The Confession (novel)

Donté's ordeal begins as a 17-year-old with everything going for him. He has only had mild altercations with law enforcement for possession of marijuana when he was younger. Now he is a star on the high school football team and loved by the girls. His potential and ambition inspire jealousy in Joey Gamble who, when rejected by Nicole, takes this out on Donté. Joey tips off the police with an anonymous phone call, later proven to be his using voice analysis. When the police take Donté in for questioning, Donté naively but in good faith, signs away his Miranda rights. This is the catalyst which sees him on death row for the next nine years and ultimately executed.

Donté's mother who is convinced her son is innocent and prays constantly for a reprieve. She is part of a large family. Her husband, Donté's father Riley Drumm, dies of heart disease while Donté is on death row.

The girl whose brutal rape and suspected murder led to capital murder charges, a crime which upon conviction, can lead to a death sentence in the state of Texas.

Nicole Yarber's mother. Reeva is loud-mouthed and theatrical in her behavior as well as irrational. She has been known to drive more than a hundred miles downriver to where it was speculated her daughter's body may have been dumped. She is adamant that the death penalty is right and is happy to tell anyone who will listen. Reeva lives with her second husband who is not Nicole's father (Nicole does have two half siblings from Reeva's second marriage) and seems exasperated with Reeva's nine years of agony.

The real killer who had actually been in police custody in Slone at the same time Donté is detained. He is a serial rapist and had been abused himself from the age of eight by an uncle who told his parent or guardian that they were going "fishing." He claims to be suffering from terminal brain cancer and carries a cane because of an apparent limp. It turns out the tumor is not malignant and the cane is there for protection in his half-way house. His seizures and intense headaches however, are real. He has spent more than half of his 44 years in prison. He remains a creep throughout and on a number of occasions intimates to Reverend Schroeder how he thinks his wife Dana is "cute."

The heir to the Flak law firm who works tirelessly for his clients. He makes a promise to Donté minutes before his execution that he would find the real killer and exonerate him for the sake of his family and mother and throw a party to celebrate at his graveside. Robbie leaves no stone left unturned for clients on death row and goes the extra mile. He files every possible motion in his appeals and he does not consider his job finished until he has sued everyone responsible for Donté's wrongful execution, even those parties for whom immunity from prosecution applies. Outside of law, Robbie does not seem to have much social life and both he and his romantic partner are happy to keep their work lives separate. Robbie is not particularly religious and yet gets invited by the Black community of Slone to speak at Donté's funeral.

The Kansas-based Lutheran pastor, who aids and abets in the transportation of a convicted felon across state lines. Schroeder strives to see the best in all people and emphasizes forgiveness. He has strong scruples and battles with himself to discern in complex situations what is the right thing. He is seen towards the end of the book trying to bring out Donté's past belief in God, when all hope for a last-minute reprieve from the governor has been abandoned. Keith is married to Dana, who is substituting for his regular secretary at the Mission on the day Boyette first meets Keith. Eventually, his involvement in an illegal act, however justified, gets him in trouble with his bishop but he is welcomed by a more socially active Lutheran congregation in Texas and becomes a committed opponent of the death penalty.

Judge Henry is the only one who gets on well with Robbie. He is well respected although in the past he had lost out to politics and suffered a nervous breakdown. He wrote numerous articles during the civil rights movement of the 1960s and was considered to be a little radical among the Whites of Texas during that period. Judge Henry had always considered the Donté case to be thoroughly flawed and he would have thrown it out at trial had he been on the bench at the time. Judge Henry lives with his wife.

Gamble's false testimony is crucial in the prosecution's case against Donté. He was jealous of Donté and wanted the death of the girl he fancied to be blamed on Donté and assumed the cops would wind up dismissing it all. At the last minute, he agrees to sign an affidavit recanting his testimony and admitting he committed perjury but it is too late.

The detective who arrested and questioned Donté during the case. He is a cruel, evil and selfish character who, despite countless innocent protests from Donté, persists in shouting and angrily accusing him. He eventually obtains a false confession from Donté through shouting and trickery, although it is implied that he may have beaten Donté for good measure, given that he is found lying on the floor weeping by the end of Kerber's questioning. During Robbie Flak's press conference, it is mentioned that he has a "history of false confessions," implying that many other confessions may have been wrongly obtained by him.

The prosecutor presiding over the Nicole Yarber case. Both he and Kerber can be seen as the main villains of the story, as they are both unrelenting, evil characters who manage to convict Donté with false evidence and false testimony. The possibility of Donté being innocent never seems to occur to Paul, as he only cares about his reputation, which takes a nosedive when his scandal with Judge Vivian Grale is revealed to the world. He even has the nerve to suggest that Donté may have had an "accomplice" once Nicole's body is found, all in an effort to save his reputation which he craves more than the life of an innocent man.

The governor of Texas. A supporter of capital punishment who refuses to postpone the execution even after seeing Travis' televised confession. Once he learns of Donté's innocence, he childishly feigns ignorance of seeing Travis' confession, and desperately attempts to settle matters in the Middle East, just to leave the country. Like Koffee, Kerber and Judge Vivian Grale, he too only cares about his reputation and does not acknowledge Donté Drumm as an innocent man despite the violent riots which tear the streets of Slone apart.