Characters

The character of Arkie is one of murky duality. He wants to help the doe-eyed Toni Jo, yet his checkered past of crime mixed with her desperate need for money brings on a deadly union. On Valentine’s Day, 1940, Toni Jo and Arkie abduct J.P. Calloway, a Houston car dealer on his way to deliver a car to a customer. Soon after, Calloway is shot and killed behind a roadside haystack. Who actually pulled the trigger has been the subject of controversy, even to this day.

No matter what your religion, The Pardon captures the essence of the human need to be loved and forgiven. The character of Father Richard reveals the importance of this need to be fully answered in his unconditional acceptance of Toni Jo. His understanding and lack of judgment help her find peace in her life of chaos and fear. Toni Jo’s cynicism about religion melts away as Father Richard embraces her humanity, providing a safe place for her to learn about her own faith. Through her new understanding of Christ’s sacrifice, Toni Jo is finally able to face her fate with bravery and redemption.

The handsome boxer Cowboy plays an important role in Toni Jo’s complicated life. It is only with his devotion that she is able to kick her drug addiction and escape the world of prostitution. Yet soon after they marry, and just as Cowboy’s boxing career starts to take off, he is arrested in Texas for the killing of a Texas police officer and sentenced to life in prison. Desperate to raise money for his appeal and driven by a passionate love for Cowboy, the devastated Toni Jo hatches her ill-conceived plan to rob a bank with accomplice Arkie.

Toni Jo’s jailer Gibbs Duhon is a welcome, fatherly presence to the distraught heroine. As he lavishes her with kindness, she begins to open her heart to the love and truth that define her essential transformation. It is a curious irony that such a freeing force of influence is portrayed in the character of a jailer. Yet this paradox makes Duhon’s character all the more poignant.

The rookie tax attorneys who represent Toni Jo throughout her trials try their best to represent her fairly when the cards seem to be stacked against her. Norman Anderson, in particular, leads the team with genuine perseverance, knowing well how dire the consequences could be if Toni Jo does not win the trial. Anderson’s compassion for his client becomes clear as he begins to see the spark of her spirit, helping him to rise from a position of insecurity to Toni Jo’s confident ally.

The other half of Toni Jo’s two-man legal team is Clement Moss, whose initial inexperience distresses the incarcerated hopeful. Moss, along with his fledgling partner Norman Anderson, change from wide-eyed neophytes to sure-handed opponents of the often unscrupulous prosecution. But are they savvy enough to forestall the looming threat of Toni Jo’s punishment?

In the chronicle of Toni Jo’s trials, Judge Hood, austerely portrayed by Larry Black, leads the proceedings in a way that many might see as unfair to the young defendant. As the trial unfolds, Judge Hood overrules valid objections, such as the pertinence of Toni Jo’s background and history of abuse, as well as indications of a biased jury. It is quite possible that these proceedings might have gone very differently had another judge served in the court at that time.

Portrayed by Brandon Smith, prosecutor Pattison has the good ol’ boy appeal that the jury members seem to relish. Determined to paint Toni Jo into a picture of a monstrous killer, he plays on their heartstrings by placing the bereaved family before them and objects to any suggestion that Toni Jo’s past circumstances might have relevance to the case.

The implacable special prosecutor Copeland, played by Ed Bruce, is determined to impose the death penalty on the killer of J. P. Calloway from the moment he takes on the case against Toni Jo. Hired immediately by the bereaved widow and daughter of J. P. Calloway, Copeland speaks clearly to the press: “I cannot see or understand- if the facts in the case are developed as I think they will-how any jury could assess any penalty except death.” But will the trial develop as he believes it will?

Powerfully rendered by Celeste Roberts, the character of Aunt Emma exudes the motherly desire to help her suffering loved one, yet whose natural instinct to tell the truth may end up hurting Toni Jo’s case. In the beginning, we see that Aunt Emma rescues the abused and terrified child and takes her under her wing. Later, we witness Toni Jo’s flashbacks of her safe haven with Aunt Emma as she suffers the agony of cocaine withdrawal in the arms of Cowboy. Aunt Emma and Cowboy appear to be the only characters in Toni Jo’s early life who love and accept her as she is.