The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row

Hinton starts this chapter with a long list of reasons, typed up for him by Sonenberg, why he should be given a new trial. In all, there are 31 points of contention. Feeling hopeful again, Hinton shares the document with his fellow inmates, admitting that he doesn’t understand all of the reasons. He devotes his time in the law library to study: “It was great just to have something new to read, something new to talk about” (132).

He exults, again, in using his imagination to help pass the time and stay sane, though he does worry that others might think that he is losing his mind. However, he explains, “escaping in my mind gave me a sort of giddy sense of freedom” (132). He becomes closer with an inmate named Henry, and shares with him a distressing detail: Sonenberg will no longer be representing him, but she assures him that a new lawyer will be assigned to him. He also learns Henry’s last name—Hays—and legacy. Hinton is in shock: “I knew who Henry Hays was […] he and a couple of other white guys had lynched a black boy” (135). Hinton further speculates that Hays’s father is a KKK leader, and casually mentions this to Henry.