- Luke Jackson is scheduled to be executed in days. He killed a policeman seven years earlier and was condemned to death. After numerous appeals and stays, he has seemingly reached the end of the road, yet the Prestons say there is hope.
- Luke Jackson is scheduled to be executed in days. He killed a policeman seven years ago and after numerous appeals and stays, he has seemingly reached the end of the road. Although the Prestons are representing him before the clemency board, Jackson begs them not to give him any false hope. The District Attorney is outraged that Jackson has not been executed before now. The clemency board is composed of a member who leans in Jackson's favor, another who is dead set against him and a third who has an open mind. Jackson's wife is waiting outside the hearing room as is the wife of the murdered policeman. After the DA and the elder Preston have their say, the board hears from the prison warden about Jackson's conduct for the past 7 years. The judge who sentenced Jackson to death makes an eloquent plea for the board to exercise mercy - a power he was denied by law. The patrolman who was with the murdered officer and captured Jackson states that the murdered man would want mercy for Jackson. Finally Jackson himself testifies. He tells the board what he does in prison but doesn't know what else the board wants him to say. The elder Preston demands to know what he is feeling. Jackson says he's angry that everyone wants him to say he's sorry and expect a metamorphosis to take place. In turn, everyone keeps telling him how sorry they are. He refuses to say he is sorry because he knows it means nothing. In the end, Jackson's death sentence is commuted to life.
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