A Time to Kill

Jake agrees to an interview with The New York Times reporter Roger McKittrick, who has already talked to Ozzie and Bullard. Jake insists on recording the conversation so that he can’t be misquoted. Jake acknowledges that he believes Carl Lee will be convicted and that a white man accused of the same charge would not be. Jake explains that he plans to request a change of venue for the trial because he doesn’t think Carl Lee can receive a fair trial in Clanton. Then again, Jake admits, there’s not much point in changing the venue since racism is everywhere.

Jake attends a Sunday Baptist church service with Carla and Hanna. Afterward, he asks the pastor to pray for his family. At lunch with his parents, Gene and Eva Brigance, Jake learns how worried they are about his taking the case. He quickly puts an end to the conversation.

In the next scene, Reverend Ollie Agee leads a congregation in thrall to religious ecstasy. People faint and speak in tongues. As he preaches, the Hailey family (without Carl Lee) enters the building. Agee comes down from the pulpit and “everyone followed the reverend to greet the little Hailey girl” (113).