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Chapter 19
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sun Does Shine, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Discrimination and the Criminal Justice System
Optimism, Faith, and Choice
The Death Penalty
Suffering, Community, and Support
The Power of Stories
Summary
Analysis
Phoebe and Lester visit Ray after his mom dies, and the guards turn a blind eye when Phoebe hugs Ray and comforts him. She assures Ray that she and Lester will always be there for him. When Phoebe passes away a couple years later, Lester and Ray cry together, but they also laugh about how God is in trouble, because both Ray’s mom and Phoebe will constantly be arguing Ray’s case with God.
Even with Ray’s mother gone, he still recognizes that Phoebe and especially Lester support him deeply. They are there for him throughout his decades on death row to ease these particularly difficult times, using shared humor just as Ray does as a source of comfort.
Themes
About a year after Ray’s mom’s death in 2002, Ray receives a letter from Bryan. Bryan explains that Judge Garrett is going to retire, but the judge intends to keep Ray’s case. Bryan is talking to The New York Times and 60 Minutes to put pressure on Garrett to rule on a hearing. Another nine months pass, and there’s still no answer on Ray’s hearing. In September 2004, with still no word, Bryan writes to Garrett asking about the ruling.
Bryan starts to use the press to pressure Judge Garrett and the other people involved in Ray’s trial to do the right thing. Bryan recognizes that Ray’s story is a powerful tool that can be used to convince others of the problems in the criminal justice system.
Themes
In January 2005, two and a half years after the Rule 32 hearing, Judge Garrett issues a ruling in favor of the state. In fact, he simply signed the state’s order (though he changed the margins), wasting two and a half years of Ray’s life for no reason. Bryan writes that he will file a motion objecting to the ruling, and then after 10 days they’ll file another notice of appeal. Ray can tell that Bryan is livid, but Ray isn’t surprised that the state is doing everything they can to keep from admitting that they were wrong. Bryan files the appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeals schedules another hearing.
Judge Garrett’s actions prove how even those who don’t show direct bias can still uphold a system of discrimination. In delaying the ruling for so long and then simply copying the state’s order, he is depriving Ray of the ability to move forward with his appeals process and thus taking away even more years of his life. Even though Judge Garrett may not actively discriminate against Ray, he is still upholding an unjust system that is robbing Ray of his ability to prove his innocence.
Themes
In November 2005, The Birmingham News publishes a series of articles on the death penalty, with opinion pieces for and against. Bryan writes the piece against the death penalty. He partly tells Ray’s story, being on death row for nearly 20 years for a crime that he didn’t commit. He writes that Ray is on death row because he is poor—like 70% of those on Alabama’s death row, his lawyer only had $1,000 to prepare his case. Ray had only $500 for a ballistics expert, and the only one they could find was legally blind in one eye and didn’t have the experience to use the equipment for testing the evidence.
Here, Bryan sums up some of the injustice that Ray faced. He points out the fact that Ray’s lack of money led him to an inadequate defense. Bryan’s opinion piece sets the stage for Ray’s own book, as it acknowledges the power of his story and how it can be used to convince readers of issues with both the criminal justice system and the death penalty.
Themes
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Bryan writes that as a nameless Black man, Ray was presumed guilty before his trial, and he’s not the only innocent person who’s been sent to Alabama’s death row. There have been 34 executions and seven exonerations since 1975, meaning there is at least one innocent person for every five executions, but Alabama refuses to examine and reform their death penalty systems. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally disabled is unconstitutional, but Alabama refuses to enact laws to enforce this. Alabama is the only state that lets judges overrule jury verdicts of life imprisonment, and 25% of all death sentences have been imposed through judicial override. Bryan concludes that the criminal justice system in Alabama is biased and therefore does not deserve to kill people.
Bryan illustrates not only the problems in the criminal justice system, but also how that directly contributes to the issues with the death penalty. The racism that Ray faced means that he is facing execution as an innocent man, and Bryan proves that this is not an isolated case but a pattern, particularly in Alabama’s death penalty. Bryan also demonstrates how Alabama’s death penalty is unjust because it does not adhere to laws set in place by the Supreme Court, and judges use it as a brutal tool to pad their records for reelection.
Themes
Ray also reads the opposing article from attorney general Troy King, who argues “an eye for an eye.” Ray understands this, as it derives from the Bible. But, he argues, the system doesn’t know who is guilty and the death penalty doesn’t deter murder. Ray thinks that until Alabama can account for racism in its courts and prisons—until it can ensure innocent people are never executed—the death penalty should be abolished.
Ray recognizes the opposing arguments—that the guilty deserve to be punished in proportion to their crime—particularly because “an eye for an eye” is based on the Bible (Exodus 21:23-25). At the same time, Ray points out that this kind of retribution only works when the state can identify the people who are guilty of their crimes, and therefore he argues that until the system can do so, the death penalty should not exist.
Themes
On the day of Ray’s new hearing, which takes place in November 2005, an article comes out quoting both Ray and McGregor. McGregor states that he’d be standing outside the prison with a gun if Ray were released. After the hearing (which Ray isn’t allowed to attend), Bryan writes to Ray to explain that the newspaper articles and subsequent letters people are sending have pressured the state into discussing the evidence in Ray’s case. Bryan writes that he hopes Ray has spent his last Thanksgiving on death row.
McGregor makes it abundantly clear that he has no desire to uphold a just system, as he states in a newspaper article that if Ray were to be found innocent and released from prison, he would essentially seek vigilante justice and try and kill Ray himself. Separately, Bryan recognizes how Ray’s story has become a powerful tool to help the state acknowledge its mistakes.
Themes
In June 2006, Bryan informs Ray that the Court of Criminal Appeals denied their appeal, and now they’re going back to the Alabama Supreme Court. The other men on death row are just as disheartened as Ray—his freedom is something they all want to fight for. However, Ray is hopeful that the ruling in his case was 3–2, meaning two judges believe in his innocence for the first time.
Ray continues to find hope even as his appeal is denied. For the first time, he feels supported by people within the criminal justice system. Even if they are not the majority, the two dissenting judges provide him with a degree of optimism that others might see the light.
Themes
