Evidence of Darkness

by J L Walker

  They both shook their heads.

  “I can’t, Ms. Collins. I can’t stay here that long. I’ll die. I didn’t mean to kill Victor. I just wanted to keep him from rapin’ me again. How can I stay in here that long ‘cause I wouldn’t let him do that to me?”

  “Just to be clear, Adele, do you want to decline to plea deal and proceed with the trial?” Reesa asked firmly.

  With a look of desperation on her face, Adele answered, “Yes…yes, I need to get outta here as soon as possible! You can win, right?”

  “You have my word that we’ll do everything in our power to see that you’re acquitted.” Reesa answered.

  Mike looked at Adele. “You do understand that the trial is going to be emotionally draining. This is not going to be easy. You’re going to have to relive every moment of the night you murdered Victor in a court of law. Can you handle that?”

  “I’ll do whatever you guys tell me to do. I just can’t do this no more – I can’t stay here.” Then, she turned her attention back to Reesa, “This is the right thing, isn’t it? Am I making the right decision? You’d tell me if I was makin’ the wrong choice, right?”

  “It’s your decision, Adele, but yes, I think you’re making the right decision.”

  After the meeting, the prison guard swiftly escorted Adele out of the conference room.

  Reesa gathered her documents and stood up. “Come on, Mike, we need to get to the warden’s office. I can’t wait to get my hands on that incident report.”

  Mike was trying to keep up with her as she exited the room and starting walking down the hall. “Are you going to tell me what happened to Adele?”

  “Yes, but let’s just get the report first. I also want to see all the security video footage of the altercation. I think our case for Adele may have just gotten stronger.” She couldn’t help but smile as she stormed down the stairs to the administration offices.

  They secured the incident report from an administrator within a few minutes, but the corrections officer was having some difficulty pulling up all the pertinent video clips of the fight between Adele and Randi.

  Reesa and Mike were instructed to wait in a small lobby area until the footage was retrieved.

  After they sat down, Mike leaned in toward Reesa and asked, “Okay, I need to know what happened to Adele. What’s going on?”

  After Reesa explained to him what had happened, he put his head in this hands and shook his head. “My God, what else does that poor woman have to endure?” He sat back in his chair and asked solemnly, “She was in solitary confinement for three days?”

  “Yes, and let me tell you, solitary confinement is one of the most sadistic and dehumanizing forms of abuse there is. It was totally unwarranted in this instance.”

  “I agree. No one should have to go through that.”

  Reesa became angry. “Damn it, Mike! I wish they would have assigned me to Adele’s case prior to her bail hearing. I know I could have secured a reasonable bail and she wouldn’t have had to go through all of this.”

  “Give yourself a break, Reesa. I’m convinced her bond would have been far more than she could have ever scrounged up anyway. She had just started her job, and her mom didn’t have any money. A bail bondsman wouldn’t have touched it. Let it go.”

  “I know you’re right. I would just feel better if I could have tried.”

  “Did you consider appealing the decision?”

  “Yes, believe me I thought about it. But I knew it would have been a waste of time. Bail decisions are almost always upheld. We wouldn’t have had a chance since she was facing a first-degree murder charge.”

  “So, what can we do? Is there any recourse we can take against the prison for her inhumane treatment?”

  “I’m not too worried about that right now. My concern is that she is having post-traumatic stress resulting from Victor raping her. Not due to being in solitary confinement, although she is going to experience PTSD from that incident as well. But, if my hunch is correct, the video footage will demonstrate that her reaction to Randi’s unwanted advances was irrational.”

  Mike looked a little confused. “Okay, I’m trying to follow you here. If we can prove that Adele has PTSD consistent with that of rape victims, it might help solidify the fact that Victor had, in fact, raped her prior to the night she killed him?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes, you’re correct. I think you’re getting the hang of this!”

  “Well, what’s our next step? How are we going to prove it?”

  Reesa grinned proudly. “We subpoena an expert witness to take the stand and give their professional opinion that Adele’s reaction to Randi’s unwanted advances Wednesday night was due to PTSD – specifically from a rape experience. We’ll also need to subpoena the video footage.”

  Mike got out his notebook and started taking notes. “I’ll get the subpoena ready. I’ll also start searching for a counselor, or even better, a psychologist, who specializes in PTSD. Maybe I can find one who’s had some prior experience testifying in court.”

  After he finished writing, he looked up to see Reesa smiling at him.

  “I know of one. Dr. Wilson,” she quickly replied.

  After she saw the look on Mike’s face, she knew she needed to start back peddling. Damn it! she thought.

  “Isn’t Dr. Wilson your counselor? Does she specialize in Post Traumatic Stress Disorders? Specifically, rape victims?”

  Reesa looked down as she answered so he couldn’t see her eyes. “Well, PTSD in general. All I’m saying is that she’s very good. I would trust her to adequately convince the jurors that Adele’s barbaric behavior toward her cellmate Wednesday night was due to post traumatic stress from being raped by Victor.”

  Mike paused for a moment and looked at her with concern in his eyes. “Reesa, are you struggling with PTSD? Is that why you assaulted Chad? Is that why you are so guarded? Is that why –”

  Before he could finish his sentence, the corrections officer stepped into the waiting area. “I’ve located all the footage of Adele Castillo’s altercation with Randi Fritz on the night of Wednesday, February 8. If you’ll follow me, we can take a look at it.”

  They followed the corrections officer to a room containing a massive video surveillance system. As they quickly passed through the area, both Mike and Reesa were astonished to see the hundreds of areas the prison monitored continually; cell blocks, the cafeteria, recreation areas, as well as many outdoor areas.

  The corrections officer told them to take a seat at a small corner cubical. Moments later, they were watching the fight that occurred between Adele and Randi. It was particularly painful to watch because some of the lights remained on all night, resulting in a clear video of the altercation.

  Reesa gasped when she saw the footage of Randi pulling Adele off the bunk. They heard a loud thud as her head slammed into a small desk that sat against the wall, then she fell to the concrete floor.

  Mike quickly reached over and took Reesa’s hand, squeezing it gently.

  An hour later, they walked out of the Metropolitan Correctional Center and headed back to the office.

  Mike was staring out the window of the car as they drove through the city. “That was pretty traumatic video footage. I sure hope Adele is emotionally stable enough to take the stand. If this keeps up, she’ll be dead before the trial even starts.”

  “We have got to get an acquittal, Mike.”

  “We’ll do everything humanly possible.” He looked at the clock on the dash. “Geez, I really didn’t expect that excursion to take four hours. I’ll be working til midnight.”

  Once they returned to the office, Reesa went into her office and went through every word of the incident report, hoping it matched verbatim to the video clips they had seen. Then she contact Dr. Wilson and asked if she would be willing to testify at Adele’s trial.

  12

  VOIR DIRE

  Reesa entered the crowded courthouse the first day of jury selection and instantly began sear
ching the area outside the assembly room for Mike. It was Monday morning, and she was already frenzied from the unusually heavy traffic. There always seemed to be more visitors to the city during April, and this day was no exception.

  She finally spotted Mike’s hand waving in the air across the room. After dodging and shoving her way through the thick mass of people, she finally made her way over to him.

  He smiled and whispered in her ear, “Voir Dire aujourd’hui, Mon cher.” (Jury selection today, my dear.)

  “Qui. Comment allezvous ce matin?” (Yes. How are you this morning?)

  “Bon. Et vous?” (Good. And you?)

  “Merveilleuse. Tu es prêt?” (Marvelous. Are you ready?)

  “Oui. Je ne peux pas attendre pour commencer.” (Yes. I can’t wait to start.)

  “Bon. S’il vous plait parler anglais?” (Good. Can we please speak English?) They only had a few minutes before jury selection would begin. Reesa wanted to sit down, review her notes, and start observing the potential jurors.

  He chuckled. “Okay, sorry. I just couldn’t resist.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “You really annoy me sometimes. Do you know that?”

  “I suspected as much. Let’s take our seats, shall we?” They walked into the courtroom and he guided her to their table toward the front of the room.

  Assistant District Attorney Joseph Mahoney was already sitting at the prosecution’s table.

  Reesa knew Mahoney was an excellent prosecutor, although she didn’t care for his arrogance and occasional lack of tact when cross-examining witnesses. He had been prosecuting murder cases in New York City for well over thirty years. On high profile cases, he never failed to boast to the media about his high conviction rate.

  He was a heavyset white man in his early sixties with short silver hair and a matching chevron mustache that completely covered his upper lip. He had piercing blue eyes and always wore a three-piece suit to court.

  Mahoney was considered to be one of the most conservative Assistant DA’s in the state. Reesa didn’t know if that would help her case, or hurt it. What she did know is that she had seen him in action before. He was good at enraging the jurors during his closing arguments, and wasn’t above preaching, screaming, begging, and taunting until he felt confident they would return to the deliberation room and immediately render a guilty verdict. He was tough and had enormous ego, but she hoped he would at least be fair and compassionate when he cross-examined Adele later in the trial.

  Seated beside Mahoney was an attractive middle-aged woman Reesa recognized from a magazine article she had recently read. Donna Farley was a new recruit to the DA’s office. Reesa recalled the article stated she had come from the Raleigh DA’s office with over two decades of criminal trial experience. She looked sharp and had an excellent conviction rate in Raleigh.

  Mahoney and Farley were conversing intensely, not bothering to look up when Reesa and Mike took their seats at the defendant’s table.

  Reesa was beginning to feel a bit intimidated by the ‘all gun’s loaded’ approach the prosecution seemed to be taking toward the case. She worried that perhaps she should have selected a colleague from her firm who had more criminal trial experience than Mike.

  She was still contemplating the rational in her choice of co-counselors when Judge Phillip Regnier walked into the courtroom and walked up to the bench, only momentarily glancing up at the packed room. He was a tall, elderly black gentleman with a shinny bald head and oversized gold wire- framed glasses. Reesa recalled a few of her previous criminal cases in which he presided, and she considered him to be a reasonable and tactful judge. He was well respected, experienced, and had an extremely serious demeanor. She admired that he always seemed extremely organized and efficient. He also had a reputation for being intolerant of incompetent legal professionals inside his courtroom.

  After taking his seat, he gave a brief description of the case and expressed his expectations of the attorneys and prosecutors, then gave a lengthy lecture to the prospective jurors reminding them of the magnitude of their responsibilities should they be chosen to serve.

  After swearing in the first panel of jurors, he ask them a series of brief questions to determine their ability to serve on the jury. Several of the prospects were disqualified due to physical disabilities or illnesses, family issues, and language disparities before the prosecution or the defense had an opportunity to present questions to them.

  Both Mike and Reesa immediately began scrutinizing every aspect about the people who were ushered up to the front of the room in groups, attempting to determine which ones might be more sympathetic to one side or the other. Facial expressions, body language, and attire, were all crucial, as well as any items the prospective jurors may be carrying. Some had brief cases, laptops, magazines, and books, anticipating a long and potentially boring day.

  Reesa could always spot the serious jury seekers who carried powerful legal novels in an attempt determine what they might expect if they were fortunate enough to serve in the trial. She was taking notes frantically while paying close attention to any minuscule detail that might cause her to challenge an individual. She also strained to hear any words uttered by the individuals who could potentially be one of the twelve people who would determine Adele’s fate, hoping to gain information about their attitudes and interests.

  Mike was doing the same, but charting the potential jurors in groups and assigning numerical values to each prospect, as well as scribbling on a separate sheet of paper a list of questions he’d hope to ask certain individuals.

  Throughout the entire morning, the court clerk ushered small groups of people to the front of the room. When the judge finally announced they were breaking for lunch, Mike leaned in toward Reesa and whispered, “I’m starved. Where would you like to eat?”

  She looked at him as if he was crazy. “Mike, have you not noticed how many people are in the courthouse this morning? Do you really think we’ll be able to eat lunch – anywhere?” Reesa was reminded again of his somewhat limited experience in criminal trials of this magnitude.

  “I guess I hadn’t really considered that.”

  “All the restaurants and deli’s in the area will be filled to the brim for lunch today.” She began putting her files in her brief case. “It’s a good thing I was aware of this dilemma and planned ahead.”

  “Ah, why doesn’t this surprise me? What do you have in mind?”

  “Follow me.” She stood up and grabbed her briefcase. Mike followed her as they made their way down several corridors until she stopped in front of a large wooden door with a gold plated sign on it that read ‘Judge Amelia S. Diaz.’

  Mike looked around to see if anyone saw them enter the office. “Are you insane? What are you doing?” he asked suspiciously, as they entered the judge’s chamber and quickly closed the door behind them.

  “Relax. Amy is a friend of mine. She always lets me eat lunch in her office when I have a long trial. I can’t stand the crowds. I need a quiet place to regroup during breaks.”

  Mike looked around the extravagant room in awe. “Wow, I think I might like to be a judge some day. Perhaps I need to adjust my career path.”

  Reesa walked over to a small refrigerator nestled in a corner of the room and pulled out a small, insulated lunch bag. She placed it on a small table by the window and began empting the contents on two napkins. “I hope you like chicken wraps.”

  Mike was gawking at the impressive selection of law books on the massive bookshelf lining one side of the room. “Yeah, sounds good,” he answered passively, tilting his head to read the titles of the books.

  Reesa had the chicken wraps, along with two cups of fresh fruit, two brownies wrapped in plastic wrap, and two bottles of ice tea, spread out over napkins on the table.

  She sat down and opened her tea. “Are you going to do some research during lunch, or are you going to get over here and eat? We don’t have all day.”

  He stopped admiring the books and took a seat opp
osite her. After taking a few bites of the wrap, he took a swig of his tea. “This wrap is excellent. How’d you have time to make all of this? You must have gotten up earlier than I did this morning.”

  “I got up early, but I didn’t make this. Jade did. She loves to cook. Good thing, huh. She probably likes to cook because I don’t do much of it.” She chuckled then added, “Maybe she had to learn out of necessity.”

  “What’s she going to make for us tomorrow? I can hardly wait.”

  “Oh, we probably won’t have to do this tomorrow. I would guess at least half of the prospective jurors will be gone by the end of the day. It will thin out considerably as the days go by.”

  Mike nodded his head while devouring his wrap. Once he had finish, he commented, “Well, it sure looks like we have a nice bunch of jurors. Most of them appear well dressed and eager to serve.”

  Reesa laughed and placing her hand to her mouth as she chewed.

  “What’s so funny? Do I have food on my face or something?” he asked.

  After swallowing, she shook her head. “No, the jurors always look their best on the first day. By the third day, everyone will be wearing jeans or sweat pants.”

  “Oh, I see. I guess that’s understandable.”

  After eating, they went back to the courtroom just as the room was beginning to fill up again. Once Judge Regnier returned to his bench, the jury selection process continued and it wasn’t until late afternoon that Mahoney and Farley were able to begin examining the prospective jurors.

  Reesa was once again reminded of Mahoney’s ability to muster up drama as he spouted off to the panel, informing them of his important role in keeping dangerous criminals off the streets of New York City, and that they, too, could be privileged enough to assist him in this daunting task. Once he appeared to have convinced everyone in the room that he and the jurors had the most significant roles in the whole state of New York, he finally began questioning individual jurors an hour before the proceedings concluded for the day.

  It wasn’t until the end of the second day that the defense was finally able to examine the panel. Knowing the significance of the decisions they would be making, Mike and Reesa carefully calculated their strategies, each trying desperately to affect the jury selection in whatever way legally possible.