Caught in a web of circumstances, a proudly independent teen, along with three others, finds himself on trial for a vicious crime he did not commit.
A convenience store has been robbed, its African-American staff and customers brutally beaten. Francis Kelly naively believes he cannot be convicted for something he didn't do, in spite of his dowdy female lawyer and a justice system he considers flawed and out of date. But as each witness testifies and the zealous prosecutor presents piece after piece of evidence, his smug self-assurance fades.
He has no alibi. He has no defense. The evidence is overwhelming. His independence, his freedom, and his entire future are on the brink of destruction. Then it gets worse! In All Rise we experience the drama of the courtroom as it really exists and the emotions of an innocent teen trapped in its machinery.
Paul Wagner, a graduate of South High School in Denver and Colorado State University, has published short stories in scores of magazines and on the World Wide Web. He edits the internet magazine About Teens.
