The Defenders: Payback 1997

Directed by Andy Wolk

Television movie remake of the 1960s courtroom drama series, "The Defenders." After the death of his eldest son and his partner in the law firm of Preston and Preston, senior partner, Lawrence Preston enlists his granddaughter, M.J, a former prosecutor, and his other son Don, a law professor, to continue the work of ensuring that every individual accused of a crime is entitled to a proper defense. In this telefilm, a father murders the rapist of his young daughter after the man is released from prison and moves back to his old neighborhood. The Prestons take the case even though the father is unrepentent and unwilling to offer the attorneys any help in finding legally mitigating circumstances for his actions.