The Lawyer's Dilemma

DRUG ABUSE. JEALOUSY. KIDNAPPING. RAPE. MURDER. DIVORCE. ADOPTION. MENTAL HEALTH. SELF-HARM. DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. SUICIDE. COVID-19When Keith, a US prosecuting attorney face the reality that his wife was battling with heroin addiction, prolonged post-natal depressive disorder and attempted suicide through self-harm, he walked out on the marriage leaving their two year old son with her in a vulnerable condition. Teresa was struggling with substance abuse. Her license to practice as a registered nurse was revoked due to substance abuse. Tom was taken away from his mother by the social services. The author featured the plight that some children who are fostered go through during social care. Thirty years later Tom had grown to become a menace and notorious criminal with a record of all manner of conviction ranging from theft, rape and murder. His defence attorney and his team were strong. The case is a defining moment in Keith's career, Keith is not someone who is easily coerced into plea bargaining by the defence, but when he received the shock of his life that the accused person was his own biological son whom he had abandoned three decades ago, plea bargaining became inevitable. He must now find a way to prove his son's innocence. This is the most challenging trial in Keith's career; the murder victim - Steve is Tom's half-brother, unknown to Keith, Teresa remarried after their divorce and gave birth to Steve, a successful accountant. Tom met Steve later in life, he got jealous of him and conspired to have him murdered in cold blood, his motive was to solely inherit the real estate bequeathed in the Will and Last Testament of their grand-parents: Phoebe and Matthew who lived in Pennsylvania. Tom was not happy that his mother never mentioned his name in a letter Steve showed him when they met, he got jealous and poisoned him. The story reached its climax with the sentencing remarks by Tremaine Hernandez following two separate courtroom thrillers with hilarious dramas. A must read.