I do not think I was ever so afraid when the brick came through the window. I was not afraid for myself. The brick landed just beside my daughter and both her and my wife was crying in fear. I quickly took charge and told them that we should go upstairs. As we sat upstairs wondering if something else would happen, I was hugging my wife and daughter as images of the brick flying through the air a few inches from Wendy's head was going through my mind.
My wife told me that she warned me that this case would endanger their lives. I did not respond. I knew what she said was true. Someone threw the brick through our window because I was defending Jimmy. Was if this was a mad act of protest violence, or if it was a warning of what should come. The person that threw the brick wanted me to give up in defending Jimmy. I was afraid if this message was that if I did not give up the case, my family would be in danger.
The police came as well as some journalists. We hid inside the house as the police tried to find evidence. My wife was sleeping with Wendy as they were both afraid. I talked with a policeman that said that there would be a police car stationed outside our house while there was a need for it. I was, of course, grateful for this and at the same time disappointed that I had to be protected.
I could not sleep that night. My life was in danger because I was defending someone accused of killing a child. He was not convicted in court but convicted by the media and the public. The wise thing was that I resign from the case so my family would be safe. However, then I would be surrendering to the lynching attitude and I would not be giving our justice system a chance. The choice was to make sure my family was safe or to harm the justice system we had. This was not easy. I loved my wife and my daughter more than anything else on this earth. Did I want to help undermine the justice system and make the world a worse place for my daughter?
The next day, I told my thoughts to my wife. She told me that she also thought a lot about it. She surprised me when she said that I should allow no one to bully me and my convictions and wish for a good justice system. She did not think Jimmy was innocent, but he deserved to be defended.
I gave my wife a hug and for the next hour, we sat without saying much.
We decided that my wife and Wendy should go to her mother's house until the trial was over. I was silent as they packed their bags and sat in the car. I felt like crying because I knew that I would miss them. I was mad at a few that would use violence because they did not agree that a person should be defended. I looked at my wife's car driving away and Wendy waving through the back window. This should not be necessary, but reality made it so.
When my family was gone, I went to the press. I usually hated talking to the press and rather do my work in the courtroom. However, now was the time that I gave Jimmy and my family a voice in the press.
“ As you know,” I started saying as microphones were pushed towards my face, “ I am Jimmy's defense lawyer. I will not stand here to convince you that he is innocent. What I will say is let the jury in the courtroom decide if he is guilty or not. What I am saying is Jimmy has been accused of something very bad. Something we all detest and something we all think should be punished to the limit of the law. This girl did not deserve to die. We are lucky though that we have a Justice system that presumes everyone is innocent until a court can prove that they are guilty. This means the prosecution must now prove beyond a doubt that Jimmy is guilty. I ask the media to let the prosecution do this, and stop assuming that Jimmy is guilty.”
I stopped as the press started asking question after question.
“ People think I am scum for defending this man” I continued, “ Last night someone threw a brick in my window. It nearly hit my daughter! How can this be defended? Is it bad that I am defending Jimmy? I am not getting paid for it. I will not gain more respect because of it and it even put my family in danger! The man that threw the brick wanted me to resign from the case. He most likely would be satisfied that Jimmy would be lynched by a mob. How would our society be if this happened? As I said, Jimmy deserves to have a voice in the courtroom. He deserves to be defended. We must trust that our justice system will find out if he is guilty or innocent. The media or a man with a brick has no right to do this!”
I sat in my car and drove away as I did not want to answer questions. I decided that I would visit Jimmy and see how he was doing. We met once again in the small room. We did not talk about the case. Jimmy talked about his mother and his friends at the community center. He told me that he missed them and he missed painting.
As I sat there, I was thinking that he was so human. It was like he had a good life despite that his brain was not normal. This man loved life and he loved the simple things about life. I liked talking with him and I was starting to consider him as a friend. The simple way he thought appealed to me. It was like nothing was complicated. Things were black or white with him.
The trial would start soon. Despite that I liked Jimmy, I was still in doubt if he was guilty or innocent. The only evidence that I had that he was innocent was his personality. He was mad when I killed a fly and as I said, life was so simple for him. There was the question about why the back door was open and this nagging feeling that the police report was not complete.
I spoke with my wife and Wendy the night before the trial. I missed them so much. My wife was worried about my safety and Wendy was afraid after nearly being hit by a brick. My daughter was quick enough to associate the brick with the teasing at school and didn't quite understand why Jimmy was so important for me. I understood how Wendy thought. She felt like I was putting Jimmy before the family!
The trial started under a lot of attention. The prosecution was very confident and I could understand this. They presented the evidence they had. Jimmy was holding the girl and she was hit by a frying pan. The frying pin had his fingerprints on it. The prosecution explained that Jimmy was brain damaged. He went into a house he did not know. The girl surprised him and he hit her with a frying pan because he was afraid he would get in trouble. They presented him as a man that did not know the difference between right and wrong and he had no regret that he killed the girl.
There was a break in the trial for a few weeks and I visited Jimmy. I did not have much to say except that the trial was not going too well. I told him now we would get a chance to tell another side of the story and then leave it up to the jury. Jimmy looked at me, not really understanding the court and the prosecution. He only said that they were bad people because they did not tell the truth. Then he looked at me and said something surprising. He told me I should visit my daughter while the court was taking a rest.
I did just this. Om my way up to my mother-in-law's house, where my wife and daughter were, I was thinking about Jimmy. He was not that stupid. He knew I had a daughter. It also showed that he could think of others. He did not demand that I spend all my time working for him. He was telling me to remember I had a family and they needed me too. This made me respect Jimmy more. I am not sure I would have said the same if I was in his position.
It was nice visiting my family. My daughter was not as mad as me as she was before. I told them that the trial would end soon, and we could get back to being a normal family. They appreciated that I took time from the trial to visit them. Wendy even said that I was a good dad that remembered he had a daughter. So for the next few days, I went on long walks with my wife and played games with my daughter. These few days have done wonders. It reminded me of what was important for me, and it gave me energy and hope for the case.
When the court started again, it was my turn to defend Jimmy. I told the jury about his past and the life he had. I told them that the most important thing in his life was his mother and his painting at the community center. I presented a psychologist report that explained that Jimmy did know what was right and wrong, and always tried to do the right things. I then explained that there were many questions that were never answered. Jimmy never went into a house that he did not know. So why did he go into this house? I also asked the jury why the back door was open.
I concluded by telling them what could have happened. Jimmy was on his way to the community center. He heard a girl screaming in the house. He went in to see if he could help. The girl was on the floor after being hit by the frying pan. The killer escaped through the back door while Jimmy pushed the frying pan away from the girl. He held the girl in his arms wondering where the band-aids were. Then the police came and concluded he was the one that killed her.
Jimmy and I were waiting in a small room while the Jury discussed the case. I reminded Jimmy that the prosecution had a strong case, but I hope we could have made some Jury members doubt it. Jimmy told me that he was happy I told them what really happened. To him, this was all the case needed. The jury needed to hear the truth. This was right. It was hard explaining to him that they now had two stories and they had to decide which one was the truth.
We were called back to the Jury. It did not take them long to decide and this was not good. I hate the routine where the jury gives the verdict to the judge. It takes so long and there are so many things that go through my head. The judge looked at the verdict and told the court. The whole courtroom was chaos with people cheering and crying
The judge said that Jimmy was guilty. He ruined a girl's future by brutally murdering him. The judge concluded that there was only one fair sentence, and that was the death penalty.
The next few days I tried all the tricks I could. I tried to appeal and tried for a pardon. This would never happen and if it did, the outcome would be the same. In the back of my mind, I thought that Jimmy was guilty. I was hoping that they would give him a life sentence, but we were very unlucky with the judge. Public opinion was strongly for the death penalty, and I wondered how much this influenced the judge.
I visited Jimmy as he was waiting for the execution. I told him that he lost the case. They would put him to sleep and he would wake up in heaven. I am not sure how much he understood. Jimmy was more interested in the paints that I took him. He painted as I tried to explain what would happen and my job was over. The only answer I got was that I was a good friend for letting him paint. He was happy now he said.
Usually, after a big case, I would take a small case. This gave me time with my family. However this time I just closed the office doors and went home. My wife and children were home now so we could be a family again. They, of course, were delighted that the whole thing was over and we could be normal again. We were a happy family. I helped and home cooking and cleaning and spent quality time with my family.
I tried to forget about Jimmy and the case. The jury accepted that he was guilty and there was every indication that he was guilty. However, I visited him a few times as he was waiting to be put to death. Jimmy was a friend by now and in some ways, I could not understand how he could hurt anyone.
I wrote a letter to try and get him pardoned and given a life sentence. I told the story about when I killed a fly, that upset Jimmy. I also explained that if Jimmy killed the girl, it was not done on purpose. It was a mistake.
The day came when Jimmy would be executed. I still hoped for the pardon. The death was something that no one could ever see or experience. Jimmy in a room and we could see him through a glass wall. When he was asked if he had any final words, he said that he needed to say his night prayers before he went to sleep. Jimmy was told that a priest already prayed with him and then he was given the injections. Slowly you could see him sleep and slowly you could see his soul leaving his body.
Jimmy was now dead.
I stood outside the building smoking a cigarette. I was disappointed that there was no pardon but was trying to convince myself that Justice was now done and Jimmy was at peace now,
The dead girl's dad came up to me and said he knew it was the wrong time. However, he asked me as Jimmy's lawyer if I knew where Jimmy hid the jewelry. I asked what jewelry and was told that Jimmy stole some jewelry that the dead girl's mom had.
For the next few days, I could not get this out of my mind. I read the police reports once again and there was no mention of stolen items. How could the police not investigate this? Jimmy was arrested at the house. He had no chance to hide something that he had stolen!
I lost all faith in myself and the justice system. For the next 4 months, I stayed home going over and over the trial and what I could have done. I could have found about the stolen items sooner and if I did, Jimmy could still be alive.
My wife got tired of me being at home, She told me she was now using our savings. She told me to accept that I lost the case and move on. She said I needed to work again and stop feeling sorry for myself.
So I went to the office and looked at some cases I could accept. There was a lot of mail after 4 months. One of them was from prison. I opened it and seen that it was a painting that Jimmy has done. It was a picture of him holding his mother's hand on one side and me on the other side. He wrote “ My mom, My friend and me”.
I decided that I needed to finish the case with Jimmy. So I visited the graveyard where he was buried. I said a few words when I was at his grave.
On the way out I visited the girls grave. There were a lot of flowers on it. I do not know why, but I started reading the cards. Some I could not read because the rain washed away the ink, but others I could read.
There was one card that shocked me. I fell to my knees as I read it.
“May you rest in peace in heaven and may the pains I have inflicted on you be forgotten and forgiven. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this was no excuse for your life ending so quickly. I have committed the worse sin ever. I just hope and pray that you will forgive me for brutally taking your life.”
The end
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