wanted to do was question Luke, and Luke repeated his claim that the two men attempted to rob him.
After their testimonies, Murchison and Gilmore made their summation.
“Prosecution says Ferrell and Gates were two law officers who wanted only to question Mr. Shardeen.” Murchison stood, facing the jury. “But neither of them were wearing a badge, and both were wearing hoods over their faces.”
He walked back over to the defense table and reached down into a sack, withdrawing a piece of cloth. He spread the cloth out, then held it up before the jury, showing a hood with two eyeholes.
Several in the gallery gasped.
“Specifically, one of them was wearing this hood, which I found exactly where Mr. Shardeen said it would be. Wearing a hood like this is hardly the way a couple lawmen would stop a suspect for questioning. I’m going to ask that you do the right thing, and find my client not guilty.”
Murchison stuck the unlit cigar back in his mouth, then returned to the defense table to sit beside his client.
“Mr. Prosecutor, your summation?” Judge Briggs asked.
Gilmore stood, hitched up his trousers, then approached the jury box.
“What it all boils down to is Luke Shardeen’s word against the word of Sheriff Dewey Ferrell. On the surface, one man’s word against another would balance the scales. But there are two things that tip the scales. One is the fact that Dewey Ferrell isn’t just another citizen; he is a sworn officer of the law. And the other issue is the fact that we have a dead body. Deputy Brad Gates is dead, and we have the defendant’s own admission that he shot and killed him. As to the hood, I’ve no doubt but that Mr. Murchison found it where Mr. Shardeen said it would be. But that proves only that he put the hood there. It is my contention that he did that just to build his defense. Under the circumstances, I feel you can bring no verdict but guilty of murder in the first degree.”
In the judge’s charge to the jury he suggested strongly that the evidence pointed to first-degree murder, and that it was his belief that they must find in accordance with the evidence.
“I don’t care what the rest of you say, I don’t intend to find Luke Shardeen guilty of murder in the first degree. Why would he do it?” one of the jurors said when they were sequestered.
“If Ferrell and Gates were questioning him about a crime he committed somewhere, he might have shot them,” another juror said.
“What crime? All the prosecution said was that Shardeen was being questioned, and didn’t even say what he was being questioned about. If you ask me, this thing is fishy.”
“Yeah? Well, he did kill the deputy. That’s a fact that he doesn’t deny. And I can’t see lettin’ him get off scot-free.”
The jury continued to argue for the better part of an hour, before they came to an agreement and signaled the bailiff they were ready to return to the courtroom.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?” Judge Briggs asked when they were all seated.
“We have, Your Honor,” Lynn Thomas, the jury foreman, replied. Thomas owned a leather goods shop.
“Would you publish your verdict, please?”
“We find the defendant guilty of manslaughter in the second degree.”
There was an immediate reaction from the gallery, who, based upon the judge’s public charge of the jury, expected a verdict of murder in the first degree.
The judge slapped his gavel several times to get order, then looked back at Thomas. “You were not given the option of finding for second degree manslaughter. The charge was for murder.”
Thomas stared back defiantly. “Your Honor, you can accept the verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the second degree or not guilty of murder in the first degree.”
Briggs glared at Thomas for a long moment before he pulled his eyes away and spoke. “Will the defendant approach the bench?”
Luke moved up to stand before the judge.
“You have been found guilty of manslaughter
After their testimonies, Murchison and Gilmore made their summation.
“Prosecution says Ferrell and Gates were two law officers who wanted only to question Mr. Shardeen.” Murchison stood, facing the jury. “But neither of them were wearing a badge, and both were wearing hoods over their faces.”
He walked back over to the defense table and reached down into a sack, withdrawing a piece of cloth. He spread the cloth out, then held it up before the jury, showing a hood with two eyeholes.
Several in the gallery gasped.
“Specifically, one of them was wearing this hood, which I found exactly where Mr. Shardeen said it would be. Wearing a hood like this is hardly the way a couple lawmen would stop a suspect for questioning. I’m going to ask that you do the right thing, and find my client not guilty.”
Murchison stuck the unlit cigar back in his mouth, then returned to the defense table to sit beside his client.
“Mr. Prosecutor, your summation?” Judge Briggs asked.
Gilmore stood, hitched up his trousers, then approached the jury box.
“What it all boils down to is Luke Shardeen’s word against the word of Sheriff Dewey Ferrell. On the surface, one man’s word against another would balance the scales. But there are two things that tip the scales. One is the fact that Dewey Ferrell isn’t just another citizen; he is a sworn officer of the law. And the other issue is the fact that we have a dead body. Deputy Brad Gates is dead, and we have the defendant’s own admission that he shot and killed him. As to the hood, I’ve no doubt but that Mr. Murchison found it where Mr. Shardeen said it would be. But that proves only that he put the hood there. It is my contention that he did that just to build his defense. Under the circumstances, I feel you can bring no verdict but guilty of murder in the first degree.”
In the judge’s charge to the jury he suggested strongly that the evidence pointed to first-degree murder, and that it was his belief that they must find in accordance with the evidence.
“I don’t care what the rest of you say, I don’t intend to find Luke Shardeen guilty of murder in the first degree. Why would he do it?” one of the jurors said when they were sequestered.
“If Ferrell and Gates were questioning him about a crime he committed somewhere, he might have shot them,” another juror said.
“What crime? All the prosecution said was that Shardeen was being questioned, and didn’t even say what he was being questioned about. If you ask me, this thing is fishy.”
“Yeah? Well, he did kill the deputy. That’s a fact that he doesn’t deny. And I can’t see lettin’ him get off scot-free.”
The jury continued to argue for the better part of an hour, before they came to an agreement and signaled the bailiff they were ready to return to the courtroom.
“Has the jury reached a verdict?” Judge Briggs asked when they were all seated.
“We have, Your Honor,” Lynn Thomas, the jury foreman, replied. Thomas owned a leather goods shop.
“Would you publish your verdict, please?”
“We find the defendant guilty of manslaughter in the second degree.”
There was an immediate reaction from the gallery, who, based upon the judge’s public charge of the jury, expected a verdict of murder in the first degree.
The judge slapped his gavel several times to get order, then looked back at Thomas. “You were not given the option of finding for second degree manslaughter. The charge was for murder.”
Thomas stared back defiantly. “Your Honor, you can accept the verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the second degree or not guilty of murder in the first degree.”
Briggs glared at Thomas for a long moment before he pulled his eyes away and spoke. “Will the defendant approach the bench?”
Luke moved up to stand before the judge.
“You have been found guilty of manslaughter
Similar Books
