Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
"Presumed Innocent" is a gripping legal thriller by Scott Turow that gained significant acclaim upon its release. The novel centers on Rusty Sabich, a chief deputy prosecutor in a fictional Midwestern city, who is embroiled in a complex murder case following the death of his colleague and former lover, Carolyn Polhemus. As Sabich investigates her murder, he grapples with the emotional turmoil of his unsatisfactory marriage and lingering feelings for Carolyn. The narrative intricately weaves themes of ambition, betrayal, and moral ambiguity, particularly as Sabich's boss, Raymond Horgan, attempts to frame him for the crime after his investigation falters.
Turow's background as a prosecutor lends authenticity to the courtroom scenes and the portrayal of legal processes. The title itself, "Presumed Innocent," reflects a key legal principle while also highlighting the nuances of human motives and the challenges of determining guilt. The novel's conclusion has sparked debate over its perceived contrivances, yet it invites readers to explore deeper philosophical questions about justice and truth. Overall, "Presumed Innocent" is recognized not only as a compelling mystery but also as a work that engages with complex moral dilemmas, making it a significant contribution to the legal thriller genre.
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Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1987
Type of work: Novel
The Work
Presumed Innocent, Turow’s first published novel, was an astonishing critical and popular success. In it, he drew upon his own experiences as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Chicago office to draw a detailed and realistic portrait of the world inhabited by his hero, Rusty Sabich, a chief deputy prosecutor in a fictional Midwestern city. The particularity of this world, especially the rendition of the murder trial that is central to the book, accounts in large part for its appeal.
As the novel opens, Sabich’s colleague, Carolyn Polhemus, has just been murdered, apparently after she was raped by someone she knew and trusted. The loss is especially jarring for Sabich, who only a few months before had been the victim’s lover and, in part because his marriage is unsatisfactory, is still in love with her. Her murder is also a shock and an embarrassment to Sabich’s boss, Raymond Horgan, who is up for reelection. Horgan assigns Sabich to investigate the crime; when Sabich fails to uncover the murderer and Horgan consequently loses the election, Horgan conspires to frame his deputy for the murder.
As in many classic mysteries, nearly any of the characters who people Presumed Innocent could have killed Carolyn Polhemus, who was apparently both an unscrupulous colleague and a devotee of danger. The final revelation of the killer has frequently been attacked as contrived. Turow, though, has stated, “We talk about literary truths as implausible, fictitious, and yet there is a way in which the mystery novel delivers a truth real life can’t deliver.” As with all the later Turow novels, the title resonates with meaning: There is no real innocence, only the presumption of innocence, a legal term to be sure, but also an acknowledgment of the ineffability of human motive and thus the impossibility of establishing clear-cut judgments of culpability. In large part, the truth of Presumed Innocent emerges not so much from the trial of Rusty Sabich but from his first-person meditations, which reveal a brooding, philosophical temperament not unlike the author’s. What one reviewer saw as flawed storytelling—the fact that “the novel’s resolution contains a troubling moral ambiguity”—can also be seen as another of Turow’s expert renditions of verisimilitude.
Bibliography
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. “Law’s Labors Lost,” The New Republic, March 14, 1994, 31-38.
Lundy, Derek. Scott Turow: Meeting the Enemy: A Biography. Toronto: ECW Press, 1995.
Macdonald, Andrew. “Personal Injuries.” In Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Vol. 13, edited by Kirk H. Beetz. Osprey, Fla.: Beacham’s, 1996.
Macdonald, Andrew, and Gina Macdonald. Scott Turow: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005.
Macdonald, Andrew, and Gina Macdonald. “Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent: Novel and Film—Multifaceted Character Study Versus Tailored Courtroom Drama.” In It’s a Print: Detective Fiction from Page to Screen, edited by William Reynolds and Beth Trembley. Bowling Green, Ohio: Popular Press, 1994.
Szuberla, Guy. “Paretsky, Turow, and the Importance of Symbolic Ethnicity,” Mid-America: The Yearbook of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, 1991, 124-135.