Wrongful Conviction

by Rachel Sinclair

  A doctor came in, and immediately put a flashlight in my eyes. I tried not to blink, but it was very difficult. "How are you feeling?” he asked as he took my pulse.

  "Okay, I guess. My head hurts. Why?”

  “You’ve been in a medically induced coma for the past two weeks. When you were brought in, your brain was dangerously swelling. We’ve had to put you into a medically induced coma until the swelling went down. I'm going to have to send you down to have some tests done, to make sure that the swelling has decreased enough that you are no longer in danger. That said, the last time we took a CAT scan, your brain swelling had significantly reduced, which is the reason why we brought you out of your coma. When you're feeling up to it, we would like to call the police, so you can give a report as to how you ended up with such a traumatic brain injury.”

  I didn’t know what he was talking about. I only knew that my head hurt. It was throbbing. I looked over at Avery, who looked like she had been sleeping in her clothes for the past three days, and I had a question in my eyes.

  I didn't have to even verbalize a question, however.

  "They found you, laying on the sidewalk next to the San Diego Bridge Academy.” This was the building that was in the park where I ran by almost every evening. "Somebody apparently hit you on the back of your head, and ran off. Do you know who would do that to you? They found your wallet on you, so obviously this was not a robbery incident. Your wallet had $200 in it, and all your credit cards. The police are very dumbfounded as to who would've smashed you like that, and then just ran off, without asking for anything. So maybe you can talk to the cops and give them some ideas.”

  I blinked my eyes. "Jamel. What about Jamel?”

  “Well, Matthew Howard refiled the rape case against him. That same rape case that he was imprisoned for before. He’s already had his arraignment. He's back in jail. Don't worry, he has a new attorney. It's a guy by the name of Dallas Wilcox. He’s in private practice. He took the case for free. So, don't worry, Jamel is in good hands.”

  "No. No he is not in good hands. What do you know about this Dallas Wilcox?"

  “Just that he's a criminal defense attorney. I admit, he's not very well known in the Los Angeles bar, because he's new to the area. Why are you getting so upset?”

  “I’m upset because I think that the reason why this Dallas Wilcox person is on Jamel's case is because he's probably being paid off. I need to do some background information on him, find out what his deal is. I’ll bet if I get into it, I’m going to find financial problems galore, and probably also find a very large amount of money transferred into his account. Or, maybe I'll find that he's got some kind of kiddie porn on his computer, or something of the sort. Either way, he's either being bribed or blackmailed, but what I can tell you is that he's going to throw this case. He's going to throw it, while not being as obvious about it as Jim Stack was.”

  “Well don't worry about that. The prosecutor's office has already come up with a plea agreement, and I've talked to Jamel about it, and I think he's going to take it. He told me that they're offering him the chance to plead down to an assault in the 1st°, 10 years in prison. Dallas is really pressing Jamel to take this plea agreement, because, after all, Jamel was already convicted for this rape once before, and he’ll probably be convicted again. He was facing life in prison for that rape. Jamel thinks it's an okay deal, considering that 10 years is obviously a lot less than life. He's 18 years old, he’ll be out before he's 30.”

  "Jamel told you about this, and what did you say?”

  “What could I say? I had to give him my opinion, as a lawyer. I told him all the pros and cons, and you have to admit, taking this case to trial would be risky, to say the very least. He was already convicted once on this charge. So, I talked to Jamel, and I told him that while the appellate judge didn't believe that there was enough evidence for him to have been convicted, he was going to have to roll the dice for a second time if he didn't take this plea agreement, and there was a chance that the jury would find the evidence compelling enough to put Jamel into prison again. I told him that that outcome probably would not happen, because the appellate judge thought that the evidence is lacking, but that there was a chance that it could happen and that this plea agreement was a bird in his hand. He asked what that meant, and I told him that it was a saying that something that you have in your hand is worth two of something that you don't have, but hope to."

  I suddenly felt a sense of panic. "When is his plea agreement scheduled?”

  "It’s scheduled for tomorrow, at 1:30. Why do you ask that question?"

  “Because he didn't do it. How is he going to do a plea agreement, if he can't make a factual basis?"

  "Dallas said that he's doing an Alford Plea.” An Alford Plea was a plea agreement where the defendant admitted that there was enough evidence against him to convict in a court of law, but that he was not going to admit to having done it.

  "You have to stop this. You have to. If he pleads guilty, he won’t be coming back. There is going to be no writ of habeas corpus, no appeal, if he pleads guilty. Goddammit, that's their new trick. Try to make him believe that he's taking a great deal so that they can plead him guilty and foreclose his right to appeal. Why didn't you try to talk him out of this?”

  "For the same reason why I try to get my clients to take a plea agreement when they’re facing life in prison. Somebody comes at you with a 10 year offer to a lesser charge, and you have to think twice about passing that up. You have to think about what would happen at trial, and the possibility that you're going to be facing a much stiffer sentence if you're found guilty by the jury. I know I don't have to tell you this, it's criminal defense 101. You just have to look at the odds, and roll the dice, or not. In this case, Jamel decided not to roll the dice. As I said, he's looking at the fact that he's going to be getting out of prison before he is 30 years old, in time to have a life, as opposed to never getting out of prison if he's convicted.”

  "But, Avery, why would you advise him to take this plea agreement, when you read the transcripts for the appellate judge, and you saw that the appellate judge said that there was not enough evidence to convict him? The appellate judge would know better than anybody else what quality of evidence is sufficient to convict somebody. And he stated on the record that there was not enough to charge him with the crime, let alone convict him. Why couldn't you go with that?”

  “Because, the prosecutor has new evidence and it's enough to convict him this time.”

  "What's that supposed to mean? What does he have that he didn’t have before?””

  “The victim, Felicity McDaniel. She's offered to testify, and she's offered to testify that Jamel was the person who raped her."

  Chapter 16

  "Felicity McDaniel." I looked at the ceiling, and I realized that my blood pressure was going dangerously high at that point. I could see the monitor leaping up, showing that my blood pressure at that moment was 170/100. I took a deep breath, and tried to calm down, and I saw that my blood pressure was gradually receding.

  I couldn't believe that Felicity McDaniel would lie like that.

  "Avery, don't you think it's a little bit odd that she told the cops all along that she had no idea who raped her, and now, suddenly, she remembered?”

  "Yes, I do believe that that’s odd. However, she's willing to testify that he raped her. Dallas told me that she was put under hypnosis, and she clearly remembered that he did that to her. So, she's going to going to court, and testify against him. Once Jamel found that out, he knew that he was going to have to take this offer."

  I knew that I was going to get out of the hospital before 1:30 tomorrow. "Listen, I'm checking myself out of this hospital. Today. There's no way I can allow that kid to throw away his life like this. He didn't do it. Felicity herself came and told me that he didn't do it. She told me that he had to pay for raping her, all the same, even though he's innocent, and he saved her life. So, I can tell you that she's being pressured
by somebody to testify against him, and I need to find out who that person is. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that the same person who pressured her to testify against Jamel is the one who put that mugger up to hitting me on that sidewalk. Somebody is pulling everybody strings on this, and I need to find out who it is. So I need to get out of this hospital today.”

  "You can't get out of the hospital until the doctor says you can. You’ve been in a medically-induced coma for the past two weeks. You can't just up and leave. You have an IV in your arm. What are you going to do, just take it out?”

  “If I have to. All I know is that I need to get out of this hospital to talk to Jamel in jail. I need to tell him the truth about Felicity. About how she came to see me and told me that she remembered who did this to her, and it wasn't him. And I need to make sure that this Dallas Wilcox person gets off of his case immediately, so I can get on it.”

  “You need to slow your roll. You can't leave until the doctor clears you to leave. Now, sit back and relax. When the doctor says you can leave, you will leave. But not before that.”

  "Okay, then. You need to go down and talk to Jamel, and tell him to fire that Dallas Wilcox, yesterday. Dallas Wilcox does not have Jamel's best interest at heart, and, quite frankly, I'm thinking the same thing about you. You need to fix this. I can't fix this, not from a hospital bed, but you can.”

  "What are you talking about? Do you really want him to spend the rest of his life in prison? Do you? I know you say that Felicity came to see you, and admitted to you privately that she knew that Jamel did not attack her, but what kind of evidence is that? It’s he said, she said, and the woman is an actress. She'll be able to give an Academy Award-winning performance on the stand, and the jury will eat it up. So she's going to lie on the stand, how can you stop her? And if you can't stop her from lying on the stand, it's bye-bye Birdie for Jamel. He will die in prison. This way, he goes into prison not as a rapist, but as a guy who committed an assault. You know as well as I do that in the prison hierarchy, the guys who committed assaults are much higher on the totem pole than guys who committed rapes. You know he's going to have a much easier time going into prison without a rape conviction on his record. And, like I said, he'll be out before he’s 30. He'll have his chance to set things straight. He’ll have his chance to live his life. He’ll have all the chances that you wanted for him, to find a woman and get married, have kids, have a career, all of that. He doesn't take this deal, and Felicity testifies against him in court, and he will have nothing. You just have to think of it from that angle."

  "Do what you can to at least postpone it. I really need to find the real culprit in this situation, and I need to do what I can to make sure he stops pulling everybody's strings. I need that chance.”

  "Well, I'll do what I can, but I don't think it’s going to work. Dallas told me that the prosecutor's offer was only good for 24 hours. I don't think that the prosecutor's office is going to go along with a continuance of the case, without withdrawing the offer. You know that the prosecutor's office has all the leverage here, with Felicity being willing to testify and all. I'm sorry, but I just don't think that a continuance is possible without risking losing that offer."

  I suddenly felt hopeless. There I was, lying supine in my hospital bed, while Jamel was getting ready to make the biggest mistake of his life. Or maybe not taking the plea would've been a bigger mistake? I knew that it was wrong. I knew that Jamel was innocent, factually innocent. The victim told me so. And yet, he was set to spend 10 years of his life behind bars, probably at a maximum security prison, for something he did not do.

  But maybe Avery was right. It would be an enormous risk to take Jamel's case to trial again, even if I was the one who was trying it. Avery was correct that Felicity McDaniel was known to be a very good actress. She had been nominated for several Golden Globes, several Emmys, and even the Academy Award, twice. She would be able to put on a show for the jury, and, if she did put on a show for the jury, that would be all she wrote. Jamel would be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

  Goddammit. Jamel was put into an impossible situation. I wanted so badly to get out of the hospital and talk him out of it, but what if I talked him out of it, and he did end up behind bars for life? Would I be able to live with myself? Would I be able to look at myself in the mirror, knowing that I was responsible for the absolute destruction of a boy's life?

  I looked over at Avery. I suddenly did not want her in the hospital room anymore. I needed to be alone, with my thoughts. I needed to have some time to contemplate this situation, and really think about how it was that I was going to tackle it. I needed to come up with a plan before 1:30 tomorrow. And, I needed to figure out a way to get out of the hospital, so that I could put the plan, whatever it happened to be, into action.

  "Avery, I'm really tired. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to come back at a different time." I closed my eyes, so that she could get the hint.

  "Christian, I know what you’re going to try to do, and I don't think you should. I don't think that there is much that we can do before Jamel’s guilty plea tomorrow. I know that your brain is turning, but I've thought about this too, eight ways to Sunday, and I really do believe that Jamel is doing the right thing. But I will go ahead and leave, since you want me to. But, I'm just telling you, don't interfere.”

  "Avery, you of all people should not be encouraging an innocent man to go to prison. And that's all I have to say."

  "Well, that was hitting below the belt. I'll come back and check on you later." And, at that, Avery was gone.

  Chapter 17

  After Avery left, I lay in my hospital bed, just stewing. I was feeling nauseated, even though I knew that the problem that landed me there in the hospital bed was a head injury. The nausea came from the terrible pit I had in my stomach, the burning, aching, dark sensation that the Jamel Jackson case had gone horribly awry. I didn't like the helpless feeling, but I knew that I had to do something.

  My cell phone was in the nightstand next to me, so I dialed Regina's number. She answered on the second ring.

  "Hey Christian, what's shaking?”

  "How is your investigation going for the Jamel Jackson case?" I asked her.

  "Well, he has a new attorney, so I haven’t been working the case for the past couple of weeks. By the way, how are you feeling?"

  "I'm feeling fine. I need to get out of this bed. Listen, I need for you to get back on the case. I know, I know, Jamel has a new lawyer, and you’ll be stepping on his toes. Don't worry about that, just do it on the down low. I need to have something done by 1:30 tomorrow. Something, anything, that I can sink my teeth into. I also need for you to create some kind of a distraction for a lawyer by the name of Dallas Wilcox. Can you do that ?”

  "What kind of a distraction do you want me to create for Dallas Wilcox? And who is Dallas Wilcox?”

  “Dallas Wilcox is the guy who is Jamel's new attorney. I’ll give you his address and phone number. Are you ready?"

  I gave her the phone number, and she wrote it down.

  "Okay, I'll ask you again. What kind of distraction do you want me to use with Dallas Wilcox?" Regina asked.

  “Go over there and see him. Make an appointment. And wear something low-cut.”

  I could almost hear Regina rolling her eyes after I told her to see him while wearing something low-cut. "Oh, this again. I'm supposed to use my looks to manipulate a dude. You know, it’s pretty amazing that that works. You know, you just go in there, flash a little breast, and you suddenly got a guy eating out of your hands. Why is it so easy to get things from men?”

  “Because men think with their dicks. Listen, I don't like asking you to do this, because I know that you and Aidan are trying to work things out. I know that you just started dating him. Believe me, I would not ask you to do this if it was not an emergency. However, it is an emergency. Like a four alarm fire at this point. So I really need for you to use all of your feminine charms to try to not onl
y convince this guy to ask for a continuance on Jamel’s plea court appearance tomorrow, also try to extract some information from him. I have a feeling that he knows exactly what's going on in this case. If my hunch is correct, the puppet-master in all of this probably decided not to go with a clueless stooge to represent Jamel, but, rather, went with a guy who is in on the game. If my hunch is right, and you can get some information out of him, then that will do wonders for this case. It'll crack it. Of course, getting the information is going to be one thing. Proving it is going to be quite another.”

  Regina groaned. "Okay, I'll do what I can. I'll let you know what happens.”

  Chapter 18

  Regina

  Regina cursed as she put on her special dress that always worked to get what she wanted. It was a black number, tight and clingy, and plunging, which showed off her impressive rack. It was also supershort, so she was able to show off her legs, which were tight and toned from running and squatting. She didn't normally wear makeup, it clogged her pores, but she decided to go ahead with some eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, and a light foundation.

  She really did not want to do this. However, she also knew that Jamel was facing 10 years in prison, so she knew that it was important to slow this whole thing down. When Avery told her about Jamel agreeing to take a plea agreement, the first thing she thought was, why? Yeah, she found out that the victim was going to testify against Jamel in court. That was a game-changer. But she didn't like the feeling that this whole thing was going to be over before anybody had a chance to do some real investigation.

  But, Christian was in the hospital, and, at first, nobody knew if he was going to make it out of there in one piece. His injury was so severe that he had to be put into a medically induced coma so that his brain could heal. But, anytime you are in a coma, medically induced or no, there was always a risk that you're not going to come out of it, and if you do, you might be a vegetable. Fortunately, Christian seemed to be no worse for the wear. Regina had just talked to him, and he seemed to be as sharp as ever. So, that was obviously a relief. But now that he was awake, he apparently was going to try to go balls to the wall for Jamel. The only way that he was going to be able to do that was for Regina to work her magic on Dallas Wilcox. So, it was what it was. She was just going to have to do what she had done on many previous occasions – use her face and body to get somebody to do something that they wouldn't ordinarily do.