Tuesday, Sep 22, 2026 7:00 PM

Location:
Manuel’s Tavern
602 North Highland Avenue NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307


“A sheriff-elect was murdered. I was next on the hit list.” —J.Tom Morgan

A Cappella Books welcomes former DeKalb County District Attorney and author J.Tom Morgan to Manuel’s Tavern in honor of his new book, “A Rainy Night in Georgia: A Lawman's Brutal Murder, a Rogue Southern Sheriff, and a Prosecutor's Quest for Justice.” Morgan will appear in conversation with Georgia WIN List Executive Director Melita Easters.


This event is free and open to the public; copies of the book will be available for purchase.

About the Book

In December 2000, Derwin Brown, the newly elected sheriff of DeKalb County, Georgia, was ambushed and murdered in his own driveway just days before taking office. He had run on reform—promising to clean up corruption and restore integrity to the sheriff’s department—defeating the powerful incumbent in a bitter runoff.

The case fell to J.Tom Morgan, then the county’s elected District Attorney. Working alongside local, state, and federal law enforcement, Morgan pursued the case through months of dead ends, mounting pressure, and intense public scrutiny. It became a national media sensation, combining political intrigue with revelations of government corruption, murder-for-hire plots, and a never-before-tried legal strategy in the Georgia criminal justice system. Then the case became personal: Morgan learned that his own name was next on the killer's hit list.

In “A Rainy Night in Georgia,” Morgan gives readers something almost no one else can—a first-person account of power, danger, and integrity from inside the justice system. What began as a baffling, unsolved murder evolved into one of the most extraordinary political assassination cases in modern American history after a shocking discovery.

Part true-crime thriller, part memoir of public service under fire, this gripping book reveals what it truly costs to hold powerful people accountable.


About the Authors

J. Tom Morgan served as the elected District Attorney of DeKalb County, GA, from 1992-2004. He was the first recipient from the United States to be awarded the Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors in 2003. Prior to his time as DA, Morgan served as an Assistant District Attorney in DeKalb County for nine years and was the first prosecutor in Georgia--and one of the first in the nation--to specialize in the prosecution of crimes against children. As a nationally recognized expert on criminal justice, he has appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Today Show,” CNN, Court TV, and “48 Hours,” among others. Morgan has lectured to prosecutors and law enforcement officials in more than 30 states, Puerto Rico, and Europe, and served on the faculty of the National College of District Attorneys.

John Capouya has written and edited for publications including the New York Times, Newsweek, SmartMoney, and Sport, among others, over his 25-year career in journalism. He taught journalism and nonfiction writing at the University of Tampa, and his developmental editing clients include New York Times bestselling authors. He is the author of “Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad-Boy Wrestler Who Created American Pop Culture,” among other books on yoga and music.

About the Conversation Partner

Melita Easters is the founding Executive Director of Georgia WIN List, the state’s leading PAC for electing Democratic women. A long-time political strategist, journalist, and advocate for women’s leadership, she has guided WIN List since its founding in 2000, helping to elect and re-elect more than 105 women to the Georgia General Assembly, 53 of whom currently serve. She is a regular panelist on the Sunday morning public affairs program “The Georgia Gang,” the highest rated program for its time slot on local television. She lives in Atlanta.