Plot

After an overly aggressive district attorney unknowingly sends an innocent man to the chair, he resigns, turns to drinking, and acquires a criminal clientèle.

When a young woman is shot and murdered at home, the ambitious and successful District Attorney Victor Scott, who is an aspirant governor, and his team formed by Ellen Miles and Ray Borden, prosecute Edward Clary, who was the lover of the victim. Ellen's father was a judge that helped Victor in his career and when he died, Victor helped Ellen to graduate in the law school and gave her first and only job. Clary is sentenced to the electric chair and despite his claims that is innocent he is executed. Meanwhile, Victor learns that Clary is innocent when the killer is arrested and confesses the murder, but he is not able to stop the execution. Victor resigns his position and starts to drink. When he reaches the bottom, he decides to turn into a defense lawyer to small time criminals and embezzlers. The mob kingpin Frank Garland presses Victor to work for his organization and after some reluctance, Victor accepts. But when Ellen is accused of murder in first degree, Victor becomes her lawyer, but he needs to use information that will incriminate Frank Garland. What will Victor Scott do?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ambitious D.A. Victor Scott zealously prosecutes Ed Clary for a woman's murder. But as Clary walks "the last mile" to the electric chair, Scott receives evidence that exonerates the condemned man. Realizing that he's made a terrible mistake he tries to stop the execution but is too late. Humbled by his grievous misjudgement, Scott resigns as a prosecutor. Entering private practice, he employs the same cunning that made his reputation and draws the attention of mob kingpin, Frank Garland. The mobster succeeds in bribing Scott into representing one of his stooges on a murder rap and Scott, in a grand display of courtroom theatrics, wins the case. But soon Scott finds himself embroiled in dirty mob politics. The situation becomes intolerable when his former protege in the D.A.'s office is charged with a murder that seems to implicate her as an informant to the Garland mob. Can Victor defend the woman he secretly loves and also keep his life?—Chris Stone <jstone@bellatlantic.net>

Victor Scott (Edward G. Robinson) is a tough District Attorney who never loses a case. When he accidentally sends an innocent man to the electric chair he loses his grip and after long period of alcoholism he rebuilds a practice as a defense attorney. Struggling to get paying cases he negotiates an out-of-court settlement for an embezzler that worked for a company owned by Frank Garland (Albert Dekker) who is one of the biggest racketeers in the city. At first Scott resists Garland but discovers that many of his cases are related to this crook who has his finger in many pies. Scotts ability to win court cases makes the current District Attorney suspicious that he has a mole in the public office supplying inside information. Scott insists his skills as an attorney allow him to win his cases. When Scotts former assistant Ellen Miles (Nina Foch) is put on trial for murder Scott realizes that he will need to defend her and by extension defend Garland too, but he may have to sacrifice his career and possibly his life.