Blood Roots: Are the roots strong enough to save the pandemic survivors?

by Michael Green

  ‘How would you react if someone had done that to your father?’ He gave them a few more seconds to ponder their answer.

  ‘Finally, there are Jasper’s ten cases of rape. These were in part revenge for the ten months of humiliation and imprisonment that he suffered at Diana’s hands, and in part the shocking actions that many men in positions of power the world over have been guilty of — but for which few have ever been executed.

  ‘So let me summarise.’

  ‘About time too,’ Rick muttered.

  Theresa looked at him angrily and he pressed back into his chair.

  ‘You, members of the jury, have to make a terrible decision. Do you condemn these two men to death? You cannot hold either of them responsible for Nigel or Damian’s crimes. You cannot hold them responsible for each other’s crimes. You must consider each case separately.

  ‘Even if you believe they are guilty of all the crimes to which they have pleaded guilty, and I personally am not convinced they are guilty of them all, then there is still the question of what is a fair sentence.

  ‘I am not a lawyer. I’m just the same as you, a layman, trying to help decide the fate of these two men.’

  For the first time in his presentation he looked at the prosecutor.

  ‘If you ask Duncan, honestly,’ he continued, looking his cousin squarely in the eye, challenging him to contradict him, ‘whether Diana ever intended to execute Jasper, Damian and Greg, he will tell you that she did not. She wanted to scare the living daylights out of them, and she succeeded. Damian literally shit himself. But she never intended that the death sentence be carried out.

  ‘Diana was a lawyer. She was also a very intelligent woman. The first reason she commuted their death sentences was that she wanted their sperm, because she knew that genes are the key to our survival. The second reason she commuted the death sentence was because she saw them as a source of labour. They may have been idlers when they lived in the staterooms, but their legs drove this community forward and helped to provide us the life we are enjoying today when they were imprisoned.

  ‘But the third and most important reason she commuted the death sentence was because, as I said, she was a lawyer. Diana knew the law. She respected the law. She knew that the death sentence in England was illegal. And it is still illegal. Until and unless we change the law with our new constitution then the law of England as it was before the pandemic is the law by which we are governed now. If we do not observe the law then we are no better than Nigel or Damian. If we condemn these two men to death and take their lives we are breaking the law.’

  He swung his gaze over the jury, ‘All of us will be accessories, and the one who does the deed will be committing premeditated murder.’

  He looked at Theresa. ‘Of course we can say this is a new world, that we may make our own rules, our own laws. That is true. That is what Nigel said.

  ‘Diana could have said that too. But she didn’t. She was a lawyer, and in the case of Jasper, Greg and Damian she commuted their sentences in line with the law and I am sure if she were here today — guiding us — that is the advice she would be giving.’

  He turned back to the jury. ‘What we have endured for the past seven and a half years is a repeating sequence of revenge, vengeance and retaliation, all of which were abuses of power, and unlawful. Where will it all end?

  ‘If we condemn Jasper to death for the murder of Warren Dalton, do we also condemn Luke to death for the murder of Damian?’

  There were muffled gasps from everyone other than Luke. For a moment Mark wondered if he had gone too far.

  ‘Luke knew the assault rifle was empty — he knew that when Damian picked it up and pointed at the haka group that he could not harm them. Yet Luke fired his pistol. He killed Damian in cold blood.

  ‘If I had suffered at the hands of Damian, as I suspect Luke has suffered, then I would have shot him too. And I too would be guilty of murder. And I could be standing here pleading for my own life.

  ‘The human race is often hypocritical. At the conclusion of wars the victors bring the vanquished to justice and try them for their war crimes. The crimes the victors themselves committed during the war are never brought to trial — as Diana was never brought to trial for the murder of Nigel, and as Luke will never be brought to trial for the murder of Damian.

  ‘So where will it all end? When will it stop?’ He paused to gauge the reaction his words were receiving.

  ‘I sometimes ask myself who has been the greatest human being during my time on earth.’

  ‘George Dubya,’ Rick muttered. Mark ignored him.

  ‘It wasn’t Kennedy, it wasn’t Churchill, nor Gandhi, nor a couple of dozen other names that spring to mind.

  ‘I have no doubt that the greatest human being during my time on earth was Nelson Mandela. That man was imprisoned for twenty-seven years! Not the mere seven years some of us here have endured. He was a man who could easily have taken revenge on those who had wronged him. But he didn’t. He chose instead his Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

  ‘Mandela realised the key to true power: absolute authority is having the power to condemn someone to death, yet exercising mercy. That was what Mandela did, and that is what I ask you to do — to exercise your power by showing mercy, to show that you are above what Nigel stood for.

  ‘I beg you not to impose the death sentence — not for the sake of Jasper and Greg, but for your sakes, and for the sake of our community both now and far into the future.’

  He sat down to deathly silence. He felt exhausted. He had done all he could.

  ‘I am now going to call for a vote from the jury in respect to whether or not the death penalty should be imposed,’ said Theresa.

  Rick jumped to his feet. ‘Surely the jury should retire and discuss the matter.’

  Yes, Mark thought to himself, and we all know who is going to use their charm to get themselves voted chairman of the jury.

  ‘Sit down,’ Theresa snapped. ‘This is an English court of law, and it’s being presided over by me.’

  The English members of the family had the uncanny sensation of hearing Theresa’s mother Diana speaking. Rick sat down.

  ‘First we will take a vote on Greg Chatfield. I will shortly put the motion that Greg, having admitted to all charges, should be executed. If you agree with that statement you are to raise your hand. If you wish for a prison sentence to be imposed instead then your hand is to remain down. Do you all understand?’

  The members of the jury nodded.

  ‘The vote will be on a simple majority basis. If four or more votes are cast for his execution then he will be executed.’ She paused and asked again. ‘Do you all understand?’

  Once again they all nodded, none more vigorously than Rick. Greg stared down at his feet.

  ‘Then I shall put the motion that Greg Chatfield, having admitted to the charges of the murder of Cameron Steed and Diana Morgan, being an accessory to murder of Margaret Dalton and Mathew Grey, and to four counts of rape, should be executed. Each one of you who is in favour, raise your hand.’

  Rick’s hand was up almost before the words had passed Theresa’s lips. He looked down the line at the other jurors, showing them his hand, encouraging them to follow suit.

  No one joined him.

  ‘Very well,’ Theresa said. ‘After we have passed the vote on Jasper Chatfield I will pass a sentence of imprisonment on Greg.’

  ‘How long will he get?’ Rick asked.

  Theresa ignored him.

  ‘I will shortly put the same motion in respect of Jasper Chatfield. The rules are the same: if four or more votes are given in favour of Jasper’s execution then he will be executed.’

  Mark was tense. He knew this was the real challenge. No one had feared Greg. He had been the butt of many jokes. But Jasper had been feared and hated. Every single member of the jury other than Rick had suffered at his hands. Three of the women on the jury had been raped by him. With Rick’s vote a foregone conclusion, tho
se three alone could seal Jasper’s fate.

  ‘The motion is,’ Theresa continued, ‘that Jasper Chatfield, having pleaded guilty to the murder of Warren Dalton and Diana Morgan, to being an accessory to the murder of Margaret Dalton and Mathew Grey, and having pleaded guilty to ten counts of rape, should be executed. All those in favour, raise your hand.’

  Mark held his breath. As expected, Rick’s hand shot up immediately. Then another hand began to rise hesitantly. It was Jennifer. For a moment Mark thought that Paul was trying to raise his hand, but it stayed down.

  After what seemed an age, Theresa said. ‘The motion is lost.’

  Rick shook his head. He was the only person who showed any consternation at the result. Even Jennifer seemed relieved. Mark hunched his shoulders and stared down at the floor shivering with exhaustion, utterly drained.

  43

  Theresa looked across at Jasper and Greg. ‘Before I pass sentence, do either of you wish to say anything?’

  Mark lifted his head. Greg, who had dried his tears, shook his head.

  ‘I should like to say a few words,’ Jasper said softly. It was Mark’s turn to shake his head. He felt his client should quit while he was ahead.

  Jasper stood up and looked first at the jury, then down to the public gallery.

  ‘I want to say sorry. I want to say sorry for the crimes that I committed, for the deaths that I was involved in, and for the rapes. My actions were unforgivable, which is in part why I pleaded guilty to all charges.’

  He turned back to face the jury, looking intently at one of the women.

  ‘In truth, one of the rapes which I pleaded guilty to was not rape. I, the person who brought that charge, and God know the truth.’

  There was a look of amazement on many faces, not because Jasper was denying one of the rapes but because he had mentioned God. The only interest the Chatfield family had ever shown in religion had been in banning it.

  ‘But it doesn’t matter. Whether there were ten rapes, or nine rapes, is irrelevant. One rape is unforgivable,’ Jasper continued. ‘I want to say sorry to you Paul, for ejecting you into the park when you were so ill. It is one of the most shameful things that I have ever done.’

  Mark was amazed. Jasper seemed to be truly entering into the spirit of a truth and reconciliation commission. He had not been charged with any crime in relation to his treatment of Paul, and by drawing attention to the offence he was risking an even longer sentence. It was as if he wanted to purge himself of the burden of his crimes.

  ‘I also want to say sorry on behalf of Greg. He may be an oaf, but he is my brother and I love him, and I know he is truly sorry for what he has done.’

  Again there was a look of amazement on many faces. Talking of love in such a way was not a Chatfield trait. Even Mark was surprised, but he could detect no trace of insincerity in Jasper’s voice.

  Jasper continued, ‘And for the record, yes, Greg was bullied by my father, as I can testify, as Damian and Miles could have testified too if they were still alive. My father was a terrible bully — he bullied my mother, and he bullied all four of his sons. Greg was the quietest, the most defenceless of us all. Bullies have a habit of exploiting the quietest and the weakest. It was Miles and I who used to bathe the wounds left by my father’s belt on Greg’s body.

  ‘I want to say sorry to you all for the crimes of my father. I, just like my brothers, was frightened of him. Maybe in retrospect we should have stood up to him, and I am ashamed that we didn’t.

  ‘Damian’s crimes appalled me as much as they appalled you. I once offered to execute him, not just to save my own skin but to punish him, I was so angry and disgusted by what he had done.’

  He turned to Luke. ‘Luke, I had intended, by making you my manservant, to keep you safe from him. If I had known that he got to you I would probably have shot him myself.

  ‘And I also say sorry to anyone else who may have been a victim of Damian’s actions.’ He turned his eyes towards Penny. ‘And no, Penny, despite the threat I wouldn’t have let him get at Lee.’ He lifted his head and stared out at those in the public gallery. ‘The reason, as I am sure Steven will have told you, that Lee, Ruben and Harry were kept locked in the Punishment Room was to keep them safe from Damian.’ It was clear from the look on faces in the Great Hall that most people did not know. ‘I would have had no problem with my brother’s homosexuality had his actions been confined to consenting adults. For Greg and myself I say sorry for those occasions when we failed to prevent his abuse. We both tried.

  ‘I cannot understand how he could commit the acts he did. When I was eleven and Damian nine, I …’ His voice trailed off. He tried again. ‘I found …’ Quietly he started to sob; his tears were genuine. Everyone felt the pain of what he was trying to say. ‘… I found Damian …’ He broke down again, struggling to get the words out. ‘I found Damian being … being abused by a male babysitter.’

  He sighed, as if relieved that the pressure that had built inside his body had been released. Greg too was crying.

  Jasper pushed the backs of his hands across his eyes and continued. ‘I was able to prevent further abuse — the man never babysat again. But I believe that man made my brother the monster he became. In the same way that the bullied first formers at school become the biggest bullies in their second year, so the abused so often become the abusers.

  ‘I want to say thank you, Mark, for your efforts on behalf of Greg and myself. I know that had it not been for you, we would now be in the Punishment Room, awaiting our execution. And I’d like to thank you,’ he continued, turning to the jury, ‘for being able to put aside the wrongs that you suffered under my rule and under the rule of my father. I hope that Greg and I will be able to repay our debt to you and to everyone else at Haver. Which brings me to my final point.’

  He turned to face Theresa. ‘I know we must be punished for what we have done. I accept that. But we both want the opportunity to contribute to the community in the future.’

  Suddenly he sat down. His delivery, his manner and his abrupt close had taken everyone by surprise. There was complete silence in the hall.

  Eventually Theresa spoke. ‘I will now pass sentence.’

  Mark motioned at Greg and Jasper to stand.

  ‘Greg Chatfield, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Cameron Steed and Diana Morgan, being an accessory to murder of Margaret Dalton and Mathew Grey. You have also pleaded guilty to four counts of rape. I sentence you to ten years’ imprisonment with hard labour.’

  Rick was on his feet. ‘Only ten years!’

  ‘Do not interrupt me,’ Theresa said, her tone steely, ‘unless you want to be charged with contempt of court?’

  ‘It’s a ridiculously low sentence for what he did to us.’

  ‘He did nothing to you! You’re in contempt. I sentence you to seven days’ jail with hard labour. You can have the third cycle in the Punishment Room.’

  ‘You’re putting me in with them!’

  ‘I am. While you’re there you can explain to them the rationale for your votes.’

  ‘They’re murderers. They’ll kill me.’

  ‘According to Jasper, they’re reformed. It’s time to find out. Now sit down or I’ll double your sentence.’

  Rick wavered. Mark waited, hoping … Then Rick sat down.

  Theresa turned her attention back to Greg. ‘You will be eligible for parole after three years.’ Rick jumped to his feet again, but quickly sat down at a glance from Theresa. ‘You will be released fully back into the community only when the parole board votes for your release by more than a two-thirds majority. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes … thank you,’ Greg said softly.

  She motioned to him to sit down and then turned her attention to Jasper. ‘Jasper Chatfield, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Warren Dalton and Diana Morgan, to being an accessory to the murder of Margaret Dalton and Mathew Grey, and to nine counts of rape.’

  Mark alone noticed that Theresa had reduced
the rape count by one after Jasper’s speech.

  ‘I sentence you to fifteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Your parole conditions are the same as Greg’s.’

  Rick jumped to his feet again. ‘In other words, he could be a free man in three years,’ he exploded.

  ‘Rick Hoff, you are in contempt of court again. Your sentence is increased to fourteen days’ imprisonment with hard labour.’

  Rick stood glowering back at her. Mark smiled inwardly. The standoff lasted a few more seconds and then a worried-looking Rick sank into his seat. Mark noticed that Jennifer was patting his hand as if trying to console him.

  No sooner had Rick sat down than Theresa snapped, ‘Take the three prisoners to the Punishment Room.’

  She stood up, prompting everyone else, including Rick, to stand too. She walked from the dais to the door leading to the Great Staircase followed by Duncan. Mark stayed where he was

  Steven walked over and clapped his father on the shoulder. ‘Well done, Dad, it was a great performance.’ But before Mark could reply, his son had hurried off to join Penny and his children.

  Mark walked across to Jasper. Jasper held out his hand, and this time Mark took it. He then shook Greg’s hand.

  ‘Thanks,’ Jasper said.

  ‘And thanks from me too,’ Greg mumbled.

  ‘Well, just don’t let me down,’ Mark cautioned as he walked away.

  He suddenly wanted to be alone with Anne.