Summary

In Chapter 23, Shad begins his opening statement with references to the races of both Tom and Viola. Elder calls both lawyers to the bench but Quentin indicates he has no problem with Shad’s reference to race. Elder, Shad, and Penn all wonder where Quentin is going with his decision to allow race to be discussed. When Shad continues his opening statements, he indicates that Viola would not have been murdered had she and Tom been of the same race. He also argues the case is all about motive. Shad describes the sort of life Viola lived and reminds the jury that she had a child fathered by Tom. He also points out that Viola was murdered not by a lethal injection of painkillers but by a lethal dose of adrenaline.

Penn notes that through Shad’s opening statements, Quentin never calls out...