Realistically this story had every opportunity to be the next Just Mercy, however given the authors ramblings, it just doesn’t get there.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. An in depth, thought provoking memoir by a defense attorney. It delves into one of his cases where he was trying to fight to keep the defendant from remaining on death row. For all those people who don't understand how defense attorney's can defend the guilty, this memoir goes into explain what motivates defense attorney's to take a side that many people find abbohrent and hard to comprehend. ⭐⭐⭐#donaldcameronclark #summaryjudgment #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #litsy #goodreads #thestorygraph #truecrime #memoir #bookqueen #bookstagram #amazonkindle

Many thanks to NetGalley and Girl Friday Productions for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Summary Judgment was a really interesting book, which introduced the reader to the intricacies of death row appeals through one particular case. Tommy is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He did it, but it’s eye opening to learn of how the appeals process works and why it’s needed.

I found the story engaging and informative. Living in a non death penalty country, it was fascinating to read how the process works, how it can go wrong, and what is in place to mitigate that. I also felt for Tommy, who’d had a very short lifetime of making bad and impulsive decisions before he made the ones that led him to kill a man.

I also liked the way the chapters were set out, so you knew what was going to be in each one. There was a lot of law jargon, test cases, and arguments which some may find a bit much, but I really loved how Clark really dug down into why he raised the appeals and arguments he did and how it all pulled together. I felt it really gave a deeper understanding of how the system works.

This book is perfect for anyone who is interested in what happens after a conviction or who is interested in how death sentence appeals work. It’s definitely one I will recommend to all my true crime friends!

A thorough and unmitigated view of one death row case in Alabama from a defense attorney’s perspective, Summary Judgement: A Lawyer’s Memoir by Donald Cameron Clark, Jr. (Girl Friday Productions 2021) is a startling look at just how far the justice system in the United States has to go in reforming prisons, court proceedings, and abolishing the death penalty.
Clark’s memoir focuses on the death row case of Tommy Hamilton. Hamilton grew up in rural Alabama in a horribly troubled and abusive home, and later became a victim of substance abuse as a young adult. In the summer of 1984, Hamilton shot and killed his boss along the side of a road next to a stretch of woods. After he was convicted of capital murder, Hamilton was sentenced to die in Alabama’s electric chair.
This is where Clark enters the story. A Chicago-based lawyer, Clark, alongside a colleague and a Catholic nun/attorney from Alabama arrive to attempt to prove that Hamilton is not legally guilty, despite the fact that he is not factually innocent. However, Hamilton knows that, even if his lawyers are able to have his death sentence repealed, he will instead die in prison serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. As a result, Hamilton insists that he would prefer the electric chair. Presented with this challenge, as well as many others, including a witness’s alleged suicide and their own client’s escape from custody, Hamilton’s lawyers, Clark included, began the arduous task of combing through Hamilton’s original trial and sentencing hearing to prove that he did not receive a fair trial.
This book was an excellent account of a true crime case that may never have received any literary treatment if not for the shocking circumstances of the trial and Hamilton’s subsequent death row appeals. However, Clark warns us throughout that the substance of this case is both Hamilton’s particular circumstances and the circumstances of hundreds of death row inmates (incarcerated and already executed) around the country. Though he honestly expresses his own fraught relationship with the death penalty, Clark points out that not only is the punishment inordinately harsh and cruel, but the justice system also works very hard to make sure that once prisoners are sentenced to death, they stay on death row:
“Most people know that criminal defendants have the constitutional right to have an attorney appointed for them at trial and during direct appeals if they are unable to afford one. Few people, however, are aware that additional legal remedies—known as collateral remedies—remain available to those convicted of crimes even after they have unsuccessfully exhausted all direct appeals of their convictions. And fewer still know that indigent convicts are orphaned as far as having legal representation provided so that they can meaningfully pursue these collateral remedies.” (17)
By impeding their right to counsel, the justice system limits a death row inmate’s contact with the legal system and the outside world. Clark expertly points out that, in the case of Tommy Hamilton, a young person who suffered from intellectual and emotional disabilities, and with little financial recourse of his own, this legal “orphaning” can be catastrophic.
Clark’s memoir is a fascinating look into the life of a defense attorney as much as it is a discussion of the death penalty in general. An experienced lawyer, Clark contemplates the dominating perceptions/stereotypes about his profession, his own reasons for working as an attorney, and the duty he feels he has to the general public to represent them, whatever their circumstances may be.
“Lawyers defending the condemned have always played a pivotal role in the determination of which criminal defendants are sentence to death. Indeed, the call for a lawyer to defend the most heinous among us, and the accompanying scorn for those lawyers who do so, has been with the profession since the founding of this country. … Defending those that society has condemned is not an easy choice for any attorney, and it can have real consequences for themselves and their families.” (256-7).
The cast of “characters” in this text is almost too good to be true: two big city Chicago lawyers, a close-knit, Alabama family, and a Catholic nun who is also a practicing attorney. Their experiences, all told from Clark’s perspective, are thought-provoking and illuminating. Each person approaches the case with a moral obligation to help, rather than to harm. Clark and his team take on the Alabama justice system in order to save one man from dying, but Clark uses Hamilton’s case to point out that death row is a complicated, outdated, and extremely flawed element of the prison system (a horrifically flawed institution as a whole). Clark also acknowledges that although victims deserve justice, factually guilty people also deserve rights, and there is a balance to be found between these two concepts:
“To defend against the death penalty is not to be dismissive of crime. It is not to be callous toward victims. Tommy Hamilton was not innocent, but he was unconstitutionally sentenced to death. Our arguments in Tommy’s case had a sound constitutional basis, while accounting for the needs of law enforcement and the protection of the public. … I was not so much defending the man and what he had done as I was defending the law under which he should have been tried in the first place. This may be a difficult duty for a lawyer in the case of the factually guilty client, but it is necessary for our free society nonetheless.” (265)
Clark’s memoir is a brilliant true crime text told from a perspective that we do not often hear from: the defense attorney. Thoroughly relayed and well-written, I highly recommend this book.
If you would like to read more about the death penalty in the United States and those organizations who work to abolish it, please visit The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Additionally, “7 Organizations Working To End The Death Penalty,” an article from Bustle, provides a short list of current organizations in the USA working to abolish executions and also addresses some current concerns around death penalty cases in 2021.
Please add Summary Judgement to your Goodreads shelf.
Don’t forget to follow True Crime Index on Twitter and please visit our Goodreads for updates on what we’re reading! You can find Rachel on her personal @RachelMFriars or on Goodreads @Rachel Friars.
About the Writer:
Rachel M. Friars (she/her) is a PhD student in the Department of English Language and Literature at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She holds a BA and an MA in English Literature with a focus on neo-Victorianism and adaptations of Jane Eyre. Her current work centers on neo-Victorianism and nineteenth-century lesbian literature and history, with secondary research interests in life writing, historical fiction, true crime, popular culture, and the Gothic. Her academic writing has been published with Palgrave Macmillan and in The Journal of Neo-Victorian Studies. She is a reviewer for The Lesbrary, the co-creator of True Crime Index, and an Associate Editor and Social Media Coordinator for PopMeC Research Collective. Rachel is co-editor-in-chief of the international literary journal, The Lamp, and regularly publishes her own short fiction and poetry. Find her on Twitter and Goodreads.
A digital copy of this book was graciously provided to True Crime Index from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a case I have not heard before and I was looking forward to read it. I liked how the chapters are organized in a clear manner. I appreciate the depth of research done in this book but I struggled to be really invested in the book. The writing was a little dry and too textbook-like. I wasn't able to finish it. But I am giving this book a rating based on the contents in this book which I still think it is good.

Pub. Date: Sep 7, 2021

***Thank you Sgian Dubh Press and NetGalley for this gifted review copy to read and review. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Summary Judgement is the true story of Tommy Hamilton, convicted of murder and sentenced to death in rural Alabama, written by his appeals attorney. Meticulously researched, the book does get bogged down at times as the author delves into the history of the death penalty, and at other points when he cites specific court rulings to support his appeal briefs. While there is no doubt of Tommy’s guilt, there are valid questions as to how fair the sentencing process was, and that constitutes the bulk of this story. While I don’t necessarily agree with the author’s POV on the death penalty or his client’s culpability, it’s an interesting insider look at the process, one we rarely see, and that makes this a worthwhile read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love anything to do with the law, and this book was right up my street. Full of history on the law on the death penalty in the US. A good read. Recommended.

"I was not so much defending the man and what he had done as I was defending the law under which he should have been tried in the first place. This may be difficult duty for a lawyer in the case of the factually guilty client, but it is necessary for our free society nonetheless."

Clark's book starts off with one very clear fact: his client Tommy Hamilton was guilty of murder. He was on death row in Alabama (a state that today "continues to sentence more people to death per capita [...] than any other state") and Clark was chosen to represent him through the Death Penalty Representation Project.

Clark's book gives readers a look at his early life as a lawyer before jumping into his retelling of his work on Tommy's post-conviction hearings. His detailed history of the death penalty in America was fascinating and well researched. And his efforts on behalf of his client give me hope for the justice system.

Clark's retelling of this case is mixed in with helpful explanations of his actions for readers (like me) who are not well-versed in law, court cases, and legal strategy. I was worried I wouldn't be able to follow along with all the ins and outs of a case like this, but Clark does a great job of detailing his thoughts and actions which helped me really experience the ups and downs he did during the trial.

Overall, this was a fascinating story of one counselor-at-law who fights to make sure his client gets the fairest representation, regardless of his actions. As a fan of true crime, I really enjoyed getting a firsthand look at the legal aspect of a case like this. Clark clearly took his role in these proceedings very seriously and his passion and commitment to his client and justice as a whole is incredibly inspiring.

I loved the perspective from the author as a defense lawyer. He provided a multitude of information regarding his client’s case, giving the reader an insider’s look on a homicide. This book is perfect for fans of John Grisham.

Don Clark’s offering, Summary Judgment, follows quite an interesting career from an early stage, but deals extensively with a death penalty case that he took on pro bono, after it had been tried. I did not know there was such a thing as a collateral relief proceeding. But that is what Clark came to offer his services for. There is considerable legal language but it does not stand in the way of this unique volume. Clarks work will be of special interest to other lawyers but is quite accesible to all. A worthy read.

An amazing true story, candidly told from a lawyer’s perspective!
Tommy Hamilton is sentenced to death for killing a man, along with his then wife and sister, their punishment wasn’t as harsh. Tommy wants to be freed or take the death penalty. Tommy’s mother campaigns to see her son dealt with fairly, she would rather he stay alive than die.
This is a brilliant description of a convicted criminal living on death row.
Donald Cameron Clark Jr is talented in explaining the legal considerations, history and trial research, the process of appeals and delving into the guilt or innocence and mental health of the accused.
If you love a true story and you’re interested in the legal system, this book will be of great interest.
Thank you to Donald Cameron Clark Jr for writing a detailed portrayal of the legal system. An enjoyable and well-written book!

‘I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.’

Donald Clark, Jr. is a lawyer who takes on the case of Tommy Hamilton, who is on death row for murdering a man. He joins a team of appeal lawyers that include a Benedictine nun named Lynn. I found this book bogged down in all the legalese and historical background. If handled differently, it might have been a compelling read

From its tone, voice, and legal rigor, Summary Judgment is a book that is clearly written by an attorney. But, it is also a great story, told well. In typical true crime fashion, its first pages contain a murder. This murder, which takes place in rural Alabama, would turn out to be a life-changing event for the author, a successful corporate litigator and family man in Chicago, Illinois, who was actively seeking greater fulfillment than just “winning” cases. He was also looking for opportunities to give back.

The author’s quest led to several pro bono legal defenses, one of which involved a minister who had been arrested for allegedly soliciting an undercover policeman. The author’s recounting of his own career, his personal desire to pursue so-called un-winnable cases, the facts of this case, and his litigation strategy provide an excellent preview of the rest of the book.

The rest of the book is about the murder -- who did it, context and circumstances, the ensuing death-penalty trial, appeals, litigation strategy, the horribly unjust implementation of the death penalty, and the consequences of incompetent legal representation. The author was selected by the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project to represent Tommy Hamilton who killed Lehman Wood in the Bankhead National Forest near Moulton, Alabama. Realizing the obvious difficulties that he would face as a Chicago corporate lawyer interacting with the Alabama courts, the author enlisted, among others, the assistance of Sister Lynn McKenzie, a Benedictine nun, also known as Ninja Nun. To quote the author: “While those of us in law firms catering to corporations were doing well in life, Lynn and her sisters were truly doing good.”

The time span of the author’s most intensive involvement in Tommy Hamilton’s case ran from 1984 to 1996. The book provides much detail that may well be best appreciated by legally trained readers. But still, it is riveting. Much discussion is devoted to the death penalty. There is no sugar-coating in the recounting of events.

Ultimately, this book is a case study that graphically illustrates an important truth: Justice is not merely about exonerating the innocent or simply winning at trial. A lawful result may not be achieved by unlawful means. The legal process, which is too often flawed, matters.

Seeking justice is frequently quite messy.