Capital Offence

Two brothers, fired up with motorbikes, beer, women and the reckless relish of a summer night. A night which ends with the death of a policeman. As vehicles blaze Dave gives himself up so that Jamie can escape. Dave’s life spirals downwards. He disappears down south, while Jamie goes on to complete his law degree. A decade later he becomes first Prime Minister of a newly independent Scotland. Political horsetrading leads to a referendum on capital punishment. The public is shocked by a brutal sexual murder the night before the vote, and to the politicians’ horror the death penalty is reintroduced. The killer has been caught red-handed, and the hours tick by as the legal process draws closer to the time of his execution. But when the Prime Minister receives a plea for clemency he discovers that he and the killer are linked by unbreakable bonds from that summer of heedless abandon - and more than one life may be at stake….

Stupendous piece of storytelling - brilliant writing.
Massive creative energy.
Jimmy McGovern - Writer, 'Cracker', 'The Street', 'Hillsborough'