A Lesson Before Dying Jefferson

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In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, a young deputy, Paul Bonin, was working in the county jail when a new inmate named Jefferson arrived. Jefferson was being condemned to death for a crime he didn’t commit. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was used as a scapegoat for the murder of a white man he didn’t commit. The jury corrupted the case and declared Jefferson a criminal, and his punishment was death. Paul didn’t know Jefferson prior and wanted nothing to do with him, knowing that in the end he would just be put to death. However, after understanding both Grant Wiggins and Jefferson, Paul would develop a well-connected friendship with both men, and by the day of Jefferson's execution, Jefferson and Paul would both.

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