The Statement

Lester's mother, Minnie, whose parents survived the Holocaust, Lester's best friend, Santo Bassoni, a Trenton High sophomore, and Trenton cop Bertram Randolph all want Lester to do the right thing. Suspicion lands on a Black radical, Salim Johnson, who owns a head shop, Uhuru, and is a leader in the Black community. Lester is drawn into signing a statement that implicates Salim, who is tried, convicted and sent to Death Row. Lester graduates from college, and goes off to Columbia to study journalism as Salim languishes in prison. But events trigger seeds of doubt in Lester's mind about Salim's guilt, and when those doubts flourish, he is drawn back to Trenton as a young reporter in order to fight to exonerate Salim. He is haunted by guilt that is complicated by a love for Salim's sister, Naima. The journey Lester must undergo to discover the true killer forces him to question his deepest allegiances and his faith in his abiding love for the father who treated every person with dignity and respect.