by John Grisham
There were two types of killers on the Row, Packer had decided after years of study. There were the cold-blooded killers who would do it again if given the chance, and there were those who simply made mistakes and would never dream of shedding more blood. Those in the first group should be gassed quickly. Those in the second group caused great discomfort for Packer because their executions served no purpose. Society would not suffer or even notice if these men were released from prison. Sam was a solid member of the second group. He could be returned to his home where he would soon die a lonesome death. No, Packer did not want Sam Cayhall executed.
He shuffled back along Tier A, sipping his coffee and looking at the dark cells. His tier was the nearest to the Isolation Room, which was next door to the Chamber Room. Sam was in number six on Tier A, literally less than ninety feet from the gas chamber. He had requested a move a few years back because of some silly squabble with Cecil Duff, then his next-door neighbor.
Sam was now sitting in the dark on the edge of his bed. Packer stopped, walked to the bars. “Mornin’, Sam,” he said softly.
“Mornin’,” Sam replied, squinting at Packer. Sam then stood in the center of his room and faced the door. He was wearing a dingy white tee shirt and baggy boxer shorts, the usual attire for inmates on the Row because it was so hot. The rules required the bright red coveralls to be worn outside the cell, but inside they wore as little as possible.
“It’s gonna be a hot one,” Packer said, the usual early morning greeting.
“Wait till August,” Sam said, the standard reply to the usual early morning greeting.
“You okay?” Packer asked.
“Never felt better.”
“Your lawyer said he was coming back today.”
“Yeah. That’s what he said. I guess I need lots of lawyers, huh, Packer?”
“Sure looks that way.” Packer took a sip of coffee and glanced down the tier. The windows behind him were to the south, and a trickle of sunlight was making its way through. “See you later, Sam,” he said and eased away. He checked the remaining cells and found all his boys. The doors clicked behind him as he left Tier A and returned to the front.
______
The one light in the cell was above the stainless steel sink—made of stainless steel so it couldn’t be chipped and then used as a weapon or suicide device. Under the sink was a stainless steel toilet. Sam turned on his light and brushed his teeth. It was almost five-thirty. Sleep had been difficult.
He lit a cigarette and sat on the edge of his bed, studying his feet and staring at the painted concrete floor that somehow retained heat in the summer and cold in the winter. His only shoes, a pair of rubber shower shoes which he loathed, were under the bed. He owned one pair of wool socks, which he slept in during the winter. His remaining assets consisted of a black and white television, a radio, a typewriter, six tee shirts with holes, five pairs of plain white boxer shorts, a toothbrush, comb, nail clippers, an oscillating fan, and a twelve-month wall calendar. His most valuable asset was a collection of law books he had gathered and memorized over the years. They were also placed neatly on the cheap wooden shelves across from his bunk. In a cardboard box on the floor between the shelves and the door was an accumulation of bulky files, the chronological legal history of State of Mississippi v. Sam Cayhall. It, too, had been committed to memory.
His balance sheet was lean and short, and other than the death warrant there were no liabilities. The poverty had bothered him at first, but those concerns were dispelled years ago. Family legend held that his great-grandfather had been a wealthy man with acreage and slaves, but no modern Cayhall was worth much. He had known condemned men who had agonized over their wills as if their heirs would brawl over their old televisions and dirty magazines. He was considering preparing his own Last Will and Testament and leaving his wool socks and dirty underwear to the State of Mississippi, or perhaps the NAACP.
To his right was J. B. Gullitt, an illiterate white kid who’d raped and killed a homecoming queen. Three years earlier, Gullitt had come within days of execution before Sam intervened with a crafty motion. Sam pointed out several unresolved issues, and explained to the Fifth Circuit that Gullitt had no lawyer. A stay was immediately granted, and Gullitt became a friend for life.
To his left was Hank Henshaw, the reputed leader of a long-forgotten band of thugs known as the Redneck Mafia. Hank and his motley gang had hijacked an eighteen-wheeler one night, planning only to steal its cargo. The driver produced a gun, and was killed in the ensuing shootout. Hank’s family was paying good lawyers, and thus he was not expected to die for many years.
The three neighbors referred to their little section of MSU as Rhodesia.
Sam flipped the cigarette into the toilet and reclined on his bed. The day before the Kramer bombing he had stopped at Eddie’s house in Clanton, he couldn’t remember why except that he did deliver some fresh spinach from his garden, and he had played with little Alan, now Adam, for a few minutes in the front yard. It was April, and warm, he remembered, and his grandson was barefoot. He remembered the chubby little feet with a Band-Aid around one toe. He had cut it on a rock, Alan had explained with great pride. The kid loved Band-Aids, always had one on a finger or a knee. Evelyn held the spinach and shook her head as he proudly showed his grandfather a whole box of assorted adhesives.
That was the last time he had seen Alan. The bombing took place the next day, and Sam spent the next ten months in jail. By the time the second trial was over and he was released, Eddie and his family were gone. He had too much pride to give chase. There had been rumors and gossip of their whereabouts. Lee said they were in California, but she couldn’t find them. Years later, she talked to Eddie and learned of the second child, a girl named Carmen.
There were voices at the end of the tier. Then the flush of a toilet, then a radio. Death row was creaking to life. Sam combed his oily hair, lit another Montclair, and studied the calendar on the wall. Today was July 12. He had twenty-seven days.
He sat on the edge of his bed and studied his feet some more. J. B. Gullitt turned on his television to catch the news, and as Sam puffed and scratched his ankles he listened to the NBC affiliate in Jackson. After the rundown of local shootings, robberies, and killings, the anchorman delivered the hot news that an execution was materializing up at Parchman. The Fifth Circuit, he reported eagerly, had lifted the stay for Sam Cayhall, Parchman’s most famous inmate, and the date was now set for August 8. Authorities believe that Cayhall’s appeals have been exhausted, the voice said, and the execution could take place.
Sam turned on his television. As usual, the audio preceded the picture by a good ten seconds, and he listened as the Attorney General himself predicted justice for Mr. Cayhall, after all these many years. A grainy face formed on the screen, with words spewing forth, and then there was Roxburgh smiling and frowning at the same time, deep in thought as he relished for the cameras the scenario of finally hauling Mr. Cayhall into the gas chamber. Back to the anchorperson, a local kid with a peach fuzz mustache, who wrapped up the story by blitzing through Sam’s horrible crime while over his shoulder in the background was a crude illustration of a Klansman in a mask and pointed hood. A gun, a burning cross, and the letters KKK finished the depiction. The kid repeated the date, August 8, as if his viewers should circle their calendars and plan to take the day off. Then they were on to the weather.
He turned off the television, and walked to the bars.
“Did you hear it, Sam?” Gullitt called out from next door.
“Yep.”
“It’s gonna get crazy, man.”
“Yep.”
“Look on the bright side, man.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ve only got four weeks of it.” Gullitt chuckled as he hit this punch line, but he didn’t laugh long. Sam pulled some papers from the file and sat on the edge of his bed. There were no chairs in the cell. He read through Adam’s agreement of representation, a two-page document with
a page and a half of language. On all margins, Sam had made neat, precise notes with a pencil. And he had added paragraphs on the backs of the sheets. Another idea hit him, and he found room to add it. With a cigarette in his right fingers, he held the document with his left and read it again. And again.
Finally, Sam reached to his shelves and carefully took down his ancient Royal portable typewriter. He balanced it perfectly on his knees. He inserted a sheet of paper, and began typing.
______
At ten minutes after six, the doors on the north end of Tier A clicked and opened, and two guards entered the hallway. One pushed a cart with fourteen trays stacked neatly in slots. They stopped at cell number one, and slid the metal tray through a narrow opening in the door. The occupant of number one was a skinny Cuban who was waiting at the bars, shirtless in his drooping briefs. He grabbed the tray like a starving refugee, and without a word took it to the edge of his bed.
This morning’s menu was two scrambled eggs, four pieces of toasted white bread, a fat slice of bacon, two scrawny containers of grape jelly, a small bottle of prepackaged orange juice, and a large Styrofoam cup of coffee. The food was warm and filling, and had the distinction of being approved by the federal courts.
They moved to the next cell where the inmate was waiting. They were always waiting, always standing by the door like hungry dogs.
“You’re eleven minutes late,” the inmate said quietly as he took his tray. The guards did not look at him.
“Sue us,” one said.
“I’ve got my rights.”
“Your rights are a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t talk to me that way. I’ll sue you for it. You’re abusive.”
The guards rolled away to the next door with no further response. Just part of the daily ritual.
Sam was not waiting at the door. He was busy at work in his little law office when breakfast arrived.
“I figured you’d be typing,” a guard said as they stopped in front of number six. Sam slowly placed the typewriter on the bed.
“Love letters,” he said as he stood.
“Well, whatever you’re typing, Sam, you’d better hurry. The cook’s already talking about your last meal.”
“Tell him I want microwave pizza. He’ll probably screw that up. Maybe I’ll just go for hot dogs and beans.” Sam took his tray through the opening.
“It’s your call, Sam. Last guy wanted steak and shrimp. Can you imagine? Steak and shrimp around this place.”
“Did he get it?”
“No. He lost his appetite and they filled him full of Valium instead.”
“Not a bad way to go.”
“Quiet!” J. B. Gullitt yelled from the next cell. The guards eased the cart a few feet down the tier and stopped in front of J.B., who was gripping the bars with both hands. They kept their distance.
“Well, well, aren’t we frisky this morning?” one said.
“Why can’t you assholes just serve the food in silence? I mean, do you think we want to wake up each morning and start the day by listening to your cute little comments? Just give me the food, man.”
“Gee, J.B. We’re awful sorry. We just figured you guys were lonely.”
“You figured wrong.” J.B. took his tray and turned away.
“Touchy, touchy,” a guard said as they moved away in the direction of someone else to torment.
Sam sat his food on the bed and mixed a packet of sugar in his coffee. His daily routine did not include scrambled eggs and bacon. He would save the toast and jelly and eat it throughout the morning. He would carefully sip the coffee, rationing it until ten o’clock, his hour of exercise and sunshine.
He balanced the typewriter on his knees, and began pecking away.
Thirteen
Sam’s version of the law was finished by nine-thirty. He was proud of it, one of his better efforts in recent months. He munched on a piece of toast as he proofed the document for the last time. The typing was neat but outdated, the result of an ancient machine. The language was effusive and repetitive, flowery and filled with words never uttered by humble laymen. Sam was almost fluent in legalese and could hold his own with any lawyer.
A door at the end of the hallway banged open, then shut. Heavy footsteps clicked along properly, and Packer appeared. “Your lawyer’s here, Sam,” he said, removing a set of handcuffs from his belt.
Sam stood and pulled up his boxer shorts. “What time is it?”
“A little after nine-thirty. What difference does it make?”
“I’m supposed to get my hour out at ten.”
“You wanna go outside, or you wanna see your lawyer?”
Sam thought about this as he slipped into his red jumpsuit and slid his feet into his rubber sandals. Dressing was a swift procedure on death row. “Can I make it up later?”
“We’ll see.”
“I want my hour out, you know.”
“I know, Sam. Let’s go.”
“It’s real important to me.”
“I know, Sam. It’s real important to everyone. We’ll try and make it up later, okay?”
Sam combed his hair with great deliberation, then rinsed his hands with cold water. Packer waited patiently. He wanted to say something to J. B. Gullitt, something about the mood he was in this morning, but Gullitt was already asleep again. Most of them were asleep. The average inmate on death row made it through breakfast and an hour or so of television before stretching out for the morning nap. Though his study was by no means scientific, Packer estimated they slept fifteen to sixteen hours a day. And they could sleep in the heat, the sweat, the cold, and amid the noise of loud televisions and radios.
The noise was much lower this morning. The fans hummed and whined, but there was no yelling back and forth.
Sam approached the bars, turned his back to Packer, and extended both hands through the narrow slot in the door. Packer applied the handcuffs, and Sam walked to his bed and picked up the document. Packer nodded to a guard at the end of the hall, and Sam’s door opened electronically. Then it closed.
Leg chains were optional in these situations, and with a younger prisoner, perhaps one with an attitude and a bit more stamina, Packer probably would have used them. But this was just Sam. He was an old man. How far could he run? How much damage could he do with his feet?
Packer gently placed his hand around Sam’s skinny bicep and led him along the hall. They stopped at the tier door, a row of more bars, waited for it to open and close, and left Tier A. Another guard followed behind as they came to an iron door which Packer unlocked with a key from his belt. They walked through it, and there was Adam sitting alone on the other side of the green grating.
Packer removed the handcuffs and left the room.
______
Adam read it slowly the first time. During the second reading he took a few notes and was amused at some of the language. He’d seen worse work from trained lawyers. And he’d seen much better work. Sam was suffering the same affliction that hit most first-year law students. He used six words when one would suffice. His Latin was dreadful. Entire paragraphs were useless. But, on the whole, not bad for a non-lawyer.
The two-page agreement was now four, typed neatly with perfect margins and only two typos and one misspelled word.
“You do pretty good work,” Adam said as he placed the document on the counter. Sam puffed a cigarette and stared at him through the opening. “It’s basically the same agreement I handed you yesterday.”
“It’s basically a helluva lot different,” Sam said, correcting him.
Adam glanced at his notes, then said, “You seem to be concerned about five areas. The governor, books, movies, termination, and who gets to witness the execution.”
“I’m concerned about a lot of things. Those happen to be non-negotiable.”
“I promised yesterday I would have nothing to do with books and movies.”
“Good. Moving right along.”
“The termination language is fine. You want t
he right to terminate my representation, and that of Kravitz & Bane, at any time and for any reason, without a fight.”
“It took me a long time to fire those Jewish bastards last time. I don’t want to go through it again.”
“That’s reasonable.”
“I don’t care whether you think it’s reasonable, okay? It’s in the agreement, and it’s non-negotiable.”
“Fair enough. And you want to deal with no one but me.”
“That’s correct. No one at Kravitz & Bane touches my file. That place is crawling with Jews, and they don’t get involved, okay? Same for niggers and women.”
“Look, Sam, can we lay off the slurs? How about we refer to them as blacks?”
“Ooops. Sorry. How about we do the right thing and call them African-Americans and Jewish-Americans and Female-Americans? You and I’ll be Irish-Americans, and also White-Male-Americans. If you need help from your firm, try to stick with German-Americans or Italian-Americans. Since you’re in Chicago, maybe use a few Polish-Americans. Gee, that’ll be nice, won’t it? We’ll be real proper and multicultural and politically correct, won’t we?”
“Whatever.”
“I feel better already.”
Adam made a check mark by his notes. “I’ll agree to it.”
“Damned right you will, if you want an agreement. Just keep the minorities out of my life.”
“You’re assuming they’re anxious to jump in.”
“I’m not assuming anything. I have four weeks to live, and I’d rather spend my time with people I trust.”
Adam read again a paragraph on page three of Sam’s draft. The language gave Sam the sole authority to select two witnesses at his execution. “I don’t understand this clause about the witnesses,” Adam said.