Emancipation

Letters 1-5 Between Tobias and Jessica

LETTER 1

Dear Tobias,

My name is Jessica Phang.

I'm going to start this by saying I'm a lawyer, fresh out of school (I've been practicing about a year now). I have to be honest; I sought you out specifically. Details surrounding your case have given me a lot to think about over the last few years. You probably find all this confusing, but I hope to sort it out with this letter.

I found your profile after performing a search for you on penpalaninmate.com; I was drawn immediately to you. Your photo is wonderful. I see such depth in your eyes. There's no proper way to express how pleased I am that you signed up so I didn't have to do more research to find your address. While I knew where you were housed, your link made it much easier. Besides, I got to see you!

I'm including a picture of myself with this letter. It's not much, but I wanted you to see me. It seemed unfair that I would be able to look at you anytime I wanted, and you would be left in the dark.

If you're interested, I'd very much like to get to know you better. Your eyes don't say "killer." I'm an excellent judge of character, and I see a person who's deep, caring, and has a lot of love to give if someone were there to accept it. Besides, after looking carefully at the details of your case, I'm convinced you're innocent.

I'll tell you a little about myself, since I feel like I know so much about you from your profile (excellent writing, by the way) and your case file.

I'm 24 years old, and a criminal defense attorney in the state of Tennessee. I grew up just outside Knoxville, and I graduated from Austin East—you know, that magnet school on the upper-east side—where I studied science. I was then accepted to UT and graduated from Duncan a year ago. I've been in private practice as a criminal defense attorney ever since.

While attending Duncan, I ran across your case as part of an assignment. I dove right in and got to know a lot about you and the particulars along the way.

Yes, I've had a number of relationships over the last few years, but I'm ready for something different. Besides, most guys I dated got tired of hearing the name Toby on my lips every five minutes as I examined your case. Not only would I love to get to know you, but I think I can help you get your conviction overturned.

I do hope you'll write me back. My address is on the envelope.

All my love,

Jess

LETTER 2

Dear Jess,

I thought, since you nicknamed me like I was your boyfriend, I'd do the same. It's a good way to start off our relationship. I really appreciated you sending me that picture of you. It's hard for us when we get something as interesting as your letter, and we don't know who the face is behind the words. I'll admit, I've stared at you for hours on end. You're a beautiful woman, and it's obvious you take care of yourself. Seems like you're smart, too (you have to be to graduate law school). I find that attractive as hell. Your last name is also neat, but you don't look Asian. Am I missing something there?

Thank you for the compliment on my profile bio. With nothing to do around here but read and write, I like to think I've learned a lot over the years.

It was good to see a little piece of you, and I have to thank you for your honesty up front. It's so rare to get any kind of genuine person in prison; your letter was a breath of fresh air. You and I both know I'm innocent as a newborn baby, and I'm very interested to hear what you've found in my case that might help my conviction get overturned.

Visiting days are Saturdays and Sundays from 8-3. I'd love to sit down with you and talk about what you've found. There's a lot of stuff to go through to get you in the door unless you and I both tell them you're my attorney (on record), but I'm sure you know that. If we can manage that, you can see me whenever you'd like, and we can have a private room.