Redemption Plea

"When I think of the case, I don't think about the defendant," Molloy says. "I remember the family members of the people he killed who came every day to the trial. They loved the victims intensely. There are other family members that the defendant can provide closure for, and he chooses not to do so. I believe in the possibility of rebirth and renewal. I don't think you can be free, be renewed, have redemption, unless you provide the important comfort that is within your power to give to the people whose lives you have damaged so badly. But those are just my thoughts; the real answer is between God and Mr. Fernandez."

Contini ducks the criticism. In the book, he writes: "In retrospect, just about everyone connected to the State of Florida v. Gilbert Fernandez Jr. case was robbed." Including, Contini says, Gil Fernandez, who shot three men in the back of the head and left their bodies in the Miami-Dade swamp.

So far, Danger Road — which takes its name from the dirt road in the Everglades where the 1983 murders occurred — has been a success in the religious market. Contini's appearances on Christian television have been met with standing ovations from studio audiences. Early book sales have been brisk. He's received letters from readers throughout the country, including some written from behind bars.

Two days after Book Expo America in Washington, where Contini says Danger Road was a hit among readers and book distributors, he's back in Courtroom 343, sitting next to Martin Diez. Judge Stanton Kaplan is instructing the jury.

Dressed in a pressed black suit, Diez looks toward the ground, unnerved. Contini stretches out his long arm and places his hand softly on Diez's shoulder. The defendant looks up and smiles yet again, this time only briefly.

A few hours later, six jurors return. Diez is found guilty of armed kidnapping and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

That isn't the verdict Contini wants. And he'll appeal. His religion and the law, he insists, tell him that Diez deserves a second chance.