League graduate that moves to Clanton, Mississippi. He had a roommate in school, whose family owned a small town newspaper company and made tons of money. Willie thought this was a great idea, moved to Clanton and started working for the local paper.
It wasn't long and the owner of the newspaper can't afford the business and it is up for sale. Willie has a rich grandmother, who loans him money to buy the newspaper. A terrible crime happens after Willie acquires the newspaper biz. A single mother of two is raped and murdered by Danny Padgitt, who comes from a family of very scary people that lives on an island near Clanton.
Danny is arrested the trial has the first black juror, Miss Callie, who Willie has befriended and he writes many articles about in his newspaper. Miss Callie has seven kids with Ph.Ds and professors at various Universities all over America. Oh, this story is during 1970s. And Mississippi is still segregated. And Miss Callie has one son that is in hiding for having an affair.
During the trial, the Padgitt clan got the bright idea to let Danny testify. As I read about the Padgitt family, I pictured hillbillies with missing teeth and functioning on half a brain due to all the moonshine they drank as they were making it. The Padgitt family sounds like the southern version of the Sopranos, mobsters Southern style. Anyway, Danny testifies and claims all the evidence that the D.A. has against him is a conspiracy and no one is buying this theory. As Danny is leaving the witness stand, he threatens the jurors if they convict him they will pay.
Danny is found guilty of murder, but he's only sentenced to life due to the jury unable to unanimously sentence him to death. Well, a life sentence in Mississippi means 7 to 10 years. The jurors are not educated about this detail, but Willie has been informed. Danny goes off to the big house and Clanton goes back to every day living.
And this concludes the blurb. I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. After visiting Mississippi and living in the South, everything I am reading I can believe about Clanton, Mississippi. The blacks live in one part of the town, there are black only, specified places and the hard time Miss Callie and her husband were given before they were given the opportunity to register to vote. After my experience with the South, I'm thinking there hasn't been much progress there, especially in rural Mississippi.
I didn't enjoy living in the South. I wasn't a fan of the Republican, Conservative way of thinking down there. And I wasn't much for the racism either or a fan of rednecks. One thing I do miss about the South, the food, it was really good and so tasty. And the ice tea in the South, is very, very, yummy.
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