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

Hinton relates the events of September 12, 1986 when a prosecution witness named Reginal Payne White testifies he works at Quincy’s restaurant, where Sidney Smotherman—an alleged victim of Hinton—was manager. Hinton is incredulous about White’s testimony. 

Hinton is convinced that White is testifying against him for two reasons. First, White is looking to collect a $5,000 reward. “[W]as he,” Hinton asks himself, “like every other young and poor black man in Jefferson County, just trying to get a little extra scratch to make it through?” (68). Second, Hinton believes that jealousy motivated White. Hinton recounts that the brother of the two sisters he once dated also worked with White at the restaurant that was robbed. Was this, Hinton wonders, the source of jealousy, a source of contempt? Hinton admits he had in fact “torn apart” the sisters’ family as a result of his deception (68).

Certain that White’s testimony is fraudulent, Hinton waits for his lawyer—Perhacs—to do a pointed cross-examination. Instead, Perhacs lets White off easy, without questioning any of the contradictions in his statement. Now nearing despair, Hinton reveals that his last hope lay in the testimony of the ballistics expert Perhacs hired to contradict the prosecution's experts.     

Five days later, the district attorney alleges that the so-called expert—Andrew Payne—is a fraud.