by Parnell Hall
“Which is what I wanted. So he’d have no idea what I was doing.”
“That’s for sure,” Taylor said. “I’ve got no idea what you’re doing.”
“I’m gambling, Mark. I’m taking my best shot at getting the kid off.”
Taylor shook his head. “Well, maybe you know what you’re doing, but I sure as hell don’t. All I know is Dirkson’s put on a convincing case. Hell, he’s put on a damn near perfect case. He’s got motive, method, opportunity. He’s got the murder weapon and the will. I mean, Christ, Steve. At this point, there isn’t a thing you could do that would get Jeremy Dawson off.”
Steve sighed, and shook his head. “You could be right.”
42
Harry Dirkson was in top form for his closing argument. The anger and frustration he’d felt at being outmaneuvered by Steve Winslow had evaporated over the lunch hour, as it gradually dawned on him that though Steve had tricked him on procedure, by doing so Steve had virtually conceded the case. The evidence was uncontested, it was enough to convict, and Dirkson was sitting pretty. So he was confident and assured as he rose to argue the case.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he began. “I’m not going to make any lengthy argument here, because frankly I don’t have to. You’ve heard the evidence in this case, and it is straightforward and convincing. And that evidence leads to one inescapable conclusion. And that is, that Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh.
“I will review the evidence for you briefly. I don’t think I really need to, but I will do so because I am the prosecutor and that’s my job.”
Dirkson smiled as he said that, and several of the jurors smiled back. He struck a pose and began lining out his points.
“You’ve heard evidence that on the afternoon of February 26th, a man answering the description of Jack Walsh was spotted in the corridors of Jeremy Dawson’s high school. There is evidence that Jeremy Dawson left with this man. There is further evidence that Jeremy Dawson cut the rest of his afternoon classes. You have heard the evidence of the witness, Joseph Bissel, that Jack Walsh was seen with Jeremy Dawson in the very subway station in which he was found murdered. You have also the evidence from Joseph Bissel that Jack Walsh was writing something at the time.
“And what was he writing?” Dirkson strode to the court reporter’s table and picked up the will. “I have in evidence People’s Exhibit Seven, a handwritten will entirely in the handwriting of the decedent, Jack Walsh, leaving his entire fortune to Jeremy Dawson. And where was this will recovered? It was found in Jeremy Dawson’s possession on the day after the murder.”
Dirkson held up the will. “The significance of this document is twofold. It is significant that Jeremy had it the day after the murder, showing conclusively that he had been in contact with Jack Walsh. And it is significant in that it furnishes the motive for the murder. For having this document in his possession clearly shows that Jeremy Dawson had every reason to believe that by the death of Jack Walsh he stood to gain several million dollars.”
Dirkson paused and let that sink in. “Several million dollars. Was there ever a more convincing motive for murder?”
Dirkson smiled and set the will back down on the table. “But that’s the least of the evidence. We have the testimony of Carl Jenson, who saw the defendant on the very afternoon of the murder at approximately five-thirty. We know that that was after Jack Walsh had written the will. How do we know that? We know that by the will itself, which Jack Walsh not only dated, but also put in the time of execution. And what was that time? Two-thirty in the afternoon. Before Carl Jenson saw the defendant, Jeremy Dawson.
“And what words did Jeremy Dawson say to Carl Jenson at that time? You recall the testimony. Jeremy Dawson smiled and said, ‘You be nice to me, Carl, ’cause I’m gonna be rich.’”
Dirkson paused a moment to let that sink in, then picked up the pace. “When is the next time we spot Jeremy Dawson? Well, we have the testimony of Martin Steers that at approximately seven o’clock a young man with green hair was seen breaking into Teaneck High School. Admittedly, the witness does not identify Jeremy Dawson as being that boy. He is an honest, credible witness and he tells us only what he saw. And what he saw is for you to judge. Was that boy Jeremy Dawson? You can draw your own conclusions.
“And to help you draw them, you should consider what happened next. At approximately ten-thirty that evening in Manhattan, Jack Walsh was shot and killed in the very subway station in the very spot where earlier that afternoon he had taken Jeremy Dawson and written out the will. And what gun shot and killed Jack Walsh? We have the testimony of the ballistics expert that the gun that fired the fatal bullet was the gun discovered by detectives the following day in the high school locker of Jeremy Dawson.”
Dirkson smiled and spread his hands. “Does that help you draw your conclusions any? The murder gun was kept in Jeremy Dawson’s locker. At seven o’clock on the evening of the murder, a boy with green hair was seen breaking into the high school, the high school where the murder weapon was kept. The high school where the murder weapon was found. Jeremy Dawson’s high school. Jeremy Dawson’s locker. Jeremy Dawson’s gun.
“Now,” Dirkson said, “you may ask, as I myself did, why did Jeremy Dawson hang onto the gun? It was the murder weapon, it could convict him, why would he keep it?” Dirkson held up his hand. “It is not sufficient to say that the defendant is not very bright. The explanation is that he wanted it, that he felt he might need it. Why? Well, there is evidence in this case that in Jeremy Dawson’s locker along with the gun there was drug paraphernalia and several vials of crack. I leave it to you to figure out why the defendant might have wanted a gun.
“At any rate, he wanted to keep it. And because he wanted to keep it, he attempted to disguise his crime. And how did he do that? The testimony of the witnesses who were on the subway platform that night, as well as the lab analysis of the material left over from the clothes of the decedent, gives us the answer. And what is the answer?” Dirkson shook his head. “He set the body on fire. He poured gasoline on Jack Walsh’s body and set the body on fire. A wholly despicable act, and hard to comprehend, and yet there was a motivation. In fact there were two. One, he wanted to disguise the crime by making it look like a random act of violence, a wilding incident. And two, he wanted the body burned so the bullet wound would go undiscovered. Which would have happened, had it not been for the thoroughness and skill of the medical examiner.
“But the bullet wound was discovered. The bullet was retrieved. And the bullet matches absolutely with test bullets fired from the gun found in Jeremy Dawson’s locker.
“And what does all this evidence show? I will summarize it briefly for you. On the afternoon of February 26th, Jack Walsh sought out Jeremy Dawson at his high school. He took him to New York, took him down in the subway, and wrote him out a will, leaving all of his money to him.
“Jeremy Dawson left Jack Walsh and went home with the will in his pocket. He had the afternoon to think it over. To mull on it. To come to the one conclusion to which he eventually came. That if Jack Walsh were to die, he would be rich.
“Jeremy Dawson went home. He encountered Carl Jenson, had an argument with him. He went upstairs, showered and changed. By the time he came back downstairs it was clear the plan had already formed in his mind. We know that from those telling parting words: You be nice to me, Carl, ’cause I’m gonna be rich.
“Jeremy Dawson left home and went to his high school. He broke in the side door and got the gun. He took the gun, went to Manhattan, hunted up Jack Walsh in the subway station, and fired a bullet into his brain.
“He then set the body on fire, and returned to Teaneck, arriving home around twelve-thirty in the morning.
“The only thing I don’t know, ladies and gentlemen,” Dirkson said, “is whether he broke into the high school that night to return the gun to his locker, or whether he brought it to school when he went to class the following morning.” Dirkson held up his finger and smiled. “But
that, ladies and gentlemen, is the only thing we don’t know. Everything else is abundantly clear. Jeremy Dawson killed Jack Walsh. A cold-blooded, premeditated murder for profit.
“Your duty is clear, and I will leave you to it. And that duty is to bring back a verdict of guilty as charged.”
With that, Dirkson bowed to the jury, and with a triumphant smile, walked back to his table and sat down.
43
Steve Winslow looked small. Maybe it was just after the bulk of Dirkson that made him look that way. But maybe not. Maybe it was the fact that nobody was really giving him their full attention. Maybe it was the fact that Dirkson’s argument had been so persuasive that the verdict was a foregone conclusion, and nothing he could say could possibly make any difference, so why should anyone listen to him?
Steve Winslow stood in the front of the courtroom, a strange-looking figure in his corduroy jacket, blue jeans, and long hair. He stood and waited patiently for the buzz among the spectators to subside, for the reporters to stop scribbling, for the jurors to stop looking at one another and turn their heads to him.
Suddenly he clapped his hands together and spread them wide. He struck a pose, became an actor, a showman, smiling, raising his voice and commanding their attention rather than requesting it.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he said. “I just heard District Attorney Harry Dirkson’s closing argument, and I thought it was great. And I’m sure you did too. And I have a feeling that a number of you find that argument convincing and think the defendant is guilty.”
Steve smiled and held up his finger. “Which is why I’d like to remind you that you can’t think that yet. Because you haven’t heard my closing argument. After you’ve heard it, if you still think Jeremy Dawson is guilty, then it is both your right and your duty to do so. But I ask you to fulfill your duty as jurors and please bear with me, even though right now you may personally feel it’s not going to do any good.”
Steve smiled slightly. “I take it you all noticed that I did not put on a defense.” Steve held up his hand, turned, pointed to the judge. “Now, Judge Grimes is going to instruct you that in a murder trial the burden of proof is on the prosecution, and the defendant is under no obligation to put on any defense, nor is he under any obligation to take the stand to deny his participation in the crime. Judge Grimes will further instruct you that his failure to do so must in no way be considered by you to be an indication of guilt, that you should put it from your minds, give it no weight and not let it affect your deliberations in the least.”
Steve smiled and shook his head. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you can do that, I think you’re all destined for sainthood. Personally, I don’t think there’s a person in this courtroom who isn’t thinking right now, ‘Gee, why didn’t he put on any defense?’
“Well, rather than strike it from your minds, ladies and gentlemen-which frankly I don’t think is possible-I’d like to tell you why. The reason I didn’t put on a case is because the prosecution has made my case for me.
“I know you don’t think that now, but that’s because you’ve only heard the evidence, and you haven’t had time to deliberate on it and consider what it means. I’ve already done that, because frankly, to quote Mr. Dirkson, ‘That’s my job.’”
Steve was watching the jurors when he said that. None smiled, but he certainly had their attention. He pushed on.
“Harry Dirkson has already interpreted the evidence for you and told you what he thinks it means. Now I’m going to tell you what I think it means.
“Before I do so, I must digress a moment to explain something about the law. This is a case involving circumstantial evidence. By that I mean there is no eyewitness to the crime. There is no one who saw the assailant fire the bullet into the brain of the decedent. You are asked to conclude that happened from the circumstances which the prosecution has laid out.”
Once again, Steve indicated the judge. “Judge Grimes will instruct you that in any crime involving circumstantial evidence, if the circumstances of the crime as laid out by the prosecution can be explained by any reasonable hypothesis other than that of the guilt of the defendant, then you must find the defendant not guilty. That is the doctrine of reasonable doubt. The prosecution must prove the defendant guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. He is presumed innocent-you’re all familiar with the book, whether you’ve read it or not-he’s presumed innocent until proven guilty. And he is not considered proven guilty if there is a reasonable explanation for the circumstances that tend to show his guilt. If such a reasonable explanation exists, you must find the defendant not guilty.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to give you a reasonable hypothesis. But I’m going to go a little further than that.
“As I said, I didn’t put on my case because the prosecution proves my case for me. I’m going to show you how that is by building a reasonable hypothesis. Then I’m going to go beyond that by showing you that it is not only a reasonable hypothesis, but it is the only hypothesis which can be drawn from the facts. In short, I will show you that what the prosecution just told you, could not and did not happen.
“Now, let’s look at the evidence. I have no quarrel with the evidence Harry Dirkson just laid out for you. It’s only his interpretation of it. I think we can all concede the following things happened: on the afternoon of February 26th, Jack Walsh showed up at Jeremy Dawson’s school, found Jeremy and asked him to go with him. Jack Walsh took him to Manhattan to the 66th Street subway station, where he was seen by Joseph Bissel. He proceeded to write out a will leaving everything to Jeremy Dawson. That will is here in evidence, and you will have a chance to look at it during your deliberations.
“Now, as Mr. Dirkson said, we know the time that that happened because Jack Walsh put it in the will. It was two-thirty in the afternoon. Jack Walsh wrote out the will and gave it to Jeremy Dawson to keep.
“What happened then? Jeremy Dawson left Jack Walsh and eventually returned home. How do we know that? We know that by the testimony of the witness, Carl Jenson, who stated that Jeremy Dawson returned home at approximately five-thirty.
“What happened between two-thirty and five-thirty? I don’t think there’s much question as to that. Jeremy Dawson made his way back to New Jersey-probably read the will to himself several times on the bus going back-and in the course of the afternoon he gradually became imbued with the thought, ‘By god, I’m going to be rich.’ Not an illogical hypothesis. And we have the statement of Carl Jenson that Jeremy said almost exactly those words.
“Now, Jeremy Dawson arrived home at five-thirty, encountered Carl Jenson. Carl berated him for skipping school, demanded to know where he’d been. Jeremy replied in a flippant, hostile manner, went upstairs to take a shower. He showered, changed and went out, after saying the now immortal words, ‘You be nice to me, Carl, ’cause I’m gonna be rich.’
“And where did Jeremy Dawson go? Well, we have the testimony of Martin Steers, who saw a young boy with green hair attempting to break into Teaneck High School around seven o’clock. Can we conclude that that boy was Jeremy Dawson?”
Steve held up his hands, paused, looked around questioningly. Then he nodded. “Absolutely. I don’t think there’s a shadow of a doubt that that boy was Jeremy Dawson. I think there’s no question what Martin Steers observed was Jeremy Dawson breaking into Teaneck High School.”
Steve smiled. “Now, I see by your faces that some of you are puzzled. I would assume that you, like Harry Dirkson, expected me to argue that point. But it’s not a point I care to argue. I think the boy was Jeremy Dawson. So far, the prosecution’s and my interpretation of the case is the same.”
Steve held up his hand. “Here’s where we differ. The prosecution would have you believe Jeremy Dawson broke into the high school to get the gun. The gun kept in his locker. I think there’s a much simpler explanation. You will recall the testimony of the officer who served the search warrant on Jeremy Dawson’s locker. When he searched it, he found in the
locker drug paraphernalia and several vials of crack. I think a much more likely explanation is that Jeremy Dawson broke into the high school to get the drugs. We know from Carl Jenson that Jeremy didn’t keep drugs at home, because Jenson searched his room. We know Jeremy kept drugs in his locker, because that’s where they were found. And Jeremy Dawson was a crack dealer and a crack addict.”
Steve held up his hand. “Now I’m not condoning or excusing that behavior. Frankly, I think it stinks. But that’s neither here nor there. The fact is, I think what happened on the night of February 26th was that Jeremy Dawson got so excited by the prospect of inheriting Uncle Jack’s money, so keyed up by the thought that he was going to be rich, that he decided, what the heck, he’d use up some of his merchandise and spend the evening getting high smoking crack. I think that’s a perfectly reasonable hypothesis.”
Steve broke off, looked up to find the jury staring at him incredulously. He smiled. “Yeah, I know. In the first place, you can’t believe I’m admitting he did that. And in the second place, you’re saying, ‘Yeah, but that leaves a few small questions unanswered. Like, for instance, who killed Jack Walsh.
“Well, the reason that leaves that question unanswered is because I’m explaining to you what Jeremy Dawson did, and the simple fact is Jeremy Dawson had absolutely nothing to do with the murder.”
Steve smiled again. “Yeah, I know. That’s a sort of unsatisfactory explanation. So let’s answer the question. Who killed Jack Walsh?”
“I refer you once again to the testimony of Carl Jenson. Jeremy Dawson returned around five-thirty, Jenson questioned him, Jeremy Dawson made rude replies and went upstairs to take a shower and change.
“If you will recall my cross-examination of Carl Jenson, at this point I asked him if Jeremy Dawson had ever cut school before, and then I asked him if Jeremy had ever been suspended. He said, yes, for drugs. I asked him if he had ever searched Jeremy Dawson’s room and he admitted that he had, but he had found no drugs. He said that that didn’t prove anything because Jeremy was selling them out of his locker.