Hope and Life Press is proud to announce the release of the psychological thriller Judging Angels by top Illinois death penalty defense attorney Timothy Capps, Esq. The novel is the first book in the Catholic fiction series The Rubricatae Chronicles.
Christmas Eve finds renowned, but now disgraced, defense lawyer George Able paying a final visit to his two children, Brian and Sandy. It is a final visit of a different sort to his estranged wife and her lover: George has a .38 in his coat pocket. Later that night, he finds himself on a deserted highway in deep dark country with missing bullets and missing time. It looks like a Christmas Miracle, especially when he meets a beautiful redhead who offers him a second chance. But the seemingly naive Red Morgan proves to be a troubling mix of love, lethality and, possibly, lunacy.
When George's daughter is kidnapped by a man who might be associated with Morgan, the Able family and the criminal justice system are faced with a threat they are not equipped to handle. As a rescue attempt snowballs into a crime spree from the top of Illinois to its tip, a family must put aside its problems even as moral compromises undermine their good intentions. And while Red Morgan is too useful to send away, her dream of a white Vegas wedding with George faces one obstacle...
Judging Angels draws on police procedural, urban fantasy, and heroic quest to provide the reader with an original Catholic psychological thriller that blends genres and provides more twists and tension than a murder trial. Timothy Capps, a recognized death penalty defense expert, tells this exciting, yet thoughtful, tale with the relish of a seasoned lawyer's closing argument. And just as trials must probe the motives of defendants, the reader will discover that the real story is on the inside: ordinary people tempted to do the worst things for the best reasons. Judging Angels is available in paperback and ebook editions from Amazon, directly from the publishers Hope and Life Press, and major booksellers.
EARLY REVIEWS"Criminal justice elements in Judging Angels are expertly handled by a highly respected death penalty lawyer. But then Capps blends genres and gleefully pushes the reader down the rabbit hole of an original, frightening, yet darkly humorous fantasy . . . Do not miss it" - Richard Leo, Ph.D., J.D., Professor of Law and Psychology, University of San Francisco.
"Criminal jury trials are full of twists and turns and unexpected predicaments, and Author/Attorney Capps brings that same sense of the unforeseen and unknowable to his novel . . . Just like the packed trial gallery awaiting a verdict, you will be guessing and anticipating what is written on the final page" - Terence Green, Esq., former State's Attorney and long-time criminal defense lawyer.
"Marvelous, in a style unlike anything else I have read, entertaining and thought-provoking. Capps draws on multiple genres to create something new that defies easy labeling" - Frank Magill, Esq., Telecommunications Attorney (ret.).
Capps then became a public defender. He also served as prosecutor in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. Capps set up his criminal defense practice based on the cornerstones of character, competence, communication and compassion, becoming well-known for handling death penalty cases with innovation and tenacity. The Illinois Supreme Court invited him to serve on the committee that approved lawyers to serve as defense counsel in capital cases. Some of Capps's high-profile cases were covered in Life Magazine, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Nancy Grace, and on CNN.
After People v. Pontious, the only case in which expert testimony on false confession was used successfully in Illinois, Capps became a recognized expert on false confessions. He was hired by the State to train death penalty defense teams. He was also given the Richard Cunningham Award for "distinguished service as a death penalty defense advocate who, in the course of performing high quality representation, has demonstrated extraordinary and tenacious commitment to the capital client's cause and whose continuing dedication and tireless advocacy is an inspiration to all defenders in the continuing struggle for fairness and justice in Illinois capital cases."
In 2011, the abolition of executions bill passed the Illinois legislature, but the Governor deliberated over signing it into law. Capps wrote a widely circulated Letter to the Editor, arguing against the death penalty from his experience as both prosecutor and defense counsel. To the extent his letter was influential, however, Capps put himself out of a job. His professional legacy includes a perfect record on death penalty cases, a not-guilty verdict by jury where evidence included a videotaped confession, and the development of original tactics still used in murder cases today.
