Breaks

 Stanga State Prison, Correctly called The Pennsylvania Correction Institute at Stanga is the Honor Prison for prisoners who have perfect disciplinary records....There is a big swimming pool here, There are basketball, football and baseball teams here... Inmates can take college courses taught by volunteer instructors from nearby colleges...and interview with future employers before their parole.

Most of the inmates here are short timers...Men close to their release dates...Practically all are non-violent with some exceptions... The lifers....There are three....two are ex-policemen....

One is Lt. Tragg's ex-partner, Detective Dominick Evans....One half of a duo that murdered an Assistant District Attorney...His other co-conspirator, a woman, was executed a few years back. He was serving a life sentence..

The Other , Ex-Detective Phillip Marlowe...He murdered our friend, Bresha Billip's aunt, a civil rights attorney..He too was serving life...These two were in Protective custody....for their own safety... Too many inmates wanted to stick a shiv in their backs...Them being ex-cops and all..

The other lifer is our client..Tony Hinson-

Upon seeing him, we were shocked.. He looked like a kid...He was actually two years older than Brooke, Natalie, Sean and Myself.

A slight young man...it was hard to believe he was a double murderer...

"Hello..you're the attorneys my sister's boyfriend said he'd get huh? Thank you for coming." he said.

"I'm Attorney David Charles, I am a Staff Attorney with the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit of the Philadelphia D.A.'s office...We are here to try and get your conviction overturned first and then a new trial for you...These are my colleagues -" I said..

"I'm his wife, Attorney Natalie Charles...I am also a staff attorney with the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit." said Natalie..

Tony looked at me...

"Ummmmmmm you got a pretty wife mannnn. Respect!" he said ,looking Natalie up and down...

Natalie Blushed.. "Thank you!" she said.

"Thanks man..." I said.

"I am  Attorney Brooke Marks, .I am also a staff attorney with the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit." said Brooke...

He looked Brooke up and down...I could see he was pleased with her figure...

"I am Attorney Sean Marks, her husband, I am a Federal Public Defender."said Sean.

"You Both Have beautiful wives..." said Tony Hinson...

We sat in the visiting room with him....

"Look guys...I didn't rob any restaurants and I wasn't even on Philly when that happened...I was in Bayside at my job the day of the first killing and I was in Southwest Philly at this girl's house the day of the second killing...I told Lt. Tragg that...He couldn't find the girl I was with...She had a warrant on her for prostitution..a bench warrant and she dropped out of sight...There were people at my job who could have testified that I was there...but none of them ever showed up....

It was quite obvious I was being railroaded..The so called firearms expert they got was half blind and he couldn't tell if the gun they found had been the actual murder weapon or not.. The gun had no fingerprints on it. My Mama had that gun for years...and it hadn't been fired..They knew that...They knew that...That bonehead Lt. Tragg ignored all of that... He held me in that smelly interrogation room for 9 hours...I wouldn't cave, I woudn't tell him nothing, I wouldn't confess.. That racist Prosecutor and his buddy the judge was just too much for the public defender... It was her second case and her first capital murder case...She was bullied and overwhelmed and I was convicted..Sentenced to life...That was 2016...I've been here ever since.." he said.

"We know all of that..and it will be part of our oral argument.."said Natalie.

"That's part of  our defense...Once you're back in the city...We'll need the names of those people at your old job...We'll need a new firearms expert...All of that...but we have to go to appellate court first..."said Brooke.

''I'm ready...This is the first ray of hope I've had for seven years.."said Tony.... "Hey How is my sister?" he asked.

''We've never met your sister...Apparently her boyfriend got in contact with us.." I said.

He grimaced.... 'Well I guess I should be grateful...He actually was good for his word.. I kinda don't trust that guy..I know guys like him, slick as canned grease...He just wants to get in my sister's panties..probably has already which is why he got in contact with you...but that's just my opinion." he said.

Brooke looked at Natalie and smiled..

Natalie shrugged her shoulders and smiled, putting her arms around my neck and kissing my neck softly..

I said nothing...

"We'll be back and hopefully with good news." said Sean.

"Thank You....Thank You All." said Tony Hinson.

II-

TWO DAYS LATER- STATE APPELLATE COURT!

We argued for a new trial for Tony Hinson- He stood with us on court...

In 2015, two West Philadelphia area fast-food restaurants were robbed and the managers, John Dennis and Thomas Wayne Booker, were fatally shot and killed. There were no eyewitnesses or fingerprint evidence; police had no suspects and pressure to solve the murders grew as similar crimes continued.

 On July 25, 2015, a restaurant in Southwest Philly was robbed and the manager was shot but not seriously wounded. 

Tony Hinson was arrested after the manager identified him from a photo lineup, even though he was working in a locked warehouse fifteen miles away from Philadelphia  at the time of the crime. 

 Police seized an old revolver belonging to Mr. Hinson's mama, and state firearm examiners said that was the gun used in all three crimes. The prosecutor—who had a documented history of racial bias and said he could tell Mr. Hinson was guilty and “evil” solely from his appearance—told the court that the State’s experts’ asserted match between Mrs. Hinson gun and the bullets from all three crimes was the only evidence linking Mr. Hinson to the Davidson and Vason murders. Anthony Hinson, 29 years old with no history of violent crime, steadfastly maintained his innocence. 

A polygraph test given by police exonerated him, but the judge (now-deceased Circuit Judge Leon  Hillerman) refused to admit it at trial. 

 Mr. Hinson was appointed a lawyer who mistakenly thought she could not get enough money to hire a qualified firearms examiner. Instead, she retained a visually-impaired civil engineer with no expertise in firearms identification who admitted he could not operate the machinery necessary to examine the evidence. 

With no credible expert to challenge the State’s assertion of a match, Mr. Hinson was convicted and sentenced to death." we said...."That's the case..." We argued..

We had transcripts from the original trial , the police report and the autopsy reports....

What we didn't have was the missing witnesses from his job...

Before we left Philadelphia...Nelson took us inside the media room...

He showed us a number of liberal leaning Judges....We had complete bios on them and photos of what they looked like as well as phone numbers, email addresses and what not....It was a great advantage.

"This is amazing.."said Brooke, amazed at the technology and wealth of knowledge at Olivia, Beverly, Donnie Ray, Nelson ,Josie and Bresha's disposal.

"No wonder they are so formidable...They have every single bit of information they need on damn near everything before they walk into court."marveled Natalie..

"Aren't you glad they're on our side?" I asked, hugging Natalie..

"I sure am....Ms. Yvette has a media room just like this up in her suite...too!" observed Natalie.

"That's why both teams are so good...They do their research...All of their research and then some before they walk into court....I am soooo impressed." said Brooke.

"I am tooo...They are all marvelous, impressive attorneys...That's why I intend to pick their brains every chance I get." said Sean, smiling.

That was THREE DAYS BEFORE!

Judge Myra Scalese, A Matronly Italian Judge, who ironically enough was from Philadelphia, but now living upstate and hearing our case overturned Tony's original conviction and ordered a new trial.. He'd be transferred to a Philadelphia jail and we could arraign him and set up a new trial for him....

She was appalled at the slip shod way this case had been originally handled...from the detective work to the prosecution and to the many miscues the judge made...

It was a great victory for us......

We headed back to Philadelphia, very happy and very successful..

We arrived back in town just in time for Couples Night... The gang had missed a week since  Karen and B.L.'s wedding party. We were once again at Curley's... No food or champaigne tonight... Just couples, drinking and talking..

''Welcome back guys..." said Jazzy.
 

''We missed you guys."said Dabnis.

''Heard you guys were successful..won a new trial for you client." said Kayla..

"Good Job guys." said Ray.

"You guys got it done with one appellate court hearing..That's a first.. It's taken us four court appearences and many appeals to get a case overturned." said Jessica.

"Yeah, that's a first.....Good Job."said Chip..

"We were so happy.. We had a good judge." said Natalie.

"She was from Philly....living up there...I think she felt sorry for us." I said.

"I felt sorry for us...So glad she was a sympathetic ear..." said Brooke.

"She was better than some of these judges here in the city."said Sean..

"Your boss lady would be real proud of you guys." said Zoey.

"They'll be back next week, just in time for your retrial." said Lem.

''Welcome back guys..." said Renee.

''We missed you guys."said Tyrell. 

"I'm so happy for you guys. I can remember having to go to four , even five appellate courts at a time.for one case..." said Olivia.

 

"Oh wow, I remember those days. Seemed like every case we had like that , where we needed a reversal...We had to sift through four or five state courts..." said Donnie Ray.

"Sofia and I argued a case through five state appellate courts and lost all five." said Keith Jones.

"It was for a stay of execution for a client...We wound up arguing before the State Supreme Court and we still lost...our client was executed..."said Sofia.

"I remember that case. We tried to help.  Brooke, Nat, You guys did well...You were much more fortunate than we were.You got it done on the first crack." said Beverly...

"Good Job guys. Good Job!" said Nelson..

"We couldn't have done it without your help." I said.

"Yes...Thank you." said Brooke.

"Those sandwiches were on point and that soup was slammin...Where did you guys buy that?" asked Natalie.

"Buy it? I made that soup from scratch ." said Alfreda, smiling..

"Well we loved it." said Sean.

"Good Job Guys...We are proud of you." said Josie.

"Wow....Next week is Christmas Break....I'd love to look at your case...perhaps help you guys out." said Paris.

''Sure Paris, why not?" said Brooke.

"It'll be a great learning experience for you." said Natalie.

"Yes , it would..I sat in on many trials while I was an intern..."said Bresha.

"It helped make her the lawyer she is today." gushed her husband, Tony....

"Ahhhhhhhh drink up guys, while you can." sighed Alfreda.

"Maybe we'll be lucky and he won't show up tonight." said Rockland. 

 "Hope springs eternal." said Ms. Yvette laughing..

''He's got nothing to carp about, neither you guys or Olivia's guys have had a case he's been involved in lately..

''Yeah but Brooke and Natalie do...They just reversed one of his old cases..."said Keith Jones..

"He's the only person alive involved with their case...both the Judge and the ADA are deceased." said Bee Bee.

"You know how unhinged he gets when something like this comes up...We'd better be careful...He'll be down at our building, hounding them...He doesn't know the rest of us work there." said Sofia.

"No problem...They'll all be up in our office working on the case."said Kahlil.

"Yeah, he'll never find them...but Jessica and Chip and Jazzy and Kayla and company better be careful.being down the hall from him."said Jade.

"He's going to fnd out you guys work there one day...What are you going to do then?" asked  Danny Ho.

"I don't know...but we are enjoying the peace while we can now!." laughed Virginia.

"He's a pain in the ass."said Jetty..

As more drinks arrived.

Former ADA  Rick Madewell walked in...He was with our client's sister, Michelle Hinson....He saw all of us and he walked over to us..

"Hello everybody...Hey I wanted to congratulate you guys on a job well done..wow...You got a reversal in record time...This is my uh friend, Michelle Hinson...." he said.

"I'd like to thank you for what you did for my brother...." said Michelle Hinson.

"You're welcome...He asks about you.."said Natalie.

"He'll be in Philadelphia tomorrow..You can visit him." I said.

"We are going to do everything we can to free him..."said Brooke.

"He's in good hands...Join us...have some drinks." said Sean.

Just then....Lt. Tragg walked in....Naturally, he made a bee line to where we were  all sitting...

"WELLLLLLLL LOOK WHO IT IS...THE MIGHTY MOUTHPIECES.....WHAT, NO FOOD TONIGHT????, NO CHAMPAIGNE????GUESS THE CITY OR STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA HAS RUN OUT OF MONEY TO FEED YOU GUYS HUH?" he said, still parroting his same old line.

"I HOPE SINCERELY YOU HIGH FALLUTIN LAWYERS ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO YOUR HOMES BY THOSE BUSES...ALL THIS DRINKIN YOU'RE DOING TONIGHT...I'LL BE WATCHING!" he bellowed.

''You know, you sound like a broken record....The last time I was in here, you said the same thing, why don't you give it a rest and go over to bar and buy yourself a drink and leave these guys alone huh?" said Rick.

"WHY DON'T YOU GO SUCK AN EGG BUDDY? Wait a minute....I remember you...You took a swing at me the last time you were here and I put you on your ass and you vomited all over my suit..You and your girlfriend had better walk over to that counter and get a drink...You don't want to tangle with me pal.."said Lt. Tragg.

"I was drunk that night....I'M NOT DRUNK TONIGHT!!! THERE WILL BE A MUCH DIFFERENT OUT COME IF YOU FLEX WITH ME TONIGHT, YOU STUPID KEYSTONE COPPER!" said Rick.

''Rick, Rick, ignore him....Come on baby! " said Michelle Hinson...

"Better do what your girlfriend says sonny...before you get hurt."said Lt. Tragg.

Nobody knows who said what or who threw the first punch....but Rick hit Lt. Tragg  with about 27 lefts and 27 rights and sent him flying into a table knocking it over and spilling water and beer all over him..

He got up and tried to rush Rick, but slipped and fell ,knocking over another table and breaking the legs off of it..and breaking the chair...

He got to his feet and threw three haymakers , all missing, but Rick was on the money, he hit Lt. Tragg with 17 lefts and 17 rights and sent him flying into another table, knocking it over and splashing drinks on the two patrons....

Deputy Of Operations, Don Donaldson..

"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUDD!" he yelled... Beer and water was all over his suit..Beer was dripping from his hair...

and his date.... 

"OHHHHHHHHH MY GOD, MY DRESS!" she said.. It was saturated with beer.. Beer and water was dripping from her hair too!

The fight was over.... Lt. Tragg had been thoroughly beaten....

Both sleeves were torn off of Lt. Tragg's suit jacket...the back was split..His shirt was out of his pants...

both of his eyes were swollen shut nearly....His nose was bleeding profusely and his lips were swollen as was his face...He looked a mess....

The laughter was maddening...People were howling with loud laughter.... Well not everyone.....

"Artie!!!You broke four of my chairs and two of my tables and several patrons have been splashed with beer and water...Every week, every week... just about, you come in here startin trouble Artie... GET THE HELL OUT AND I DON'T WANT YOU IN HERE FOR AWHILE!!  GET OUT!" said a livid, Curley...

"OH THAT'S THE LEAST OF HIS WORRIES...THE LEAST OF HIS WORRIES! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed a livid Deputy of Operations, who was drenched in beer and water.... He was livid. His date wanted to go home....His night had been ruined!!

III-

Riverside Correctional Facility- The Next Morning!

We took Natalie's car to the prison..

"How is Rick this morning?" asked Natalie.

"He's fine...a few bruised knuckles from punching Lt. Tragg...but other than that...he's fine..He was asleep when I left him... Your friends laughed so hard at the fight and they took pictures with their cameras and high fived each other...They hate that creep as much as I do huh?" said Michelle.

"More..He makes our lives a living hell.....Everytime a we get a verdict that doesn't go his way, he comes in and brow beats us with his remarks...As you can guess, All of our friends are like us attorneys and he despises us... He's why we don't eat at Sam Mother's Diner.. We only go to Curleys on "Couples Night...We go together and we leave on the buses." said Brooke.

"One time we weren't with the whole group...We were by ourselves and he not only stood over our table ,so we couldn't have a private conversation...He followed us in my wife's car and tried to write us up for drinking and driving under the influence... They had all been drinking, but I hadn't...So he couldn't do anything." said Sean.

"Oh that's just pure harrassment."said Michelle.

''At Any rate...we got a break..

He's been assigned to the Marine Boat for the next 30 days...We won't see him until after the New Year...and he's been banned from Curley's indefinitely....

Curley's insurance is paying for the broken chairs and tables The City hoping to God  that Rick doesn't sue..."I laughed..

As we entered the prison, we saw Bull Bailey..

"Speaking of which, There is another asshole." said Brooke.

"Long Story...We'll fill you in later." said Natalie.

"Wow!"laughed Michelle.

''We've got lots of stories Michelle." I laughed.

"Yeah we do." agreed Sean.

With the possible exception of Brooke, Bull Bailey wasn't glad to see the rest of us..  He didn't like Natalie or me for that matter and he really hated seeing Brooke with her Black husband, Sean... Michelle, he didn't know.

We were given a room.....

Tony Hinson walked in...His eyes were as large as saucers when he saw his sister...First time in three years.

"SIS!" he said , hugging her and spinning her around..

"BABY BRO!" she said, tearing up!!

It was a nice reunion...

"Thank you guys, thank you so much for getting my conviction tossed out." said a grateful Tony Hinson.

"We are going to get you arraigned and possibly released in a few days." said Natalie.

"We are going to take you to Night court Tuesday night for arraignment." I said.

"Meanwhile, while you ponder your freedom...We brought food." said Sean.

We had an assortment of Bagels, Cream Cheeses and Jelly...

Fresh Baked Dougnuts and Coffee.

and Pastries...

"And while you're at it..taste this soup....It's delicious." said Brooke.

"You guys are the best..." said Tony...

After we ate , we went over the existing case with him....All and All we had a good visit.

When we got home..I went to the refrigerator....I grabbed a bottled water.

The cold water felt good running down my throat, some of it running down my neck.....

Natalie was in the bathroom.

"DAVID!  COME HERE!" called Natalie from the bathroom.....

I walked in.... Natalie was semi undressed...

She took me in her arms and kissed me passionately for a few minutes.....

I slipped her panties down...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" she cooed.

"GIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRL, I like these, they're so soft and silky.." I said..

"I like them too!" she whispered..

I lifted her off the floor and entered her slowly, softly...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU   YOU ARE SO DAMN BIG ,UMMMMMM AND HARD!OHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYY!" she cried out..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  YOU ARE MY SWEEET GIRRRRRL" I moaned..

I placed her on the sink ,spread her legs and entered her again....thrusting slowly and kissing her...

"UMMMMMMMMMMPH!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DAVID!" she cried out....

"OH MY GOD NATALIE JEAN!" I moaned.

I lifted her up, long stroking her to the bedroom...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GET IT BABY!" Natalie screamed out...her body trembling, her head moving from side to side and tears flowing down the sides of her face....

"GET IT BABY!"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" she moaned...

Sitting on the side of the bed , while she moved up and down on me...

"UMMMMMMMMMMPH! OH MY DAMNNNNN!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DAVID! OUUUUUUUUUU!" she cried out....

"OH MY GOD NATALIE JEAN! NATALIE JEAN....NATALIE JEAN..AWWWWWW LAWWWWD!" I moaned.

"UMMMMMMMMMMPH! GIRL THIS IS TOO GOOD!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DAVID!" she cried out....

"OH MY GOD NATALIE JEAN!" I moaned.

We lie on the bed kissing each other like kissing was going out of style..

I turned her over and entered her missionary style...

"OH NATALIE, THIS HAS GOT TO BE A DREAM.." I yelled out..

"THEN I'M DREAMING TOO! OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she screamed out....

"AWWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWWWWWWD!" I moaned..

"OUUUUUUUUUU DAVID!" she said as she had an intense orgasm, her body trembling, her head turning from side to side,tears flowing down her cheeks...

We made love for the next EIGHT TO NINE HOURS!

"Boy did we catch a break... Lieutenant Tragg on the Marine Boat...and banned from Curleys indefinitely....A Quick reversal....Everything is breaking our way.." I said as I caught my breath...and Natalie rested on top of me..

"Be careful when you say things like that baby!" she said as she dozed off into a peaceful and deep sleep.

IV-

Mrs. Yvette and her staff had been so gracious... They allowed us to use their conference room and law library to finish up our research....

Brooke and Natalie arrived there first..

"You know Nat....Me and Sean hadn't slept together in two years before my trial and I had dated once or twice, but I wasn't getting any real action...Now I'm getting more action than I ever dreamed of..He wants it constantly..We do it two times a day sometimes. Early in the morning and of course at night...I'm happy as a lark..I don't know if I'm coming or going sometimes.."laughed Brooke.

"I'm certain you're cumming..."laughed Natalie. "Girl , I hadn't had sex in two years...I thought my panties were growing cob webs until David and me started seeing one another.....and it's the same thing...We do it twice a day and sometimes three times a day...Tee Hee...I couldn't be happier...It feels good getting laid on a regular basis doesn't it?"laughed Natalie.

"OH IT SURE DOES!  WAIT A MINUTE!!! THREE TIMES A DAY? OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GIRL! YOU ARE BADDDDD! "laughed Brooke, putting her hands over her mouth...She realized we were sneaking off and doing it in the building...

They looked up and Sean and I were coming into the room with coffee...

"Coffee ladies?" I said as Sean and I walked in with coffees.

"Grab em while they're hot." said  Sean...

"AWWWWWWW THANK YOUUUU!" said Natalie..

"THANK YOU GUYS!" said Brooke.

 

 "Let us know if you guys need anything.." said Yvette...

"You know where our offices are."said Keith Jones.

"And Lunch time girls...You can join Sofia and me at the Fashion District...There is a shoe sale going on." said Bee Bee.

"Let us know." said Sofia.

"Oh well, we'll leave you to your business."said Kahlil as the five of them left...

"Give me that list of witnesses...I'll try to locate them for you and get statements. "said Jade. "I'm not busy this week." she added.

"Oh thank you..."said Brooke.

''We hadn't even considered who we were going to get for an investigator." said Natalie.

"Yeah." I said.

"And I know a really good Firearms expert...He owes me a favor...I'll call him in."said Virginia..

"I came up to look at your case so far..." said  Paris., a Para-legal and a law student...

"That's right, you did say you wanted to look at this." said Natalie..

"Come on, Sit over here." said Brooke.

"Heyyy look who's here." I said.. It was Jessica and Chip...

"We figured we could give you guys a hand..."said Jessica.

"It's a slow week..."laughed Chip....

"Looks like everything is breaking our way..."said Sean...

Out on the Marine Boat, Lt. Tragg read that the Wrongful Conviction /Conviction Integrity Unit had gotten the conviction of Tony Hinson tossed out and a new trial ordered...

 and it had our photos in the newspaper article.

He was beyond livid...

"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???" he belted out in fury...

(TO BE CONTINUED)