CONVICTION
Richard North Patterson
Random House
Legal Thriller
ISBN: 0345450191

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Richard North Patterson writes big books that deal with big issues; some have called him the voice of the American conscience. Patterson started his career as a trial lawyer. Then, when the Watergate scandal broke, he became the SEC's liaison to the special prosecutor. He is now on the boards of several Washington-based advocacy groups and his novels reflect what the agencies deal with: gun violence and torte reform (BALANCE OF POWER, 2003) and in PROTECT AND DEFEND (2000) he brought his laser-like focus to the United States's schizophrenic arguments about abortion. His newest novel, CONVICTION, shines a light on the virulent discussions and controversies that surround this country's death penalty: uncertainty, morality, inconsistency, politics, race, social class, and finality.

San Francisco attorney Christopher Paget --- who debuted in THE LASKO TANGENT, Patterson's first book --- his wife Terri, also a lawyer, and Carlo Paget, Chris's son and now a practicing attorney, take on the case of Rennell Price. He is a death row inmate who was found guilty (along with his brother Payton) of the sexual assault and murder of a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl. Fifteen years have passed since their sentencing and only fifty-nine days remain before Rennell is put to death.

Teresa Peralta Paget is a specialist in death row cases. She and Carlo begin to work with Rennell and come to the conclusion that he may not have been competent to stand trial --- he is clearly retarded and never could have helped in his own defense. They mine the transcripts, talk to the detective in charge of the case, seek out everyone still alive who had anything to do with the trial --- and when they review the abysmal performance by the original trial attorney, they discover that he was high throughout the proceedings. They come to believe that not only is Rennell innocent, but that another person helped Payton Price commit the unthinkable crime. That man is still at large and a crusade for a final appeal to save Rennell is put into action.

The team has to work at breakneck speed against a mountain of precedents, the personal agendas of politicians, the weaknesses of other appellate attorneys, the machinations of the death penalty system, the judges who have a stake in not reversing death penalty verdicts, and the racial components of this case. The fact that Rennell may be innocent, or at the very least retarded, thus rendering him ineligible for the death penalty, is the least important element of the fight to save his life. In front of a very conservative judge and a smart, pro-death penalty prosecutor, the Pagets have their work cut out for them.

Terri is a mother. She has a teenage daughter who was molested and abused by her father. And one of the subplots of CONVICTION is that this case is driving a painful wedge between the two. Elena knows that her mother is fighting to save a convicted child rapist and murderer. She is furious about this and that the nature of such a case is a 24-hour-a-day commitment. Elena feels that Terri's role in these legal wranglings is not only taking time away from their relationship, but that it is also a betrayal. Despite her constant feelings of guilt, Terri will not give up her mission, because she doesn't believe that the State should put people to death, no matter what they have done.

CONVICTION is a sweeping commentary not only on the justice system but also on parenting, family responsibility, the death of innocence, and how a culture defines itself when it comes to sanctioning murder. It is the kind of book that provokes discussion. It prods the reader to look at what Patterson calls, "the bottom line … much of the complexity [of capital punishment] reflects fundamental and passionate disagreement --- whether the principal goal of postconviction litigation is achieving finality or preventing the potential execution of the innocent. I hope that this novel does that conflict justice … my belief [is that] popular fiction can address controversial legal, political, and social issues."

To be fair in assessing this book one must consider Richard North Patterson's personal integrity and his devout beliefs about the many injustices he perceives in the application and existence of particular laws. He has written a powerful polemic without resorting to didactics or pedantry. He does not preach; he sets a scene in motion, then allows his characters to play their parts with strength and believability.

CONVICTION is a timely and well-written book with a tightly focused plot that brings verisimilitude to the arguments on both sides of the death penalty issue. To read Patterson is to immerse oneself in intellectual arguments shaped to take readers a step beyond the mundane, to offer the opportunity to assess and reassess their own beliefs. Says Patterson: "I understand that writing about capital punishment will arouse a number of emotions in my readers, not all of them admiring." He admits that the narrative is rife with different views, but isn't that the point? Don't miss this novel. It's important, and it's a keeper.

   --- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

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