CHAPTER 64
The court resumed the second phase of the trial, with the standby juror called to the stand by the state attorney. During the short recess, the two attorneys had been at loggerheads as to who should call the second juror. But it was all a ploy by Adriana; she wanted the state attorney to call the second juror. That way, when she cross-checks the juror, her testimony wouldn't look bought. After all, she wasn't the one to call her to the stand. Finally, having given the attorney a tough time, she agreed to let him have the stage.
"Stand-by juror 2. Can we have you on a seat, please?" He called happily. As she walked upstage, Adriana smiled. This should be a win. After the usual court routine had been done, the attorney began his questioning
"How well do you know the accused?" He asked to gauge their relationship and whether this juror could be allowed to be the best of the accused's character.
"We are next-door neighbors." She responded calmly.
"Do you think the accused got those bruises by harming herself?" He asked
The woman looked petrified by the question, "Why would she harm herself?"
"The same reason why she wanted to harm her husband." The attorney replied.
"No." She shook her head, "She couldn't have. Swollen mouth, broken arms. Swollen face. I don't think she could have done that to herself." The juror said. "I happen to know how often he hit her. We could always hear her scream every time. There was nothing we could do. The door was always locked."
"Did you at any time call the police?"
"We did, once. She didn't" she looked at the accused and shook her head pitifully, "She didn't like that. Warned us never to." Then added, "Said it was because she didn't want her husband going to jail"
Some were petrified and very annoyed. They couldn't resist passing sly comments. The accused looked at them all, sadly. It was like they didn't understand why she did all these things for her late husband. The man had been a troubled man all his life. The clerk called for the order.
"Did you talk to her about this unsafe behavior?"
"And by unsafe behavior, you mean how she lets herself be beaten?" The juror asked.
"Yes."
"That one time, she was annoyed I'd called the police on her husband. She warned me never to interfere in her family's business. Her excuse was not even plausible. It was absurd. She claimed her husband was a troubled man and we should let him act out." She threw her hands in the air, at a loss for words to describe the situation.
"Finally!" The accused sighed, and everyone looked at her. She smiled at them all. Everyone, including Adriana, looked shocked.
The juror shook her head, staring at the woman, she made her point loud and clear "Looks to me like she was the troubled one." It was a great punch to Adriana's build-up points. She slides down further in her chair.
The state attorney smiled at that. The juror had nailed it. Now, he had to ride on that confession. "Has she ever put anyone in danger or even herself?"
The juror sighed, recollecting an incident. "A while back, I came home to find her in another nasty fight with her husband."
"Before you proceed, I'd like to know. These fights with her husband, have they ever landed her in the hospital?" He asked. Knowing what the answer would be.
"No." the juror responded
"Not once?"
"No."
The attorney looked at the jury and commented, "Not once did she land in the hospital." Adriana sat up straight. Okay, that was wrong, mister. She smiled at herself. There's still hope... "Please go on with this incident you were describing."
"After their fight, he left the house. Some minutes later, she paused, unsure how long it took to get out, "I stepped out to get some things. She was outside with a knife."
"Who?"
The juror pointed at her. "She was with a knife, cutting through her own hand. It was a deep cut with blood everywhere. She just went. I screamed. And people started coming in. We rushed her to the hospital."
"I take it that was the one time she was rushed to the hospital after their fight?"
"Yes."
"And she inflicted that wound."
"Yes"
"The night of the incident, was there any fight?"
"Yes."
"Did you hear her scream?"
"No. It was awfully silent until the next morning, when we found her crying beside her dead husband."
"Members of the jury." He bowed slightly, "This woman had a fight with her husband and stabbed him severely with a knife." He flicked the remote, and vivid images of the crime scene were shown; the dead man and the stab wounds were on the screen for everyone to see. Some of the jury looked away. "They had a fight, and she stabbed him multiple times. And while she could have saved the man had she called for help, she waited until it was too late. He could have lived, but she wanted him dead, so she stayed till the next morning before asking for help. But then, he was already dead." He turned to the jury again, "I hope you're taking notes of all these." He turned to the judge, "That would be all, my Lord." He turned off the images and walked proudly to his seat. Adriana scoffed.
"Any cross-examination from the accused's attorney?" Asked the judge, who adjusted himself properly on his seat.
Adriana stepped forward. "Ma'am, the other time, you said that each time they fought, the door was always locked. Did I get that fact right?"
"Yes. The door was always locked." She confirmed.
"Who do you think locks the door?"
"Her late husband, I suppose."
"Objection, my Lord," the state attorney stood up immediately, "Couldn't it have been the accused who locks the door, considering her willingness to self-inflict injury?"
"Sustained." The judge approved, "Juror. You may answer that."
"I think it's her husband." She quickly corrected herself, "Late husband."
"Why are you insisting he's the one?" Adriana asked, hoping her response would ruin everything.
"I saw him more than once. In fact, I got to dread seeing him near the door because I knew what that meant." She looked at the accused pitifully again.
"Doesn't that sound premeditate to you?" She turned to the judge, then the juror. "The man locks the door while pounding his wife till she lays weak and helpless to the point where she sees nothing wrong in slicing her hands."
She moved towards the audience, "That looks like a premeditated crime with no remorse and it kept happening over and over again. The jury, my lord, this woman right here has suffered enough. It is wrong to keep her suffering by punishing her for a crime committed out of self-defense." Taking the remote, she flicked the picture back to the horrible wounds on the late man's body. "Members of the jury, please take a good look at these wounds." She zoomed in, "I know they look offensive, but please, just take a look because of a life that's at stake due to these." She cajoled. All the jury looked at the obscene sight.
"These are wounds inflicted by a kitchen knife. They are not deep cuts. Given the circumstances, the accused ran into the kitchen to defend herself. The multiple stabs were to get him off her back. And like anyone, seeing such a sight made her lose it. She didn't deliberately leave him unattended till morning. She tried to resuscitate him before passing away." She moved the pictures to where the wound looked like someone had draped clothes cover it to stop the bleeding, "She fainted while tending the wounds" Adriana said in a whisper, "She did her best to revive the same man who had molested her over and over and over again." She flicked the projection off and faced the jury, "The jury, please take these into consideration while you make your rulings." As she walked to her seat. Adriana waited with everyone for the jury to reveal its verdict.
The voting started immediately. The jury wrote their verdict and threw it into the box one after the other. This way, no one knows what the other wrote, and everyone is safe. Once done, the clerk goes to the box and brings out the papers.
"Guilty." She read. "Not guilty." She reads the next one. "Not guilty." She read again. As she read, Adriana, the other attorney, and the judge, along with others, counted. The jury had ruled in favor of the accused. Adriana tried to curtail her joy.
"The jury finds you not guilty." The judge announced, "You are hereby discharged and acquitted."
"Court." The clerk called, everyone stood, and the judge walked out. Adriana shook hands with the attorney and went to congratulate her client. "You're free to go home now." She said.
The woman looked at her and started weeping. It wasn't strange to see clients cry over their victory. At least that was what Adriana had thought until the woman said, "There's no home with Ben." And then she knew, her client might really be the one who's troubled after all!
Tired and in need of a quick shower, Adriana went through the back door as she usually does when avoiding the press. And the press this time was loud. Everyone was interested in the outcome, given the peculiarity of the case. It was twisted when the supposed victim turned out to be the accused. Everyone had concluded it was a murder case, that the woman's delay in calling the police or 911 was so her husband could be dead before help came. Nobody had cared to know what had happened between the hours she didn't call and daybreak. All everyone wanted to know was why she didn't call.
Peeping to be sure no one was there, she stepped down and started to walk to her car. Before she could open the door, a car drove roughly and stopped right in her front. In a quick flash, someone got out, pulled a black hood over her head, and bundled her into the car. She couldn't even scream. Everything had happened in a flash. But as her captors drove away, Adriana smiled inwardly. It wouldn't take long before her family discovered her missing.
