The Sun Does Shine (Young Readers Edition) by Anthony Ray Hinton

Author:Anthony Ray Hinton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Chapter Fourteen

CATCHING FLIES WITH HONEY

“It’s important to understand how someone who has money is able to buy their way out of jail or prison, so you’re much better off in our justice system if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.”

—Sam Brooke, Deputy Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)1

The first thing Alan Black did was ask Judge Garrett for money for experts to investigate Ray’s case. Judge Garrett granted the motions, and Ray wondered why he would give money now in the appeal when he wouldn’t give the money in Ray’s actual trial. If Ray had had money, Perhacs could have found someone better than Payne. If he’d had money, they could have had an expert prove Ray couldn’t have driven from work to Quincy’s that fast. If he’d had money, he could have gotten an attorney who felt like he was paid for his time.

If he’d had money, he probably wouldn’t have been arrested in the first place.

It always seemed to come down to the money.

Ray received a copy of all his legal filings in the mail, and it was the only mail the guards couldn’t open or mess with. Any letter you wrote had to remain unsealed so the prison staff could read it before it was mailed. Any letter that came in was also read by the prison staff. Every phone call was recorded. Ray couldn’t understand why they had to read the letters that went out, but it became clear that they didn’t want inmates to complain about how they were being treated. They didn’t want someone to call in the attorneys. Holman was always short staffed, and the row was no different. The prisoners were like lab rats being closely monitored for any potential signs of revolt. Ray knew it was easier for them to keep the men in their cages where they couldn’t get into trouble rather than let them out. Summers were the worst. They didn’t allow any fans in the cells because they could be broken apart to use as weapons, but with the tight wire mesh covering the doors, there was zero ventilation or flow of air. It was over 100 degrees outside during the summer months, and in the cells, it had to be 110 or 120. It was like being in a sauna, and some days it felt like you were actually slow roasting. It’s hard to talk, much less fight, when it is so hot you can barely move or take a breath. Much like the staff reading their mail and recording their conversations, the heat was a way to keep control, but the heat also made some guys erratic and even more violent. Ray knew that all the warden wanted was to keep the peace, especially on death row, where it was assumed that they had nothing to lose and would kill if given the chance. But he also knew the warden was going about it all wrong, and it was having the opposite effect.

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