Of course you're right, JTF: it's more likely that Niblock wants the 2006 petition to try to help himself, rather than to help Mac. I think the fact that Niblock and Mac both have connections to Bastrop was what first got me started down what is probably the wrong road in my thought process. From there, it was easy to start thinking of how cons sometimes play "jailhouse lawyer" and try to help one another, and how Mac's been desperate for help on more than one occasion, and how he likes to use people if he thinks they can be of help to him. I also never thought of Niblock getting self-help from anything Mac has filed in the past because Mac's attempts at getting freedom have all failed. So there you have it: a good example of starting down one path and sticking to it without seeing that there was another, easier path to follow. Mea culpa.