The Last Lawyer : The Fight to Save Death Row Inmates

The Last Lawyer is the true, inside story of how an idealistic legal genius and his diverse band of investigators and fellow attorneys fought to overturn a client's final sentence. Ken Rose has handled more capital appeals cases than almost any other attorney in the United States. The Last Lawyer chronicles Rose's decade-long defense of Bo Jones, a North Carolina farmhand convicted of a 1987 murder. Rose called this his most frustrating case in twenty-five years, and it was one that received scant attention from judges or journalists. The Jones case bares the thorniest issues surrounding capital punishment. Inadequate legal counsel, mental retardation, mental illness, and sketchy witness testimony stymied Jones's original defense. Yet for many years, Rose's advocacy gained no traction, and Bo Jones came within three days of his execution. The book follows Rose through a decade of setbacks and small triumphs as he gradually unearthed the evidence he hoped would save his client's life. At the same time, Rose also single-handedly built a nonprofit law firm that became a major force in the death penalty debate raging across the South. The Last Lawyer offers unprecedented access to the inner workings of a capital defense team. Based on four and a half years of behind-the-scenes reporting by a journalism professor and nonfiction author, The Last Lawyer tells the unforgettable story of a lawyer's fight for justice. This book is the story of a tireless legal Samaritan and his warfare on the injustice of capital punishment. It is the true, inside story of how an idealistic legal genius and his diverse band of investigators and fellow attorneys fought to overturn a client's final sentence. Ken Rose has handled more capital appeals cases than almost any other attorney in the United States. The book chronicles Rose's decade long defense of Bo Jones, a North Carolina farmhand convicted of a 1987 murder. Rose called this his most frustrating case in twenty five years, and it was one that received scant attention from judges or journalists. The Jones case bares the thorniest issues surrounding capital punishment. Inadequate legal counsel, mental retardation, mental illness, and sketchy witness testimony stymied Jones's original defense. Yet for many years, Rose's advocacy gained no traction, and Bo Jones came within three days of his execution. The book follows Rose through a decade of setbacks and small triumphs as he gradually unearthed the evidence he hoped would save his client's life. At the same time, Rose also single handedly built a nonprofit law firm that became a major force in the death penalty debate raging across the South. This work offers access to the inner workings of a capital defense team. Based on four and a half years of behind the scenes reporting by a journalism professor and nonfiction author, it tells the story of a lawyer's fight for justice. THE LAST LAWYER......Page 3 MISSISSIPPI STATE PENITENTIARY AT PARCHMAN: June 21, 1989......Page 10 PART I: 1997–1999......Page 14 1......Page 16 2......Page 23 3......Page 26 4......Page 31 5......Page 38 6......Page 43 7......Page 49 8......Page 55 9......Page 59 10......Page 63 11......Page 66 12......Page 71 13......Page 74 14......Page 78 15......Page 83 16......Page 88 17......Page 92 18......Page 97 PART II: 1999–2006......Page 100 19......Page 102 20......Page 107 21......Page 110 22......Page 114 23......Page 119 24......Page 123 25......Page 125 26......Page 130 27......Page 133 28......Page 137 29......Page 143 30......Page 147 31......Page 151 32......Page 155 33......Page 159 34......Page 162 35......Page 165 36......Page 167 37......Page 172 38......Page 176 39......Page 181 40......Page 182 41......Page 186 42......Page 189 43......Page 191 44......Page 194 45......Page 196 46......Page 201 PART III: 2006–2008......Page 204 47......Page 206 48......Page 209 49......Page 213 50......Page 216 51......Page 218 52......Page 220 53......Page 225 DUPLIN COUNTY COURTHOUSE: May 2, 2008......Page 229 AUTHOR’S NOTE......Page 239 THE LAST LAWYER 3 MISSISSIPPI STATE PENITENTIARY AT PARCHMAN: June 21, 1989 10 PART I: 1997–1999 14 1 16 2 23 3 26 4 31 5 38 6 43 7 49 8 55 9 59 10 63 11 66 12 71 13 74 14 78 15 83 16 88 17 92 18 97 PART II: 1999–2006 100 19 102 20 107 21 110 22 114 23 119 24 123 25 125 26 130 27 133 28 137 29 143 30 147 31 151 32 155 33 159 34 162 35 165 36 167 37 172 38 176 39 181 40 182 41 186 42 189 43 191 44 194 45 196 46 201 PART III: 2006–2008 204 47 206 48 209 49 213 50 216 51 218 52 220 53 225 DUPLIN COUNTY COURTHOUSE: May 2, 2008 229 AUTHOR’S NOTE 239 9781604733556