" (Hunter).
These elements described in the review are not additions by the filmmakers, but do already exist at the very heart of the novel. Similar criticism came forward in 2013, when the novel was adapted again, this time to become a Broadway theater play. People felt they could not relate to the material, since it "[did not] translate to the period. There's no 1980s documentary reality to the unfocussed digital projections of Ku Klux Klan rallies and NAACP protest marches."(Stasio).
However, despite this presumed irrelevance in the 21st century, the book is still banned in a number of schools and prisons across the southern United States. There are different reasons stated for the permanent or temporary removal of "A Time to Kill" from the libraries; when asked about the book banning in his home state of Mississippi, John Grisham himself assumed that it was because of the "graphic rape scene" in the first chapter. (Interview: The Daily Show).
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has been banning the book since 2005, along with three other works by Grisham, on the grounds of it containing "content that could be deemed as 'inflammatory' in the prison system"("National Library Week."). Between 2000 and 2009, "A Time to Kill" was among the most frequently banned books, ranking 67th place. (Baldassarro).
It is certainly not likely that a book that has no current-day relevance anymore would receive such a treatment.
4. RACIAL ISSUES DISCUSSED IN THE BOOK.
While Grisham critizises numerous aspects of the American legal system and the society in general, the most prominent issues are race-related. This part will look at the three most salient racial points raised in the novel and compare them against today's reality in Mississippi where "A Time to Kill" is set and other southern US-States. Firstly, there will be a closer look on the de-factor-segregation between black and white people, then on the racial discrimination going on during the crucial phase of jury selection, and eventually the inequality of the verdicts people of different races receive.
