A meticulous account of appalling injustice, this book offers a scathing portrait of courtroom malfeasance, as witnessed through the lens of the defendant’s longtime lawyer.

Following the brutal murder of a grocery store owner in 1993, Clevon Jamel Jenkins was arrested, charged, tried, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Three years later, in 1996, Robert Michael Kelly became Jenkins’ defense attorney, spending seven years appealing the conviction, taking the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Despite the lack of conclusive evidence, the absence of eyewitnesses, and Jenkins’ unwavering denial of any involvement in the crime, he remains incarcerated to this day.

From ineffective state-appointed lawyers, inadmissible hearsay and prejudicial testimonies to credible evidence of improprieties and uncorroborated witnesses, Kelly makes the compelling argument that Jenkins failed to receive anything close to a fair trial at any stage of this grueling process. In his 40 years practicing law, the author notes that he has “never seen a greater travesty of justice than what occurred in this case.”

Painstakingly leading readers through every step of the initial criminal proceedings, the multiple appeals, and the reprehensibly long list of missteps throughout the case, Kelly lays out a legally sound and well-defended rebuttal to this miscarriage of justice via court transcripts, personal accounts, and nuanced analyses of evidence, precedent, and legal principles.

While readers with a deep interest in the subject will appreciate Kelly’s efforts, others may find the copious detail overwhelming. Additionally, the author’s righteous frustrations bleed into his presentation of the facts, which is at odds with his expectation that they respect the content as an impartial takedown of a corrupt system.

Occasional typos and misspelled words subtly undercut Kelly’s authority, as does some informal language (e.g., “rot in prison”).

Flaws aside, this remains a powerful argument against America’s judicial process—an indictment of the legal system at the procedural, individual, and systemic levels.