Chicago reporter P.J. McNeal re-opens a decade-old murder case.

In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek is sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. McNeal to look into the case. For some time, McNeal continues to believe that Frank is guilty. But when he starts to change his mind, he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proven wrong.—Rod Crawford <[email protected]>

When a woman places an ad in the Chicago Times offering a $5,000 reward for information that will exonerate her son, the newspaper assigns report P.J. McNeal to look into case. He learns that 11 years earlier, Frank Wiecek was convicted of killing an on-duty police officer in a speakeasy and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. McNeal is quite skeptical as to his innocence and only slowly comes to realize that there was a miscarriage of justice. The real question is whether he can find evidence that would convince the pardon board and obtain Wiecek's release.—garykmcd

The whole story takes place in Chicago. A policeman is murdered in a cold-blooded way in an illicit taproom. Tomek Zaleska, who on the ill-fated night was staying at Frank's flat, is suspected of the homicide. They are both sentenced to 99 years of prison, with the conviction based merely on the testimony of one witness. Frank's mother who believes that her son is innocent after 11 years places an announcement in the local newspaper in which she offers 5000 dollars reward for anybody who would prove the innocence of her son. The chief editor of Chicago Times gets interested in the case and commissions to one of his journalists, McNeal, writing an article about it. Initially his view on the issue is quite skeptical, but he gradually starts to believe that Frank is innocent. He also faces the growing resistance from the local authorities.—arysto

In Chicago in December 1932, the Polish Wanda Skutnik runs a speakeasy during the Prohibition. When a policeman is murdered inside the illegal bar, Frank W. Wiecek and his friend Tomek Zaleska are arrested and sentenced to serve 99 years each in the Illinois State Penitentiary. Eleven years later, the Chicago Times' editor Brian Kelly is curious with an advertisement offering a US$ 5,000.00 reward for information about the identity of the killers of the policeman eleven years ago. He assigns efficient reporter P.J. McNeal to interview the person responsible for the ad. McNeal discovers that Frank's mother Tillie Wiecek, who is a janitor, has saved her salary for 11 years to prove the innocence of her beloved son and now is offering the reward for additional information. McNeal is skeptical and believes that Frank is a cop killer, but his matter is successful and Kelly asks him to investigate further. Soon he changes his mind and realizes that Frank is a victim of the corrupt system.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil