Burying the Lede

by Joseph LeValley

  “Your honor, I would prefer to get on with it if you don’t mind,” Pike said cordially.

  “Very well, you may proceed.”

  Tony assumed Pike was eager to proceed to give him some chance to mitigate Nelson’s passionate and effective plea for guilty verdicts. He didn’t want the jury to have twenty minutes to think only about what Nelson had said.

  Pike picked up a yellow legal pad covered with scribbles and approached the jury. He studied the pad for a moment and then lowered it to his side.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin by thanking you for your service to the court, to our community, and to my client. As Mr. Nelson said, we know serving on a jury is a tremendous burden and we appreciate you for fulfilling your civic duty. I also want to remind you that you were picked through a long and tedious process of jury selection. We picked you because we trust you to be fair and impartial. We trust you to look at the facts, and the lack of facts, and to do as the law instructs you. To be honest, I trust you with my client’s life. As you know, I’m Larry Pike and I’m just a country lawyer trying to do the right thing, not only for my client but also for the ‘great State of Iowa,’ as Mr. Nelson likes to call us.” He paused, moving his free hand lightly along the highly polished walnut railing. “I have real respect for Mr. Nelson. He is a man who has achieved a high position in our profession. He has a law degree from a top-rated law school out east, and I got mine just down the road in Des Moines. I know his suits are a lot nicer than mine, and he probably drives a better car. I also know he has a big fancy office in Des Moines and a whole team of investigators, agents, deputies, lawyers, and clerks helping him do a great job and I’ve got…well, me.”

  Jurors smiled.

  “But believe me, just because I respect Mr. Nelson, and just because we all love the great State of Iowa as much as Mr. Nelson, does not mean they are infallible. And I am determined to convince you that they have indeed failed in this case. They have failed Mr. Wells, they have failed Jerry and Anne Ennis, they have failed the people of Iowa, and they have failed the justice we all seek. They have failed because they have charged and brought to trial the wrong man…an innocent man.

  “A moment ago I pointed out the difference between Mr. Nelson’s situation and mine. Please don’t think that difference is a small matter in this case…because it’s not!” Pike said sharply. “The great State of Iowa has enormous resources available to accomplish what it wants to accomplish. Mr. Nelson has had those enormous resources at his disposal for more than a year to achieve what he wants to achieve. And, by the way, please understand how this system works. Once my client’s name came to their attention, when they thought they had found someone they could arrest and charge with these terrible crimes, the enormous resources of the great State of Iowa were brought to bear on one goal: convict my client.

  “And you know what I think? I think despite all those investigators and lawyers and clerks and laboratories and everything else they have, Mr. Nelson still couldn’t make a case against my client.” Tony looked up from his notetaking. His weren’t the only raised eyebrows in the room.

  Pike continued, “That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. There is no case here against my client. Yes, there are these…things…that Mr. Nelson has brought to you as circumstantial evidence.” Pike jabbed a finger at the clear plastic evidence bags and grimaced as if they were rotting garbage.” In fact, every single thing he brought to you is circumstantial evidence. What that means, ladies and gentlemen, is that Mr. Nelson and the State of Iowa have no direct evidence against my client. I believe he forgot to mention that in his summation.

  “So let’s talk for a minute about the direct evidence Mr. Nelson didn’t bring before you. Mr. Nelson didn’t have a single witness who saw Mr. Wells at the crime scene, ever. Not on the night of the murders, and not before or after.

  “Mr. Nelson did not have evidence of Mr. Wells’ fingerprints at the crime scene. Believe me, they lifted plenty of prints from the Ennis house, but none of them matched Mr. Wells. Mr. Nelson did not have a strand of Mr. Wells’ hair or any source of Mr. Wells’ DNA to place him at the crime scene. Again, believe me, the crime scene investigators collected plenty of hair and flecks of skin and bodily fluids and all that stuff you see on TV. But nothing they collected matched that of the defendant.

  “And lastly, Mr. Nelson did not have a credible witness who could testify that Mr. Wells even knew Jerry or Anne Ennis. Wouldn’t you think if these two men were involved in selling drugs together that Mr. Nelson and his investigators could have found one person who had seen them together at some point in their lives?

  “Oh, but you ask, ‘What about his sister?’ Well I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that Francie’s testimony was, as my grandmother used to say, a crock of hooey. If Francie loved her brother, she would not have been in court saying these things about him. Or at the very least, she would have been here under subpoena as what the state calls a hostile witness. And if she didn’t love him, then why not? What has happened in the past or is happening today in her life that caused her to come here? What was her true motivation for making up these lies about her brother? I don’t know, and you don’t know, and apparently Mr. Nelson and his team of investigators don’t know. At least they didn’t tell us.

  “Well, believe me, ladies and gentlemen,” Pike was speaking quietly now. He moved closer to the jury box looking each juror in the face, “If I had the resources Mr. Nelson has, I sure as heck would have found out, and you wouldn’t have to go into that jury room wondering what really is going on here.”

  Pike backed away, paused for a long moment and resumed a normal tone of voice. “So yes, there’s circumstantial evidence. But I ask you to remember there’s a reason it is labeled as such. It means it could exist because of the circumstances the State wants you to believe. It also means it could be there under a lot of other circumstances.

  “Did my client’s rifle kill those two people? Apparently, yes. But…who held the rifle? No one knows. Who fired the rifle? No one knows. Oh,” he added, “I’ll tell you one thing we do know. One of the most important facts you heard in this case is the fact that whoever did fire the rifle was probably a lot taller than Ralph Wells.”

  Pike continued, “Did the sheriff find illegal drugs in the Ennis home? Yes. Did the state make any connection between these drugs and Mr. Wells? No! Did the state find any evidence of illegal drugs in Mr. Wells’ possession? No! Did the state find any evidence in Mr. Wells’ finances that he was benefitting from involvement in illegal drug sales? No!

  “Did the killer wear a yellow jacket in the Ennis’ home that night? Apparently, yes. What yellow jacket was actually worn? No one knows. Who wore a yellow jacket that night? No one knows. And when I say no one knows these things, I mean no one. Not the investigators, not Mr. Nelson, not the great State of Iowa and, most importantly, not you.

  “Mr. Nelson has made a big issue of the fact these items were in my client’s car trunk. But we learned from Amber Wells that the boots were not in the car trunk on the night of the murder. We learned the boots were not on the feet of Ralph Wells on the night of the murder. So, whoever that young girl saw in his house in brown work boots was not Ralph Wells.”

  Pike took a deep breath and continued. “It is true, of course, that the rifle and the jacket were in the trunk. Ralph never has denied that. In fact, he led investigators to them. So, the rifle and jacket were in the trunk…the trunk of an old car that is never locked, that often is parked in an alley downtown, and is known to half the people in Orney. Quite frankly, if I wanted to kill someone, where would I go for a weapon? Hey! I think I’ll grab the rifle out of Ralph’s car,” Pike grabbed the rifle off the evidence table and swung it around, as if to emphasize how easy it was to pick it up. After laying it down again, he continued.

  “Please think hard about that rifle. It must be as obvious to you as it is to me that if my client had actually killed someone with that rifle, all he needed to do was get
rid of it and he would never have been a suspect in this case, let alone be on trial today for murder. Do you really believe that a man clever enough to plan and commit two premeditated murders, and clever enough to do it without leaving any trace of himself at the scene of the crime, and clever enough to have a history of selling drugs without anyone knowing about it, and clever enough to do business with a man but never be seen with him… Do you really believe this criminal mastermind pulled all this off, then took the murder weapon and the clothes he wore and threw them in the trunk of his car, and left them there for weeks? And then, this criminal mastermind, when asked by investigators if he had a .22 rifle, happily said, ‘Sure,’ and retrieved it from his trunk for the investigators to test? This scenario the state is trying to make you believe is completely, disgustingly absurd.” Pike was red-faced and paused to collect himself.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, the judge is going to give you instructions in a little while. In those instructions he’s going to talk about the standard of reasonable doubt. You listen to the judge on this point, and not to me, but I believe he will tell you the requirement under Iowa law is, if you find there is reasonable doubt in this case, you must find my client innocent. When you hear the judge’s instructions, I would like you to think long and hard about Mr. Nelson’s words. He told you to take seriously your job of upholding the law and seeing that justice is done. I would urge the exact same thing. When you look at the evidence and, more importantly, the lack of evidence, and the absurdity of the tale the state has spun here, you’re going to see there is reasonable doubt all over this case, and your responsibility to bring back two verdicts of not guilty is clear.

  “Lastly, ladies and gentlemen, I too want to talk about Jerry and Anne Ennis.” Pike went over to the prosecutor’s table and picked up the color photo from their wedding day.

  This was a risky move, Tony thought. Usually a defense attorney tried to downplay images of the victims as much as possible. Then Pike made him smile when he looked at Nelson and said, “The prosecution may be surprised that I want to focus attention back on the victims of this crime. Well, I do.” Pike held the photo high for all to see.

  “I grieve for this couple as much as Mr. Nelson does. I cried right along with the rest of you when that young girl described her ordeal. I’m saddened by the fear and confusion these killings brought to our community. I want the perpetrator of these horrendous crimes arrested, tried, and convicted as much as Mr. Nelson and as much as any person in this room.

  “But ladies and gentlemen,” Pike said firmly, “convicting an innocent man of these crimes accomplishes none of those things we all want. In fact, it makes the accomplishment of these things impossible.

  “So please do what both sides in this trial have urged you to do. Go into that jury room and make sure you uphold the law. Look at the facts, look at this poor young man who has so unjustly had his life turned upside down, look at all the missing pieces in the case, at all the doubt about what really happened, and vote to find Ralph Adam Wells not guilty. Thank you.”

  ***

  Friday was taco day at Willie’s and Tony, Doug, and Lisa sat together, the two men wolfing down a plate of tacos while Lisa enjoyed a taco salad. Lisa had joined them because she was anxious to hear how the morning had gone. Tony couldn’t stop smiling and said, “I thought Pike was brilliant. He brought into the bright sunshine of a cloudless day all those nagging shadows that had been plaguing me for months. I swear, the greatest actor in Hollywood couldn’t have outperformed Pike this morning. I think Wells has a real shot.”

  Because Tony was so happy, Lisa smiled too. She looked at Doug and said, “How about you? What did you think?”

  Doug was far more skeptical but reluctant to spoil his best friend’s mood.

  “Tony’s right. Pike was surprisingly good,” Doug nodded. “I might hire him myself when I get caught stealing beer off the loading dock behind the market.”

  Lisa groaned but was smiling as she kicked him under the table.

  “Ow!” Doug exclaimed, “Geez, it was just a joke.”

  “Yeah, well just remember,” Lisa said. “Now when that store manager accuses you of stealing, I’m going to have to go into court and testify that I heard you say it.”

  “Okay, okay, let’s focus, kids,” Tony said. “Any thoughts on what’s left?”

  “You mean the tacos?” Doug asked, smiling as he scooped the last one off the platter.

  “No, I mean the trial. Do you think Nelson will do a rebuttal?”

  Doug knew Tony wanted to hear him say no, but they both knew the answer was yes.

  “I wish he wouldn’t but I’m sure he will,” Doug replied. “Not only will he feel compelled to respond to such a strong summation, but he never passes up a chance to perform.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Tony acknowledged, losing his smile for the first time since they left the courthouse. “I can just hear…” His voice trailed off and the three remained uncharacteristically quiet while they finished their last few bites of food, paid the bill, and headed outside into a much cooler, much more fall-like September day.

  ***

  In Iowa, the prosecution always gets the first and last word. The state is afforded the opportunity to respond to the defense’s arguments. The remarks in rebuttal, by rule, must be confined to responding to points made by the defense. However, a closing as all-encompassing as Pike’s left very few restrictions for the State. Nelson had the added benefit of the lunch recess, which gave him the opportunity to prepare.

  Tony knew all this, and so was surprised when Nelson was uncharacteristically brief. Tony speculated that Nelson didn’t want to tick off the jury by revisiting a bunch of things that had already been said, and he didn’t want to give the jury the impression that Pike’s closing worried him in the least.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “I’m going to take a moment to address just three things Mr. Pike said in his summation that I don’t think he got quite right.” He smiled a wry smile and continued, “Since Mr. Pike talked about me, let me say a few words about him. You see, I have great respect for Mr. Pike as well…and so should you. Do not let his ‘I’m a poor country lawyer’ routine fool you. Mr. Pike is a highly respected and shrewd attorney. And his law school ‘down the road in Des Moines’ is Drake University, one of the top-rated colleges of law in the country. So don’t be fooled by Mr. Pike’s approach. This is not his first rodeo. And while I would love to be flush with all the people and tools and resources Mr. Pike ascribed to me, the fact is, the great State of Iowa has a limited budget and limited resources and we do the best we can with what the taxpayers of Iowa can afford.

  “The second point I want to make is, don’t buy Mr. Pike’s assertion that there’s no evidence in this case. I’m not going to bore you by going through it all again, but for Pete’s sake, look at the pile of evidence on that table. Every piece of it points at Ralph Wells. Do I wish I had a credible eyewitness standing in the corner of the Ennis’ bedroom recording a video of the crime on an iPhone? Sure I do. But we all know, that never happens in real life. We have to convict coldblooded killers like Ralph Wells with the evidence they leave in their wake. And he left plenty.

  “Lastly, I simply want to say that criminals do dumb things. I don’t know why and I never sit around and wonder about it, but I see it all the time. I don’t know why Ralph Wells was dumb enough to leave the murder weapon in his trunk, and I don’t know why he voluntarily handed it over to our investigators. Maybe it was for just this reason, to plant doubt in your minds. But whatever his reasoning, I can tell you this: I’m glad he did it. I’m glad he made mistakes. I’m glad he left the clues that allowed us to identify him, arrest him, and bring him to this court to see justice done.

  “The facts are that Mr. Wells did some smart things in committing these crimes, and he did some dumb things in committing these crimes. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s called being a human being. We all make mistakes. Don’t let Mr. Wells’ mistak
es become a loophole to get him out of the punishment he deserves. Don’t let the fact he is a human being fool you into thinking that he’s human.

  “In closing,” Nelson said, lowering his voice, “I just want to repeat my request that you find justice for these two young lives that were cruelly and needlessly snuffed out and for the loving children, parents, and friends they left behind.” He once again lifted up the two pictures: the happy couple and the murdered bodies. “Go into that jury room, look at the facts, and come back here with two verdicts of guilty. Unanimously find him guilty of murder in the first degree, and give that monster in the chair behind me what he deserves.”

  Chapter 13

  It was, as they say, all over but the shouting. Judge Schroeder asked if the attorneys had any final motions or other business for the court. Hearing none, the judge read the jury its instructions and discussed with jurors the schedule for the next few hours and for Saturday. Tony knew this was a sensitive issue. The judge needed to manage the process, but he had to do it without implying he expected the jury to take a short or a long time deliberating. The bottom line was, it was not yet 3 p.m. If the jury hadn’t reached a verdict by 6 p.m., the judge would dismiss them for the evening and they would reconvene at 9 a.m. Saturday. He polled the jury and no one objected to the plan.

  Schroeder then dismissed the two alternates, thanking them for their service. He commented that they had the toughest job of all, sitting through the trial and then having to sit on the outside like everyone else to see what the jury would decide.

  After the jury filed out, the judge declared the court was adjourned, and a murmur immediately broke out in the room. Spectators were talking to their seat companions, debating whether to stay or go. To Tony, there was no debate. He was going. Even the shortest deliberations took hours in a trial of this magnitude, he knew.

  The judge’s admonitions had included urging the jury to take its time, elect a foreman, and refrain from rushing to judgment or stating an absolute position before the evidence was reviewed and the first secret ballot taken. Tony had heard similar jury instructions many times. “…for when a juror begins by stating his or her strong opinion at the outset, personal pride may become involved and the juror’s position may become intractable, even if an examination and discussion of the evidence proves the position to be wrong.”