Guilty As Sin

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The story you’ve just read is drawn from an actual case I myself tried some years ago. Thus there really was an Alonzo Barnett, a Clarence Hightower, a Trevor St. James, a Kenny Smith, and a Shirley Levine. There was even a gathering at Doyle’s Pub. That said, I’ve changed a few things, including the names of the participants from the real-life drama, just as I’ve substituted Jaywalker’s identity for my own.

Best of all, there really was a bunch of jurors who somehow had the collective wisdom to know what to do with a case in which the defendant readily admitted that he’d done exactly what he’d been accused of doing, but nonetheless didn’t deserve to be convicted. So if you’re looking to find any heroes in the story, look no further than them.

As always, I find myself deeply indebted to my fabulous editor Leslie Wainger, and to my longtime good friend and literary agent Bob Diforio. Between the two of them, they pretty much leave me alone to tell my stories, by far the easiest part of the equation.

I’m equally indebted to you, the reader of these pages, without whom I’d have no one to share my stories with. So I thank each one of you, too, and hope to see you again next time.

I live and write in a truly magical place. My wife, Sandy, continues to be my first reader, my harshest critic and my biggest fan. My children are never far behind, and these days my grandchildren are getting into the act, too.

What more could I ask of life?