Partners

25.

The courtroom was packed as Thomas Ray Cardell took the stand. Sebastian began with easy questions — family, education, work — and gradually got around to his life in Little Angola. His world revolved around his son, Jameel, and he had been struggling to survive and keep the kid in school and out of trouble. Life on the streets was tough, with so many ways to get into trouble.

His confrontation with Buck Lester lasted only a few seconds, but it took an hour to tell the story. The courtroom was silent as Tee Ray slowly and calmly told what happened. He looked the jurors in the eyes, gave them the truth, and believed they heard him. He had practiced for so long, walking around his cell, anticipating questions, smoothing out the wrinkles in his answers.

Joe, a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time, had spoken the truth. He saw it all, just as it happened.

Max Mancini sparred for another hour but could not shake the witness.

With two hours to go, Judge Schofield decided to finish. It was, after all, Friday afternoon, and the alternative was to come back Saturday morning for the jury to deliberate. He believed they would not take long. As did Sebastian.

In his closing argument, Mancini mocked the defense witnesses. One, a crackhead whose brain was fried and shouldn’t be believed. The other, a man fighting for his life who would say anything to avoid death row. But he had no clear proof of his own.

Sebastian reminded the jury of this. It takes far more than the State offered to convict a man of capital murder.