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Authors: James Scott Bell

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Sins of the Fathers (33 page)

BOOK: Sins of the Fathers
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“Hank, I feel this case is a wake-up call. We can’t look away from these things anymore. Fortunately, the prosecutor in this case—”

“Leon Colby.”

“Yes, Mr. Colby has assured me and the other victims’ families that he is not going to compromise. He has been working closely with us. We feel that we can trust him.”

“And the defense? They’ve had some setbacks. The motorcycle accident.”

Mona’s muscles tensed, like a rattlesnake had been tossed on the desk. “That doesn’t concern me.”

“The defense doesn’t?”

“They have their job to do, and I’m sure they’ll do it. But I’m also sure that any attempts to sway the jury with false sympathy will be stopped by Mr. Colby.”

“What do you mean, ‘false sympathy’?”

“A situation like this, where the defendant is a teenager, I’m sure they’ll play that card. But we both know, Hank, that teenagers are capable of doing evil things, horrible things. Age doesn’t matter. But they keep saying he’s just a kid, and things like that. It does not
matter.

“Do you think he might be insane?”

“No.”

“That’s what the defense will try to show.”

“Let them. He’s not insane.”

“You’d like to see him in prison.”

“I’d like the law to be upheld. And as I understand it, when you shoot six people in cold blood, when you tear apart six families and a whole community, you must be punished to the maximum extent of the law. I for one am going to make sure that happens.”

“I know it’s hard, Mrs. Romney, to do what you’re doing. You have tremendous courage. Will you be in the courtroom?”

“Every day.”

2.

Finally here,
Lindy thought. They were in trial. She practically vibrated with adrenaline. She sat at counsel table, her right arm finally out of a cast but feeling almost like a foreign appendage, a limb tacked on at the shoulder with duct tape. At least she could walk around now without severe pain.

She wasn’t lead counsel. That was Woodard’s role. He was the one being paid by the county now. But Lindy had come too far to bail on Darren.

He sat next to her, wearing the suit she had found for him. It fit loosely. He had been losing weight. Worse, he had withdrawn from her again. She could only imagine what was going on in his head as he sat in a cage at county jail. She hoped her mere presence would reassure him that he had one constant in his life, a lawyer who wouldn’t abandon him.

Judge Lipton, an angular man with creases in his face that gave the impression of aged wood, reminded Lindy of the tree people in
Lord of the Rings.
Dark brown eyes burrowed twin knots in the deep bark of his face
.

“Your Honor,” Leon Colby said, “we are ready to proceed with our opening statement.”

“Ready for the defense, Your Honor,” Everett Woodard said.

“All right, let’s call in the jury.”

“One moment.” Lindy stood up, giving a sideward glance at the gallery. “Your Honor, before we have the jury in, I would move that those in court wearing VOICe buttons be told to take them off, and keep them off when in the courthouse.”

An immediate burst of groans hit the room. Lindy heard some voices behind her. Someone said
She can

t do that.

“Mr. Colby?” Judge Lipton said.

Colby spoke with assured calm. “These citizens have free speech rights, the same as any others. I don’t see the problem.”

“Of course not,” Lindy said. “But the defense does. What’s the jury going to think every time they look out here and see an interest group wearing their buttons?”

More voices, more outraged this time.

Judge Lipton banged his gavel three quick times. “I haven’t had to use my gavel in ten years. And I don’t want to use it for another ten years. Anyone who speaks out of turn in my courtroom will be escorted out.” He looked over his glasses at the gallery. “I am going to grant Ms. Field’s motion and ask that all badges be removed while in court, or in the building where they might be seen by jurors. I have no say about what happens outside these walls.”

A few groans of protest, muted by the judge’s previous admonition, was followed by the sound of buttons being thrown angrily into purses or pockets. Lindy half-expected to be hit in the back with one or two.

But calm prevailed and the judge called the jury in. The eight women and four men were about the best she and Woodard could hope for. Lindy thought two of the women and one of the men could be reached, maybe with enough conviction to influence the others. Maybe. By the longest shot of her career.

“Proceed, Mr. Colby,” the judge said.

Leon Colby spoke without notes. “Ladies and gentlemen, on the morning of June 26, the defendant, Darren DiCinni, walked to Capistrano Park in West Hills, carrying a loaded rifle. You will hear from eyewitnesses about the horrible events that followed. You will hear about how five young boys and one adult man were killed by the gun fired by Darren DiCinni. What you won’t hear, ladies and gentlemen, is any dispute about those facts. The defense is not going to try to prove to you that their client didn’t do the killing.”

Colby turned and looked at Darren. As he did, his eyes slipped past Lindy’s gaze.

“What will be at issue, ladies and gentlemen, is what was in the mind of the defendant as he took a loaded rifle, proceeded to Capistrano Park, walked up to the field where a game was going on, and opened fire, spraying bullets, killing six people. We will present evidence to you, expert testimony, that the defendant knew that what he was doing was wrong. It’s really that simple. If he did know, then he is guilty as charged.

“What we present to you will not be complex. You will hear from eyewitnesses what happened. You will hear the evidence that links the weapon found on the defendant to the bullets that killed the victims. You will hear evidence that the defendant, though a troubled teenager, nevertheless knew exactly what he was doing.

“At the end of the trial, when all the evidence is in, the judge will instruct you on the law. You are to apply the law to the evidence. And let me remind you that what I say to you as a lawyer is not evidence. It is not something that you are to base your verdict on. What I say to you is only to alert you to the evidence that will be coming in by way of testimony of sworn witnesses. That is what you are to consider. I say this because there may be an attempt on the part of the defense to elicit your sympathies by way of the arguments.”

Fire ripped through Lindy. Every part of her body wanted to stand up and object. She felt Woodard’s hand on her arm.
Steady
, he seemed to say.

She kept quiet.

“We can all feel sympathy for various parties here. Sympathy for the families of the victims, for sure. Perhaps even for the defendant. But you must not let that enter in to your decision. When the evidence is in and the law is presented to you, you will reach the only possible verdict: Guilty on all counts.”

Leon Colby waited a dramatic moment, then sat down.

“Mr.Woodard, you may open,” Judge Lipton said.

Everett stood, buttoning his coat as he did. “Your Honor, at this time the defense would like to proceed with the opening statement, delivered by Ms. Field.”

A skeptical look flashed across the judge’s oaken face. “That’s not what the defense had proffered.”

“Your Honor, it is a decision I have reached as lead attorney as I listened to the People’s opening. Ms. Field left that decision to me. Our client has expressed his support for the decision. As I see it—”

“Mr.Woodard, I don’t want any surprises of a procedural nature.”

“And it will not be our practice, Your Honor.”

“Any objection from the People?”

Leon Colby stood. “We are somewhat surprised too, as we were told Mr.Woodard would be speaking. But I have no objection to Ms. Field.”

“All right,” the judge said. “This is a decision that rests squarely with the defense. Ms. Field, you may proceed.”

Lindy went to the podium.“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, I represent Darren DiCinni. He’s sitting right over there. He is thirteen years old. And he has been vilified and painted as a monster since the very first newscast about this case. This is my opportunity to give you another side of the story, the kind they’re not interested in reporting.

“And I would remind you, as counsel for the People has reminded you, that certain things are not evidence. What you’ve heard in conversation or seen on the television or read in the papers, none of that is evidence. During jury selection you all said that you could disregard anything you have heard and be impartial. In fact you swore an oath to do so. I’m confident that you will be true to your oath.

“Mr. Colby said you could expect to hear expert testimony at this trial. Remember, you are the judges of the facts. Just because someone is an expert does not mean that you have to accept what they say as the gospel truth. You are going to watch them testify, and you are going to hear them be cross-examined. You will reach your own conclusions.

“You also heard Mr. Colby say that you should be suspicious of sympathy. It almost sounded like he was telling you not to be human beings—”

“And this,” Leon Colby said, rising, “sounds like a closing argument, not an opening statement. So I’m going to object.”

“Sustained,” Judge Lipton said.

Lindy continued immediately. “I would like to remind you again of the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof. The People must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that my client, Darren DiCinni, was of sound mind when he fired those terrible shots on June 26. The defense, on the other hand, does not have to prove anything. We do not have to prove innocence. The law does not require us to do that. It requires the prosecution”—Lindy pointed at Leon Colby—“to present enough compelling evidence for you to find every single element required under the charges to be true, beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a very high standard, and it must be, for we’re talking about a young man’s life. Yes, he took the lives of six people. But mark this: Darren DiCinni’s mind was not right. It’s still not. He was legally insane at the time of the shootings, and that means that his mental state was not what is required for a guilty verdict.

“We do not punish people who are not responsible for their actions.We do not—”

“Counsel,” Judge Lipton said sharply, “that is definitely a closing argument. Confine yourself to what you believe the evidence will show. I will instruct the jury on the law.” He turned to the jury. “You will disregard any comment by the counsel for the defense on what the law says about mental state.”

Lindy looked at the jury for an extended moment then said,“We trust you will do your duty.”

3.

Mona’s stomach clenched like a fist, a familiar reaction to the sight or sound of Lindy Field.

Especially when she was pulling another fast one.

Standing up like that, making a statement after her accident. A ploy to gain sympathy from the jury.

She wasn’t going to get away with it.

George Mahoney, sitting next to her, must have sensed her physical distress. He put his hand on hers and patted it.

The way Brad used to.

She felt a pang, knowing Brad wanted to be here. He did not come, because it would upset her, or at least distract her. That was Brad. Mr. Noble. He needed a noble wife. She was not it.

She heard Janelle Thompson’s name called. The first mother to testify.

She squeezed George Mahoney’s hand. This was it. The lead witness, the setting of tone. Mona wished she were the one, but she was not on the witness list. She was ready, though, if things changed.

4.

“Mrs. Thompson,” Leon Colby said, “you are the mother of Cody Thompson, one of the little boys who lost his life, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

She was going to make a good witness, Lindy thought. A confident-looking woman, but not so much that her vulnerability was obscured. A woman who could be your best friend.

“How old was Cody when he was killed?”

“He was twelve.”

“On the morning of June 26, can you tell us where you were at about nine o’clock?”

“I was at Capistrano Park for my son’s baseball game.”

“Your son was on the White Sox, that was his team?”

“Yes.”

“Turning your attention to just before the shootings, let me—”

“Objection,” Everett Woodard said calmly in his firm baritone. “Assumes facts not in evidence.”

“Sustained,” Judge Lipton said.

Colby looked annoyed, but only mildly. Lindy thought it uncharacteristic of him to be so sloppy in his initial questioning.

“I’ll ask you this way, Mrs. Thompson. At some point during the game, did something unusual happen?”

The witness scowled. “Something horrible is more like it.”

“Tell the jury, step by step, what happened.”

She turned to the jury box.
Well prepared by Colby
.

“My son was playing shortstop for the White Sox. The other team, the Royals, was up to bat. There was a lot of good-natured cheering going on, as usual. I knew several of the moms and dads from the other team as well as our own. We were all having a good time. And that’s when I heard the shots being fired.”

BOOK: Sins of the Fathers
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