Takes Your Breath Away..

 Morning Came...We all slept in late...

 Our Common Area reminded me of an office situation...There were vending machines and small tables that seated four to five people..

Olivia and I, Beverly and Nelson and Josie and Paris sat together at one of the bigger tables

 ''Well...I love our rooms...but this common area is just that...A common area.."laughed Olivia..

 "Just be glad we are the only ones in this huge place....Imagine when it gets packed."I said.

 "Does it ever?" asked Beverly..

 "I think it's packed right now...Unless they have a convention or something." said Nelson..

 "Well , it is cozy.."said Josie..

" That it is.." said Paris..

 We each made a dish... A large bowl of Cheese Grits..

 Breakfast sausages..

 Hash Browns..

 Cheddar Omelettes..

 "Mmmmm everything looks delicious.." said Yvette..

 "I'll say.." said Gary...

 "Let's Dig in.." said Keith Jones..

 "Sounds like what you said to me in bed last night Hot Stuff." giggled Bee Bee, teasing Keith..

 "Mmmmmmmm make that sound like you made last night Sofia....."teased Kahlil..

 "Ohh hush up Freshie."said Sofia, laughing at their private joke..

 "Everything is just wonderful."said Jade..

 "Glad you guys like everything.."said Chip..





II-

 Jessica poured us all steaming hot cups of coffee..

"I figured while we are eating...I'd bring everybody up to speed on our case..." she said..

She placed a photo of our client on the table..

This is Ricky Lee Bowers.... He has been sentenced to three , count em three death sentences for the death of three people.....

They say the motive was , these three people, one his former supervisor, another, her supervisor and a male co-worker conspired to terminate his position..

He did have several bad evaluations...but he says he was singled out....He says he was the only one evaluated more than the one time a year everyone else is evaluated..

This was confirmed by his co-workers...He was loud and outspoken and these three didn't feel as though he was a good fit within the organization...

On the evening after a work retreat, which he swears he didn't attend..All three  people...A White Male, A Black female and a white female were found shot to death....

Our client was convicted of all three murders and sentenced to die...What makes this unique is that he had the choice of

 lethal injection..

or the newly built Gas Chamber, which uses Nitrogen...It literally sucks the air out of the room..It takes your breath away...

He chose the Gas Chamber..

But we aren't going to let him die in either one...

. The Innocence Project here has  held that the ADA in the case, ADA Clyde Sterno

 in the case failed to disclose information about another suspect, Lee Chassen, and that had the defense in the original case have known of the Chassen materials, the result of the trial would probably have been different. Chassen, had greater motive, no alibi, and habitually carried the same gun and unusual ammunition as the murder weapon. Ricky Lee Bowers, on the other hand, maintained his innocence, provided twelve alibi witnesses to confirm that he was 300 miles from the crime scene just one hour prior to the crime, and could not be linked by any physical evidence to the crime ..They were never called by either the Prosecution or the defense...It's been a year since his conviction and two years since the murders...

Lee Chassen is dead...He was murdered in prison last year! He was serving five years in an unrelated case.

"Donnie Ray, Ms. Jade, Gary....I need you to track down these witnesses...I know it's a tough task..but that's why I specifically asked for you guys.."said Jessica.

 "That's why they pay me the big bucks.." I said.

 "That's what I do..." said Jade..

"The Price of a good vacation and good food and drink." joked Gary..

We all busted out in laughter...

 "I'll show you guys where the law library is..

"It's really nice..." said Jessica..

 "Nelson and I already know where it is...We were looking around yesterday afternoon after we first got here when you guys were settling in.." said Beverly with a sheepish grin..

 "Yes...It is quite large...It can more than accommodate all of us.."said Nelson..

 They had found a quiet space in the back and had at first began kissing and making out..

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Nelson, we are going to get caught..." said Beverly...

"Shhhhhhh, no we aren't.." he whispered..

She liked this fearless, adventurous side of him....she had thought he was a bit timid when they first met...

But once they had sex the first time...She saw a fearless , adventurous, take charge side of him she hadn't seen before..

SHE LIKED IT!  IT TURNED HER ON!..

This led to them making love...a quickie , in the back...for about ONE HOUR...

"Ouuuuu Nelson, you are soooo badddd.." she cooed as he slipped her panties down and

tossed them to the side.. He entered her slowly and gently...

"Ouuuuuuuuuu.." she cooed silently and held on for dear life as he began to go in and out...

She shivered... Her legs shook a bit....Her head moved from side to side...

It was a good memory they both shared... They were at once so embarrassed by what they did they couldn't look at each other..

 ''We have experience in overturning Death Penalty Cases..."said Beverly, changing the subject and regaining her composure..

 "Even in Pennsylvania it is difficult..In The Heart of Dixie ,it's going to be worse.." said Nelson.

 "Well, let's get started...Tomorrow I think we all should visit our client."said Olivia..
She looked at Nelson and Beverly with pride...How far they both had come from young idealistic little eager beavers to hard nosed competent attorneys...She had raised them both and trained them from pups...

 "I can't wait "said an excited Josie... The last time we had a big death penalty case..She was still a para legal.

Olivia looked at Josie too..She was coming along just fine...

 "Ouuu I love her enthusiasm..Reminds me of you guys.."joked Yvette.
She felt the same way about her pups, Keith, Sofia,Bee Bee and Kahlil..They too had come a long way from green recent law school grads to the seasoned attorneys they were now...And she was thankful to Olivia and Beverly for helping her with them..

 Only Keith Jones

 and Sofia were weary. They had fought and lost a big Death Penalty case, which saw a childhood friend of Sofia and Bee Bee actually executed..Such experience for them so early in their career..

They had argued before the state supreme court...and the governor of the state..

 Bee Bee looked at her boyfriend and her best friend and knew how they felt..She felt sorry for them, but knew they'd dig in and fight just as hard..

Kahlil remembered how hard Sofia cried when she came home after losing that case and how he held her in his arms for a long time

He remembered how passionately they made love that night too!

III-

We all retreated to the wonderful law library they had here...

Jessica and her husband, Charles "Chip" Burrows passed out the original trial transcripts and the autopsy reports and photos of the crime scene..

 "I see enough discrepancies and errors off the bat in this transcript from the trial to warrant an appeal.."said Beverly.

 "Oh My God , this trial was rife with mistakes.."said Olivia..  "Write everything down Neicey Poo, Nelson." she added.

 "The Public Defender was either over worked, Intimidated or in with the Prosecutor.."said Nelson..

 "Looking at these trial transcripts..I'd be inclined to agree on all three.."said Keith Jones..

"Let's start listing all of this stuff and beginning our appeal...We aren't home with the Wrongful Conviction Unit...We are going to have to argue this before several State Appellate courts if I know right.."said Yvette, who was preparing for a long battle...

 "According to the autopsy reports....They were all shot at different times during the night at that party...One in the parking lot...The other two out back...and there was a large amount of marijuana found on both.." said Bee Bee.

 ''If he wasn't there, then it's all a moot point.."said Josie.

 "Let's hope we can find those 12 witnesses and get their statements.saying he wasn't at the scene."said Sofia.

''Well the one person who says he was at the scene is now deceased...Killed in an unrelated incident a few weeks ago." said Kahlil..

 ''What about this Lee Chassen? What do we know about him?" I asked.

"He didn't work there...He had been romantically linked  to the Black woman who was killed...He felt as if she was cheating on him with the White guy ,who was also killed that night...The three had been known to have had at least two violent altercations.."said Chip..

 ''Where is He now? Was he ever questioned?" asked Gary.

 ''He's dead!.Killed in prison last year, in an unrelated incident..He was questioned once and released..It should be noted...He carried a .357 mag, same as the murder weapon and same as our client..Gun was never tested. And now  the gun is missing."said Jessica..

"That's right...You did say he was dead! My bad!" said Gary..

''Very Interesting."said Jade.

IV-

 The Girls found a shopping center later on and naturally they went shopping...

 ''This feels so good, hanging out with you again...We get so busy, we still hardly see each other."said Yvette.

 "I know....I see your kids more than I see you...We got to do somethin about that Vettie...Tell Gary to sell his house and move in with you.."joked Olivia...knowing not in a million years would that happen..She had seen Gary's home..It was beautiful...More than likely the opposite would happen..Yvette would eventually move in with him..

"No...I'm gonna make some time to see you girlfriend.." said a very serious Yvette, hugging Olivia and remembering  she loved Olivia like a sister.. She thought of Beverly as her niece too..

 "Look at that dress girl....Weren't we just looking at these dresses on line last week?" said Beverly to Josie..

 "Sure was." said Josie..

 ''We were too." said Bee Bee..

 "Wow! Great minds do think alike don't they.."said Sofia..

She and Bee Bee looked up to Beverly and Josie like cool big sisters..

 "This is sooo nice....I've been so meaning to buy some shoes.." said Jade.

"Me too!  We were here two days before you guys got here and it was so eerie ,being in that big complex all alone..I was sooo glad when you all arrived...Just to have other women to talk to..."said Jessica as they shopped...

 We guys found an outdoor bar , near the shopping center...

 ''We might as well enjoy this time, tomorrow we start working on this case." I said.

 "Jessie said we are all going to the prison early in the morning.."said Gary..

 "Yeah, Death Row.."said Nelson somberly.. He remembered that he and Olivia had successfully defended a  death row prisoner early in his career...He had learned a lot about how the law really worked that day...Not just from what Olivia had taught him, but from what he had seen first hand..

He was so upset , he had vomited on the side of the road, coming home from the prison..Olivia didn't laugh at him...She gave him a bottle of cold water and a cold towel for his head,,

She said..."You'll be alright...Now you know don't you?  You know Ms. Olivia wasn't just talking..You see it is a cold cold world don't you?" she said..

He never forgot that...He kind of knew he would be with Olivia forever somehow, someway...Not romantically, but professionally.

 "They say this guy, our client chose to die in the new Gas Chamber.. I've seen a guy die by lethal injection...Don't know if I'd want to witness a guy being gassed."said Keith Jones..

 "I hear it used to be worse...With the Cyanide....The guy would be shaking, convulsing..losing control of their bowels and vomiting...It was a big mess..No pun intended...but now..this new method with Nitrogen ,sucks all of the oxygen out of the air...You choke to death...It uh takes your breath away."said Kahlil..

 ''Well it's a moot point...You guys are good...You're not going to let that happen right? Right?" said Paris..

as our beers arrived...

The seriousness of why we were here suddenly hit home..

(TO BE CONTINUED)