The Sun Does Shine

Alan Black asks Judge Garrett for money for new ballistics experts to investigate Ray’s case, which the judge grants. Ray wonders why the judge is giving them money now when he didn’t give it in the actual trial. Ray thinks that if he had money, the whole trial might have turned out differently.

Legal filings are the only mail the guards can’t open. They read everything else because they don’t want the inmates complaining about how they’re being treated at Holman—particularly the lack of ventilation in the hot prison. One day, Ray jokes with one of the guards, asking if he can borrow his truck to go to the local swimming pool. The guard laughs, and Ray asks if he can get a message to the warden. Ray is trying to work within the system, as his mom always taught him. He’s trying to make the prison better for everyone on death row.

Ray meets with Charlie Jones, the prison warden. Jones greets Ray and asks why he didn’t want to talk on camera when Geraldo Rivera—a national reporter—was there for the night to experience what it was like on death row. Ray and the other inmates noticed that when they handed Rivera his food, the guards gave him a tray on top like a lid, and that made all the difference: Rivera was just playing at being there for a night.

Ray asks Jones if he can start a book club that would meet once a month in the library. Ray explains that it will help keep the peace in the prison, but inwardly he admits that with books, the men can feel smarter and freer. Jones agrees, saying that they can have six guys in the club, but that they’ll have to pay for the books themselves.

Jones then asks if there’s anything else he needs to know about in the prison. Ray says that the guys noticed that Geraldo Rivera got a lid on his food. He comments that it was a great idea, and wonders if they can do the same for all of the inmates. Jones agrees and says he’ll let the kitchen know.

The next visiting day, Lester and Sia come alone—Ray’s mom isn’t feeling well enough to visit. Ray tells them that he’s starting a book club, and Sia gets excited, suggesting a bunch of different books that they can read like To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Tell It on the Mountain. Ray asks if they can send him copies of the books, and they agree.

Suddenly, there’s yelling at another visiting table. Sirens go off and the guards escort the visitors out, while inmates have to go back to their cells. Henry tells Ray that his dad, Bennie, fell over like he had a heart attack—he has a trial coming up that he’s concerned about. That night, a guard tells Henry that his father died. Ray prays for Bennie to know more in death than he did in life. After the guard leaves, the inmates all start to pass food and candy to Henry’s cell in sympathy. No one interrupts the chain—they all know grief and isolation, and they want to help in whatever way they can. Even the guards, whose job is both to take care of the inmates and to execute them, help pass the food.