Overview

Innocent men do go to prison and stay there for decades. Chicago. 1946. Joe Doheny is seventeen, enrolled at the University of Illinois, Navy Pier, but he has a secret life; he's a burglar. Joe's parents migrated from Ireland and surviving the depression, they managed to keep their family together. Even though he holds down part time jobs, he steals so that he can continue in school and help his parents financially. Joe is finally caught for petty theft by the police and arrested. And less than five hours later is charged with murder! He is questioned and brutally tortured for days at the Cook County Jail and finally, in fear for his life, he signs a confession. Without a trial, he plea bargains and is sentenced to life, with parole. The next fifty one years are told in vignettes by Joe [middle aged], and seventeen-year-old Joe, often on stage together. Joe tells his story in an interview with an anchor person from a television news magazine. His quest for freedom, the people supporting him; the woman in his life who has stood by him for three decades. The death of his beloved mother, the friends along the way and finding the man who actually committed the murder. The tale unfolds in a series of flash backs until the audience finally realizes that there is no happy ending to Joe's story and that Joe is still in prison after sixty plus years.

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9781491094594

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Author, playwright, and poet, Trisha Sugarek has been writing for four decades. Her writing had focused on stage plays that ranged from prison stories to children's fables but now she has expanded her body of work to include two books of poetry, a group of children's books and three novels. She has enjoyed a thirty year career in theatre as an actor and director. Originally from Seattle, she has worked in theatres from coast to coast and her plays have been produced across the country and abroad. Trisha lives in Savannah, Georgia with her two golden retrievers, Rocky and Gus and her kitten, Monkey. Her second novel, Wild Violets has been released. Working on her third novel, she takes us to Alaska in the 1920's. Song of the Yukon will be released in the fall of 2013. Released in 2012, a series of 26 ShortN'Small short plays, small casts which are used in classrooms in this country and internationally. Trisha has written 45 play scripts. Her children's books with wonderful illustrations are also now available in audio books at www.audible.com She has published Monologues 4 Women a collection of original, contemporary soliloquies for the strong female actor. Several are written specifically for the African-American actress. A chapter on the 'dos and don'ts' of auditioning and several classical monologues completes the collection. Her web site is dedicated to the art of writing. Her blog appears two or three times a week and offers advice, encouragement and support to other writers. Trisha's plays and books can be found on her web site at: www.writeratplay.com

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