Albert's Time

“Readers will not soon forget these characters or the truths they illuminate about vengeance and forgiveness. A remarkable achievement.” —Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

Public defender Simon Koufax has spent years navigating the criminal justice system, but nothing prepares him for Albert Birdsong—a quiet, sensitive, substitute teacher accused of an unfathomable double murder. The evidence is overwhelming, and the community demands vengeance.

When the state decides to seek the death penalty, jurors must decide his fate. While a relentless prosecutor and an ambitious judge want to make sure Albert pays the ultimate price, his defense team seeks mercy for a client who doesn’t believe he deserves it. Indeed, Birdsong insists on his guilt and wants nothing more than to be judged for his crime. As Simon and his team struggle to understand their client and his motivations, they discover some crimes have explanations that defy simple judgment.

But confronting flaws in a system that demands vengeance over mercy forces Koufax to face his own failures, his fractured family, and the question of whether redemption is possible. In a case where the only certainty is guilt, can twelve strangers find the courage to forgive?

Unsettling and insightful, Albert’s Time is a deeply realistic portrayal of a life-or-death sentencing in a capital murder trial.