Introduction
The novel “Conviction” written by a distinguished American fiction writer Richard North Patterson in 2005 has sure caused deep resonance among the public, because it touches upon one of the most sensitive issues in the contemporary American society, the problem of capital punishment. Certainly, this moral dilemma has often been discussed and, it seems that this issue remains unresolved. The key peculiarity of this novel is that Richard Patterson incorporates the moral parable with a thriller and it produces indelible impression on the reader.
Main body
The novel is written mostly in third person, it is set in present day California. The author prefers a suspenseful tone, and the novel itself reminds some psychological quest or investigation, aimed at discovering whether the person is guilty of committing a crime or not. In this case, it becomes a matter of life and death. Although the author mostly prefers the form of dialogue, his descriptions have many realistic details, which give the reader a clear idea of court and prison life in the United States. In addition to that, it is quite possible for us to say that the Richard Patterson is renowned for his ability to penetrate into the inner world of the main characters. At first glance, it may seem that they are rather sketchy, however as the story progresses, we may see that a few subtle details a thee-dimensional image of people, described in the novel.
The plot of the story evolves around the life of two brothers Rennell and Payton Price, who were sentenced to death for raping and killing a nine-year-old girl. The point is that the jury, convicting the defendants does not even want to go into the details of this case.
People, who are chosen to decide the fate of Price brothers, are too eager to find scapegoats for this atrocity; naturally, they are inclined to jump into conclusions as to the guilt or innocence of the accused.
Nevertheless, this is not the only story line. The novel also concentrates on the attempts of Teresa Paget, the defensive to delay the execution and avert the disaster, because the death a person who is probably innocent is always a disaster. The main character believes that Price brothers were not properly trialed and that the jurors were prejudiced against the accused.
Teresa believes that such biased judgment is the most blatant mistake that a system of justice could ever make. The point is that as soon as the Rennell and Payton Price find themselves in the dock, people begin to perceive them not as defendants but as criminals, which violates the presumption of innocence. It seems that these people are doomed.
One of the brothers Rennell Price is to be executed in fifteen days. It is worth mentioning that this man has spent fifteen years on the death row, suffering sexual assault from other inmates.
Perhaps, it is a far-fetched statement, but this person has already been severely punished, because waiting death is much worse than the death itself. The thing is that he has already experienced it many times (in his imagination naturally). Probably, this makes him mentally impaired. The only words, that the defensive attorney Terri Paget can get from him is “I didn’t do that little girl”. Terri scrutinized the details of Prices case and arrives at a horrible conclusion, that this man might not be involved into the raping of a little Vietnamese girl Thuy Sen. In her opinion, Payton Price had some other accomplice.
Time is working against Rennell and Terri, because they have only fifteen days at their disposal, and every hour, every minute can be of the crucial importance for them.
Another peculiar feature of Richard Pattersons novel is that the author skillfully describes the publics attitude towards the person, who is sentenced to death. It seems, that for the overwhelming majority of people, this mans life is of no consequence.
The main character, Terri Paget fights against insuperable odds, while tying to avert the execution. First, she and her team face a great number of bureaucratic obstacles, which are very difficult to surmount.
The point is that many inflectional politicians have their personal agenda and they simply cannot afford to waste time on some convict awaiting his death. Moreover, the fact that Rennell Price is mentally impaired is not taken into account. The impression is that the system of justice wants to get rid of his “case” as soon as possible.
Besides, Terry Paget has to deal with people, who are so firmly convinced in the rightness of their decision that they do not even want to take another look at the problem. It seems that they entirely eliminate the possibility of Rennells innocence. Some philosophers say that such people are the greatest threat to the society, because they do not have any doubts and it seems that their decision is the only right variant.
As far as the very issue of death penalty is concerned, we can say that the author leaves it open for discussion. Every reader has to find his own way of solving this dilemma. Richard Patterson only attempts to attract our attention to this matter, because, it appears that American society has taken it for granted for a very long time.
The case, investigated by the main character proves that we should not be too hasty in our actions, because their effects can be irreparable, especially if we are speaking about such notions as life or death of a human being. Moreover, the author stresses the idea that people must never be one hundred percent sure in the rightness of their judgments and decisions. Our ability to doubt is what makes us humane. The classical Latin proverb “to err is human” is the maxim, that we should take as a guide.
Conclusion
Certainly, Richard Patterson does not explicitly state the age-old Christian opinion as to the problem of capital punishment in other words “Judge not, lest not be judged”, penitentiary system is an inseparable part of human society. Probably, there are people, who deserve death, but the danger of executing an innocent man is something that we should always remember. In fact, some people have completely forgotten about.
The main message that the author wants to convey is that the life of a human being must be our highest priority and we should never forget about it. Everyone is able to take life but no one can give it back.