Grisham has described the book as "very autobiographical" in that the novel's "young attorney is basically me" and the drama is based on a case he witnessed.[2] In 1984 Grisham witnessed the harrowing testimony of a 12-year-old rape victim at the DeSoto County courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi.[3] Two sisters, Julie Scott, 16 years old, and Marcie Scott, her twelve-year-old sister, had both been raped, brutally beaten, and nearly murdered by Willie James Harris.[4] Unlike Grisham's depiction, however, the Scotts were white and their assailant was black.[5]
According to Grisham's official website, Grisham used his spare time to begin his first novel, which "explored what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants."[3] He spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987.
Grisham has also cited Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird as an influence. Another stated inspiration was the success of Presumed Innocent.[6]
