I sat at my desk, looking through the letters I had received. One of them stuck out. The sender's name was Henry Coburn. Once I read that, I felt a chill. I remembered the name. Henry, or "Hank", as he was also known, was a man I tried to prosecute for murder. He opened fire on a Jewish cruise, killing a man and causing a woman to drown, all to cover up his bad checks. The governor wanted me to charge him with first-degree murder so Coburn could get the death penalty, but I felt he should be charged with second-degree murder. I got kicked off the case, and the Attorney General prosecuted with Jamie Ross, but it was all for naught for the governor, since he was acquitted of first-degree murder. He was convicted of second-degree murder. You know, I'll always remember this case, and not just because of what the governor did to me. Around this time, my wife was in a coma, and there was no good chance of her getting through it alive. After the case was over, I had her pulled off life support. Coburn lived, and my wife, who didn't kill anyone, died. I exhaled as I thought about all this. Then I opened the letter. What I read surprised me.
Dear Mr. Schiff,
This is Henry Coburn. I wrote this letter because I know that it was you who saved my life. I don't know what to say except thank you. I would also like to say I'm sorry about your wife. I read about it in the Times. I know it must seem unfair that I lived and your wife died. I'd probably be mad about it if I were in your position. I just wanted to thank you once again for saving my life.
Sincerely,
Henry Coburn
For a few minutes, I just stared at the letter. A murderer sent me a letter thanking me for saving his life. I just couldn't believe it. That was what I thought the whole time. I just can't believe it.