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Harry Rex unwrapped a ham and cheese "Stay away from number one, Carlene Malone She&039;s one of those Malones froe White trash and mean as hell"

"I&039;d like to stay away fro at the table

"We got a terrible draw"

"Whatta you think, Row Ark?" Jake asked

Harry Rex sed quickly "I think we oughtta plead

hi"

Ellen stared at the cards "It could be worse"

Harry Rex forced a loud laugh "Worse! The only way it could be worse would be if the first thirty were sitting there wearing white robes with pointed hats and little masks"

"Harry Rex, would you shut up," Jake said

"Just trying to help Do you want your french fries?"

"No Why don&039;t you put all of the ti about soree with Lucien Woeneral rule, will have et raped, remember?"

"I have no response to that," Harry Rex said

"Thanks," replied Jake "Which one of these girls is your for for you if you&039;ll simply wink at her?"

Ellen snickered "Must be nuhs four hundred pounds"

Harry Rex wiped his mouth with a sheet of paper "Very funny Nuet her"

Noose rapped his gavel at two and the courtroom came to order

"The State nificent district attorney rose slowly and walked iazed pensively at the spectators and jurors He realized the artists were sketching him, and he seemed to pose for just a moment He smiled sincerely at the jurors, then introduced himself He explained that he was the people&039;s lawyer; his client, the State of Mississippi He had served as their prosecutor for nine years now, and it was an honor for which he would always be grateful to the fine folks of Ford County He pointed at the there, were the folks who had elected him to represent them He thanked them, and hoped he did not let thehtened He had prosecuted

thousands of criminals, but he was always scared with each trial Yes! He was scared, and not ashamed to admit it Scared because of the awesome responsibility the people had bestowed upon hi cri the people Scared because he ht fail to adequately represent his client, the people of this great state

Jake had heard all this crap uy, the state&039;s lawyer, united with the people to seek justice, to save society He was a sifted orator who one randfather giving advice to his grandchildren The next moment he would launch into a tirade and deliver a sermon that any black preacher would envy A split second later, in a fluid burst of eloquence, he could convince a jury that the stability of our society, yes, even the future of the huuilty verdict He was at his best in big trials, and this was his biggest He spoke without notes, and held the courtroo, the friend and partner of the jury, who, together with him, would find the truth, and punish this man for his h He stood with a frustrated look "Your Honor, I object to this Mr Buckley is not selecting a jury I&039;ating the panel"

"Sustained!" Noose yelled into the mike "If you don&039;t have any questions for the panel, Mr Buckley, then please sit down"

"I apologize, Your Honor," Buckley said aardly, pretending to be hurt Jake had drawn first blood

Buckley picked up a legal pad and launched into a list of a thousand questions He asked if anyone on the panel had ever served on a jury before Several hands went up Civil or crio? Was the defendant black or white? Victim, black or white? Had anyone been the victim of a violent criht? Convicted? Black or white? Jake, Harry Rex, and Ellen took pages of notes Any member of your family been the victim

of a violent crime? Several more hands When? Where? What happened to the cried with a crime? Indicted? Put on trial? Convicted? Any friends or family members employed in law enforcement? Who? Where?

For three nonstop hours Buckley probed and picked like a surgeon He was masterful The preparation was obvious He asked questions that Jake had not considered And he asked virtually every question Jake had written in his outline He delicately pried details of personal feelings and opinions And when the ti funny so everyone could laugh and relieve the tension He held the courtroom in his palm, and when Noose stopped him at five o&039;clock he was in full stride He would finish in the

His Honor adjourned until nine the nextJake talked to his client for a few moments while the crowd moved toward the rear Ozzie stood nearby with the handcuffs When Jake finished, Carl Lee knelt before his faed them all He would see the room and down the stairs, where a swarm of deputies waited to take him to jail

For Day TWo the sun rose quickly in the east and in seconds burned the dew off the thick green Bermuda around the Ford County Courthouse A sticky, invisible fog s to the heavy boots and bulky pants of the soldiers The sun baked them as they nonchalantly paced the sidewalks of don Clanton They loitered under shade trees and the canopies of small shops By the time breakfast was served under the pavilions, the soldiers had stripped to their pale green undershirts and were drenched in sweat

The black preachers and their folloent directly to their spot and set up camp They unfolded lawn chairs under oak trees&039; and placed coolers of ice water on card tables Blue and white FREE CARL LEE placards were tacked on toee had printed soed black and white photo of Carl Lee in the center and a red, white, and blue border They were slick and professional

The Klansmen went obediently to their section of the front lawn They brought their own placards-white backgrounds with bold red letters screa FRY CARL LEE, FRY CARL LEE They waved theroups started shouting The soldiers for the sidewalk, and stood armed but casual as obscenities and chants flew over their heads It was 8:00 AM of Day Two

The reporters were giddy with all the neorthiness They rushed to the front lahen the yelling started Oz-zie and the colonel walked around and around the courthouse, pointing here and there and yelling into their radios

At nine, Ichabod said good -rooreat animation informed His Honor that he had no further questions for the panel

Lawyer Brigance rose from his seat with rubber knees

and turbulence in his stoazed into the anxious eyes of ninety-four prospective jurors

The crowd listened intently to this young, cockylost a murder case He appeared relaxed and confident His voice was loud, yet warm His words were educated, yet colloquial He introduced hiain, and his client, then his client&039;s fairl for last He coation yesterday afternoon, and confessed that lanced at his notes His first question was a boentlemen, do any of you believe that the insanity defense should not be used under any circumstances?"

They squirht off the bat Insanity! Insanity! The seed had been planted

"If we prove Carl Lee Hailey was legally insane when he shot Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard, is there a person on this panel who cannot find hiuilty?"

The question was hard to follow-intentionally so There were no hands A feanted to respond, but they were not certain of the appropriate response

Jake eyed thethat for thisabout his client being insane That&039;s where he would leave them

"Thank you," he said with all the char further, Your Honor"

Buckley looked confused He stared at the judge, as equally bewildered

"Is that all?" Noose asked incredulously "Is that all, Mr Brigance?"

"Yes, sir, Your Honor, the panel looks fine to me," Jake said with an air of trust, as opposed to Buckley, who had grilled the but acceptable to Jake, but there was no sense repeating the same questions Buckley had asked

"Very well Let rove, Jake, Ellen, and Mr Pate followed

icnaDod through the door behind the bench and sat around the desk in chaentlemen, that you want each juror questioned individually on the death penalty"

"Yes, sir," said Jake

"That&039;s correct, Your Honor," said Buckley

"Very well Mr Bailiff, would you bring in juror number one, Carlene Malone"

Mr Pate left, walked to the courtroom and yelled for Carlene Malone Moments later she followed him into chambers She was terrified The attorneys s: Noose&039;s instructions

"Please have a seat," Noose offered as he removed his robe "This will only take a s one way or the other about the death penalty?" asked Noose

She shook her head nervously and stared at Ichabod "Uh, no, sir"

"You realize that if you&039;re selected for this jury and Mr Hailey is convicted, you will be called upon to sentence him to death?"

"Yes, sir"

"If the State proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the killings were preally insane at the ti the death penalty?"

"Certainly I think it should be used all the tiht stop some of this meanness I&039; politely at juror nurove

"Thank you, Mrs Malone You may return to your seat in the courtroo in number two," Noose ordered Mr Pate Mar-cia Dickens, an elderly white woman with a hard froas led to chambers Yes, sir, she said, she was very much in favor of the death penalty Would have no probleain Noose thanked her and called for nuiving, ready to kill if the proof was there Then number five, Gerald Ault, Jake&039;s secret weapon, was seated in chambers

"Thank you Mr Ault, this will only take afeelings for or against the death penalty?"

"Oh, yes, sir" Ault answered eagerly, his voice and face radiating coainst it It&039;s cruel and unusual I&039; of a hu"

"I see Could you, under any circumstances, if you were a juror, vote to impose the death penalty?"

"Oh, no, sir Under no circuardless of the crime No, sir"

Buckley cleared his throat and soe Mr Ault for cause and move to excuse him under the authority of State vs Witherspoon"

"Motion sustained Mr Ault, you are excused from jury duty," Noose said "You may leave the courtroom if you wish If you choose to remain in the courtroom, I ask that you not sit with the other jurors"

Ault was puzzled and looked helplessly at his friend Jake, who at the ht mouth

"May I ask why?" Gerald asked

Noose relasses and became the professor "Under the law, Mr Ault, the court is required to excuse any potential juror who admits he or she cannot consider, and the key word is consider, the death penalty You see, whether you like it or not, the death penalty is a legal method of punishment in Mississippi and in most states Therefore, it is unfair to select jurors who cannot follow the law"

The curiosity of the croas piqued when Gerald Ault eate in the railing, and left the courtroom The bailiff fetched number six, Alex Summers, and led him to chambers He returned moments later and took his seat on the first row He lied about the death penalty He opposed it as did most blacks, but he told Noose he had no objections to it No proble a recess, he quietly met with other black jurors and explained how the questions in chambers should be answered

The slow process continued until mid-afternoon, when the last juror left chambers Eleven had been excused due to reservations about capital punishave the lawyers until four to review their notes

In the library on the third floor, Jake and his team stared at the jury lists and notecards It was time to decide He had dreamed about names written in blue and red and black with numbers beside them He had watched them in the courtroom for two full days now He knew them Ellen wanted women Harry Rex wanted men

Noose stared at his master list, with the jurors renumbered to reflect the dismissals for cause, and looked at his lawyers "Gentlemen, are you ready? Good As you know this is a capital case, so each of you have twelve perees Mr Buckley, you are required to submit a list of twelve jurors to the defense Please start with juror number one and refer to each juror only by number"

"Yes sir Your Honor, the State will accept jurors nue on nuht, nine, use our second challenge on number ten, accept nue on number fourteen, and accept number fifteen That&039;s twelve, I believe"

Jake and Ellen circled and made notes on their lists Noose ance"

Buckley submitted twelve white females Two blacks and a white male had been stricken

Jake studied his list and scratched names "The defense will strike jurors nuht, nine, eleven, twelve, accept thirteen, strike fifteen I believe that&039;s eight of our challenges"

His Honor drew lines and checkslowly as he went "Both of you have accepted jurors number four, six, seven, and thirteen Mr Buckley, it&039;s back to you Give us eight more jurors"

"The State will accept sixteen, use our fourth challenge on seventeen, accept eighteen, nineteen, twenty, strike twenty-one, accept twenty-two, strike twenty-three, accept twenty-four, strike twenty-five and twenty-six, and accept

twenty-seven and twenty-eight That&039;s twelve with four challenges reain stricken all the blacks and all the ance, it&039;s back to you"

"May we have a moment to confer, Your Honor?"

"Five minutes," Noose replied

Jake and his clerk stepped next door to the coffee roo "Look at this," Jake said as he laid the list on a table and the three huddled around it "We&039;re down to twenty-nine I&039;ve got four challenges left and so does Buckley He&039;s struck every black and every ht now The next two are white females, thirty-one is Clyde Sisco, and thirty-two is Barry Acker"

"Then four of the next six are black," Ellen said

"Yeah, but Buckley won&039;t take it that far In fact, I&039;et this close to the fourth row"

"I know you want Acker What about Sisco?" asked Harry Rex

"I&039;m afraid of hiht"

"Great! Let&039;s get hio buy him"

"Very funny How do you know Buckley hasn&039;t already bought him?"

"I&039;d take hi and recounting Ellen wanted to strike both men-Acker and Sisco

They returned to chambers and sat down The court reporter was ready "Your Honor, ill strike nues re"

"Back to you, Mr Buckley Twenty-nine and thirty"

"The State will take thees left"

"Back to you, Mr Brigance"

"We will strike twenty-nine and thirty"

"And you&039;re out of challenges, correct?" Noose asked

"Correct"

"Very well Mr Buckley, thirty-one and thirty-two"

"The State will take the at the na after Clyde Sisco

"Good That&039;s twelve Let&039;s select two alternates You will both have two challenges for the alternates Mr Buck-ley, thirty-three and thirty-four"

Juror thirty-three was a black male Thirty-four was a white female Jake wanted The next tere black males

"We&039;ll strike thirty-three, accept thirty-four and thirty-five"

"The defense will accept both," Jake said

Mr Pate brought the courtroom to order as Noose and the lawyers took their places His Honor called the names of the twelve and they slowly, nervously made their way to the jury box, where they were seated in order by Jean Gillespie Ten women, two men, all white The blacks in the courtroom mumbled and eyed each other in disbelief

"Did you pick that jury?" Carl Lee whispered to Jake

"I&039;ll explain later," Jake said

The two alternates were called and seated next to the jury box

"What&039;s the black dude for?" Carl Lee whispered, nodding at the alternate

"I&039;ll explain later," Jake said

Noose cleared his throat and looked down at his new jury "Ladies and gentlemen, you have been carefully selected to serve as jurors in this case You have been sworn to fairly try all issues presented before you and to follow the law as I instruct Now, according to Mississippi law, you will be sequestered until this trial is over This means you will be housed in a motel and will not be allowed to return home until it&039;s over I realize this is an extreme hardship, but it&039;s one the law requires In just a few iven the chance to call home and order your clothes, toiletries, and whatever else you need Each night you will stay in a motel at an undisclosed location outside of Clanton Any questions?"

The twelve appeared dazed, bewildered by the thought of not going hoht of families, kids, jobs, laundry Why them? Out of all those people in the courtrooavel and the

courtrooe&039;s chambers, where she called home and

ordered clothes and a toothbrush

"Where are we going?" she asked Jean

"It&039;s confidential," Jean said

"It&039;s confidential," she repeated over the phone to her husband

By seven, the fae and boxes The chosen ones loaded a chartered Greyhound bus outside the rear door Preceded by two patrol cars and an army jeep and followed by three state troopers, the bus circled the square and left Clanton

Stuht at the burn hospital in Melected over the years and proved itself deficient in resisting the coht to four the number of fatalities related to the rape of Tonya Hailey Cobb, Willard, Bud Twitty, and now Sisson

Immediately, word of his death reached the cabin deep in the woods where the patriots e, they vowed, an eye for an eye and so on There were new recruits fro a total of eleven local boys They were eager and hungry, and wanted some action

The trial had been too quiet so far It was time for excitement

Jake paced in front of the couch and delivered his opening statement for the hundredth time Ellen listened intently She had listened, interrupted, objected, criticized, and argued for two hours She was tired now He had it perfect The ue silver The words flowed sifted Especially after a drink or two