Edwin Torres

Edwin Torres (born January 7, 1931) is a former New York State Supreme Court justice and novelist of Puerto Rican descent. Torres wrote Carlito's Way and its sequel After Hours, which was adapted into the 1993 film Carlito's Way, starring Al Pacino.

Early years Both of Torres's parents emigrated from Jayuya, Puerto Rico, and settled in the barrio in Manhattan's Spanish Harlem, where Torres was born. Growing up in poverty, Torres graduated from Stuyvesant High School. From there he attended City College of the City University of New York, followed by Brooklyn Law School.

Legal career In 1958, Torres was admitted to the New York State Bar. In 1959, as an assistant district attorney, he participated in the prosecution of Sal "the Capeman" Agron. Shortly thereafter, Torres became a criminal defense lawyer. A famous exchange involved Torres telling a convicted murderer, "Sucker, your parole officer ain't been born yet."

Torres retired from the bench in 2008 and since then has served on the New York State Athletic Commission.

Writer of crime fiction Torres' tough upbringing in Manhattan and his work in the criminal justice system enabled him to create realistic crime fiction characters and plots. Richie Narvaez called him "the Granddaddy—¡El Abuelo!—of Latino crime fiction in the U.S. For a brief while in the 1970s, Torres picked up the mantle of Chester Himes and Miguel Piñero, keeping the door cracked open for crime fiction writers who happen to be ethnically diverse. Without Torres we might not have gotten Ernesto Quiñonez' Bodega Dreams, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera's Lupe Solano series, or even Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress."

Another novel, Q & A (1977), portrays the investigation of a decorated New York City police lieutenant suspected of corruption. Of the book, The New York Times noted, "Judge Torres infuses these nearly current events with so much life and style that you can almost smell the musty air of 100 Centre Street."

Film adaptations A film adaptation of Q & A was released in 1990, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Nick Nolte and Armand Assante. After Hours was filmed in 1993, but used the title Carlito's Way to avoid being confused with Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours. The film stars Al Pacino and Sean Penn, under the direction of Brian De Palma. The novel Carlito's Way was filmed in 2005 and released under the title Carlito's Way: Rise to Power.