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He approached the jurors and took a shallow breath.
He glanced over and saw his family anxiously watching. Then his gaze alighted on DuBose and held there for a moment before moving over to Jerome and Pearl.
Right now their lives were in his hands, and that was a big responsibility for any mortal. Maybe too big.
No, Jack, you got this. You can do this because you have to do this.
He turned to the jurors. “My name is Jack Lee. I was born and raised right here in Freeman County. Never really been anywhere else except over to Virginia Beach to get a sunburn once a year. I know this place, and its people real well. Certainly better than Mr. Battle, who they recruited all the way from Richmond to come and prosecute this case. The commonwealth clearly has a lot of firepower focused on this. And it is an important case, but then again there are lots of important cases. So you might wonder, why are they so bound and determined to win this one?”
He indicated the packed courtroom. “We got reporters, and TV and radio folks from all over the country right here. We got a crowd of people outside that you can hear yelling out their opinions on this matter.” He pointed at Howard Pickett in the back row. “And there we got the millionaire mouthpiece for a presidential candidate who I’m sure you’ve seen on the TV or heard on the radio, trying to score political points talking about this case. It’s like this has become some sort of national flashpoint for all that’s going on in this country. And there is a lot going on, some good, but, to be honest, more bad. So far, nineteen sixty-eight has been... memorable.”
He turned and pointed at Jerome and Pearl. “But for Jerome Washington and his wife, Pearl, this case is as personal as it gets. What the commonwealth wants you to find is that they are guilty of murder, and then it wants you to condemn them to death by electrocution. Doesn’t get any more personal than that.”
He turned back to the jury and drew closer. “The evidence will show that Jerome Washington faithfully labored for the Randolphs, giving them his best effort in return for forty dollars a week. This was his first job after coming back from the war, where he was severely wounded fighting on behalf of his country, on behalf of all of us. He rode his bike fifteen miles each way to the Randolphs’, leaving his house early in the morning and returning long past suppertime each night.
“Now, the commonwealth wants you to believe that Jerome rode his bike to work that day. Worked hard all day. And then sometime that afternoon, he and his wife snuck into the house, brutally killed the Randolphs, and stole fifty dollars from them. Then his wife took the murder weapon and his bloody clothes and shoes and the money, and gave him a new set of clothes and a new pair of shoes, and then left. Just to be clear, the commonwealth cannot produce a single witness or a lick of evidence to show her doing any of this, or her calling the police from that pay phone. And they have yet to find the murder weapon or the bloody clothes and shoes.
“You will also hear evidence that the Randolphs might have told Jerome that they would leave him something in their will. They say that is the motive, and yet he steals fifty dollars? And Pearl, after helping to develop this very careful plan, hides the cash in a place where the police easily find it?”
Jack looked over at Christine Hanover and saw her listening intently to what he was saying. Her husband was now gazing at the floor.
He turned back and let the palms of his hands rest on the top rail of the jury box.
“Now, ask yourself, would any person contemplate committing any crime in that clumsy way, much less the murders of two people?”
He paused, then took his hands off the rail and lifted his gaze to the dozen men who would decide the Washingtons’ fate. “Now, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Jerome and Pearl Washington are Black. The victims were white. This country has a history when it comes to the two races, and it’s not a good one. We all know it, none can deny it, and that history is still being written, day in and day out, often with bloodshed.”
He spread his hands and pointed at the floor. “But in here, in a court of law, in the United States of America, is this one absolute truth that each of you most hold on to as the holy grail of your duty as a juror during this trial. And here it is: Every person, regardless of race, creed, or color, is presumed to be innocent of any crime of which they have been charged. And that presumption of innocence is only overcome—” Jack paused here and pointed a finger at the jury “—is only overcome by the commonwealth proving a person’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Beyond a reasonable doubt. Four words that seem pretty clear. But quite frankly, having practiced law for a number of years, I can tell you, firsthand, that those four words are anything but clear in the hearts and minds of most people.”
Jack ran his eye around the courtroom, landing on his family and Miss Jessup, then the Hanovers, Howard Pickett, Curtis Gates, and then to the Washingtons sitting side by side. And finally, to DuBose, who gave him an encouraging smile.
He drew close again to the jury. “But here’s what those words mean to me. And here’s what I think they should mean to you. If the case against the Washingtons, as proven by the commonwealth, leaves no reasonable doubt in your mind that they murdered the Randolphs, then a verdict of guilty is required. But if you do have doubt, even just a sliver in your mind, then you must acquit them. That is the standard. To send a person to their death, I think all of us will agree, we need to be pretty damn sure we’re getting it right. There are no second chances. There is no bringing the dead back to life.”
He leaned down and looked, in turn, at each juror. “And the evidence will demonstrate that not only has the commonwealth failed to show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but it proves that the Washingtons, in fact, are innocent of this crime. But we do not need to show that in order for the defendants to walk out that door over there and return to their three small children. The burden of proof forever remains on the commonwealth. Us showing y’all that they are innocent is just gravy on the mashed potatoes.”
Jack stepped back and contemplated the jurors for a few moments. “I used to go duck hunting with my daddy. When I was a kid I would ask him how I would know if it was a duck I was shooting at, the durn things being so high up in the sky and flying so fast. And do you know what my daddy told me? He said, ‘Son, if it looks like a duck, and flies like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s a damn duck.’ And as you see the evidence presented, and you listen to the testimony of the witnesses, and use the common sense that God gave us all, I am confident that you will conclude that someone did indeed murder the Randolphs. And you will also find, I am certain, that the commonwealth has failed to prove that the Washingtons were the ones who did it, beyond a reasonable doubt. Which is what the laws of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia require. No more, but surely... no less.”
He straightened, buttoned his jacket, nodded his head, and said, “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 67
DEPUTY RAYMOND LEROY WAS CALLED as the common-wealth’s first witness.
LeRoy testified to being dispatched to the Randolph residence and arriving a few minutes past six o’clock. He then described what had happened when they found Jerome Washington there, including his partner’s physical tussle with the man. After Battle was done with his questioning, Jack rose and walked toward the deputy.
Jack asked, “Was the defendant in custody at the time when he allegedly attacked your partner? Was he restrained?”
“Well, yes. He was handcuffed and on his knees.”
“So neither you nor your partner were in any danger from him?”
“Well, not really.”
“Did your partner say anything to provoke the defendant?”
“Not that I recall. But Gene was naturally upset with what the man had done.”
“Allegedly done. But I understand that right before the defendant lashed out, your partner had said he was going to go visit Mr. Washington’s wife and do something to her? Maybe have himself a good time?”
