Summary
The narrator of the story is a reporter called Willie
Traynor. A girl is murdered in a small American town. The
local bad boy, Danny Padgitt, is put on trial. He goes to
jail, avoiding the death penalty because some of the jurors
don’t vote for it. After being turned down for parole on
one occasion, he is eventually let out of jail. Two of the
jurors are subsequently shot dead, and one is seriously
injured by a bomb. Willie discovers that the dead and
injured jurors hadn’t wanted the death penalty at the trial.
He can’t understand why the prime suspect, Danny, would
want to kill these people. When Danny is arrested and
put on trial for a second time, somebody shoots him dead
in the courtroom. The killer is a mental patient called
Hank Hooten. He had been in love with the dead girl. He
took revenge for her death by killing the jurors who had
opposed the death penalty, and then by killing Danny,
before shooting himself dead.
Chapters 1–2: The story begins in the sleepy American
town of Clanton, Mississippi. In March, 1970, a young
woman called Rhoda Kassellaw is stabbed to death in her
bedroom. Just before she dies, she tells her neighbor the
name of her attacker, Danny Padgitt. He is later arrested
following a car accident and taken into custody. Willie
Traynor, the owner of the local newspaper, covers the
story. He knows Danny comes from a bad family, who
are rumored to kill people for money. His friend, a black
woman called Callie Ruffin, warns him that the Padgitt
family would not be very happy about his newspaper
stories about them, and a lawyer called Harry Rex gives
him a gun. The day arrives for the trial. In the crowded
courtroom are Ernie Gaddis, the prosecuting lawyer, a
man called Hank Hooten, who had been the dead girl’s
boyfriend for a while, and Lucien Wilbanks, an unpleasant
man, who is defending Danny. Callie Ruffin is one of
the jurors. Danny’s defense is that was with his girlfriend
on the night of the murder, but a lot of people don’t
believe him. Danny threatens to kill the jurors if they say
he is guilty. He is found guilty and is sent to jail for life,
avoiding the death penalty because some of the jurors
didn’t want it.
Chapters 3–4: Willie Traynor explains to Miss Callie’s son
that a life sentence in Mississippi really meant ten years.
Just as things are returning to normal, Malcolm Vince,
a witness at the trail, is murdered. Then, Hank Hooten
goes crazy and starts shooting a gun from the top of the
court house. He is enraged because Danny didn’t get the
death penalty. He is captured and put in a mental hospital.
A few years later, a woman tells Willie that she has seen
Danny in a café talking and joking with a jailer from the
Broomfield jail. Willie is doubly surprised because Danny
should be in Parchman jail. Willie drives to Broomfield to
investigate. He takes photos of the two men and publishes
the story in his newspaper. He then receives threatening
phone calls and is given police protection. Later, when
Willie is visiting a church, he sees Hank Hooten. He tries
to find out why Hank isn’t still in the mental hospital, but
no one will talk to him.
Chapter 5: Two years later, Willie attends Danny Padgitt’s
parole hearing in Parchman jail. Danny says he is a
reformed character but Willie tells the parole panel about
Danny’s threatening behavior at his trial.The officials vote
three to two not to give Danny parole. A year later, Willie
and the Sheriff attend Danny’s second parole hearing. This
time Danny is given parole and is free. Willie visits Callie
Ruffin’s house and learns that Callie is very worried and
has been seen by a doctor. He tries to reassure the family
that Danny won’t do the things he has threatened to do,
but deep inside he doesn’t feel as confident as he sounds.
Chapters 6–7: Lenny Fargarson, a juror at the trial, is
shot dead in his wheelchair. The Sheriff wants the list of
all the jurors at the Padgitt trial so he can warn them of
the danger and offer police protection. Willie informs the
Ruffin family personally. Then another juror is murdered.
Mo Teale is shot dead while he is mending a piece of
farm machinery. The Sheriff discovers that the bullet had
come from the same gun that killed Lenny Fargarson, but
admits he can’t arrest Danny because there weren’t any
witnesses. Willie and the Sheriff drive around the town
and observe police cars and people with guns outside the
jurors’ homes. Willie tells Harry Rex that he has received
an offer for his newspaper and is thinking of selling it and
taking a trip around Europe.
Chapters 8–9: Willie is called to the Ruffin house.
Miss Callie explains that nine of the jurors wanted the
death penalty and only three didn’t. The three that didn’t
were Lenny Fargarson, Mo Teale and Maxine Root. It
appears that the killer is murdering the wrong people.
Willie wants to tell the police the names but Callie
initially objects on the grounds that the jurors were sworn
to secrecy. She relents and gives Willie the names. The
Sheriff calls a tearful Maxine Root to warn her of the
danger. A short time later, a box is delivered to Maxine’s
house. She believes it is a box of candy sent to her by
her sister. Before opening it, she calls her sister to thank
her and is told her sister hadn’t sent anything to her. A
policeman decides that the box could be dangerous and
shoots at it. There is an explosion and Maxine and the
other policemen are injured and admitted to hospital. The
police put Danny in jail. The next day Danny is in the
courtroom when somebody shoots him dead. Then the
gunman shoots out all the windows in Danny’s lawyer’s
office across the street.
Chapter 10: Finally the gunman shoots himself. It is
Hank Hooten. Willie visits the mental hospital and talks
to Hank’s doctor, Dr Vero. The doctor explains that Hank
was a very mentally sick person. He had been in love with
the dead girl, even though she wasn’t in love with him,
and was incensed about her murder. He also believed she
spoke to him. He killed the two jurors because they hadn’t
wanted the death penalty. The doctor adds that he wasn’t
Hank’s doctor when he was released from the hospital.
While in a café, Willie learns that Miss Callie is very ill in
hospital. The following day, with her family and Willie at
her bedside, Miss Callie dies. The next day Willie packs
his things in preparation for his trip abroad and very sadly
begins his last article for the paper, an obituary of his close
friend, Miss Callie.
