Chapter 12
Silence fell over the courtroom as
“You are not here today to determine whether or not Mrs. Grayson killed her husband. That fact is not in dispute, as she has freely admitted doing so. The issue you are here to decide is whether or not she was justified in taking his life. And in order to determine that, you must first learn why she acted as she did.
“Why did Sara Grayson stab to death her husband of over twenty years, and father to her three children?
“We will prove to you that she carefully planned and carried out the death of Mitchell Grayson. In a tape of her confession to the police that will be played for you, when asked the reason, she states that she no longer wanted to be married and felt she only had one way out. But how could she possibly have seen her husband’s death as the only way out of her marriage to him? Friends and coworkers of Mitchell are going to tell you what a devoted family man he was, and how proud he was of his wife and children. How can Mrs. Grayson justify the action she took?
“The defendant is going to use the same defense that other women have used, sometimes legitimately, sometimes not. She’s going to claim that her husband abused her. She hopes you will forget that she told the police he didn’t abuse her or her children. She hopes you will overlook the fact that she didn’t tell anyone else about this alleged abuse until after she was arrested and charged with Mitchell’s death. Now Mrs. Grayson’s explanation is that she was so afraid of her husband, she was forced to take the law into her own hands and kill him in order to defend herself and her children. But if she truly believed she was acting in self-defense, why did she try to cover up what she had done? Why didn’t she come forward? The cold hard evidence is going to show you that Sara Grayson didn’t act like an abused spouse, neither before nor after killing her husband.
“You are going to hear conflicting viewpoints in this trial. Once the entire case has been presented, you will have to choose for yourself what you feel is the truth. But at the end of this trial, no matter how you feel about Mrs. Grayson or what you believe she has or hasn’t suffered, there is a key piece of evidence you must keep in mind when you ask yourself the questions I have posed, evidence that is also not in dispute: Sara Grayson killed her husband at a time when he was totally defenseless - while he was sleeping. And that, ladies and gentlemen, we call murder.”
As soon as Carmichael had returned to her seat, Morgan stood up and approached the bailiff. Indicating the book lying beside him, she asked, “May I?”
The bailiff picked up the barely worn Bible and placed it in her hand. Approaching the jury, she held it for them to see.
“The most widely translated and distributed book in the history of mankind. It is available in whole or in part in over 2,000 different languages and dialects. Some people believe it to be inspired of God, a message from Him given to humans. Others believe it is merely a collection of well-meaning fiction. No matter what your personal beliefs are on the subject, there is one fact none of us here can deny: This book has had a profound influence on man all through history and continues to do so today. Much of its influence has been for the betterment of those who have read it and tried to adhere to its standards. But by the same token, many horrendous atrocities have been committed by some who claim to act in harmony with its teachings. We have only to look at the Inquisitions, the blessing of weapons of war by opposing so-called ‘Christian’ factions, or ethnic cleansings by those who claim to be Christian, to prove this point. Most of us would be hard put to justify or reconcile any of these actions with a book whose main theme is one of love. But whatever our individual opinion of this book, we have to admit that it has been misused by some people to justify injuring others for their own personal reasons.
“Mitchell Grayson was such a person. He belonged to a group of men who called themselves righteous, all the while subjecting their wives to brutal, embarrassing, and inhumane treatment in the name of their religious beliefs. I would like to read you the scripture they use to justify their actions. It is found in Genesis 3:16. In this passage, God is speaking to Eve. ‘To the woman he said: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.”’ After hearing those words, there are many who would say this book is sexist and oppressive to women. And many men, including Mitchell Grayson, have taken those words to mean that anything they do to their wives is sanctioned by God. He and others like him have overlooked or failed to acknowledge many other passages that show how God truly views women and expects for men to treat them. For instance, Ephesians 5:28, 29 says, ‘In this way husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man ever hated his own flesh; but he feeds and cherishes it.’
Morgan closed the book, handed it back to the bailiff, and then slowly returned to the jury. She spoke quietly when she continued.
“I could stand here and tell you some of the things Sara Grayson and her children have suffered. But only Sara, in her own words, can accurately convey the terror she lived under for the past twenty years. Although I will provide you with experts and statistics that will help all of us understand some of the psychological reasons for the action she took, ultimately, it will be Sara herself who will convince you that what she did was anything but murder. Thank you.”
***The only light illuminating Carmichael’s office came from the hallway. After tossing her briefcase onto her desk, she dropped into her chair and slipped out of her shoes. She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind. There were notes to make and tomorrow’s testimony to review with Penland, but for the moment, all she wanted to do was relax.
The quiet of her office was disrupted by footsteps followed by McCoy’s voice. “Long day?”
She didn’t bother to straighten, only opened her eyes and nodded slightly.
“I wanted to pop in for your opening, but I couldn’t get away.” He took a seat in the armchair across from her desk and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Arnold Hansen testified today. He did well.”
“That’s good. Are things working out with Serena?”
McCoy nodded. “She’s learning. Given a few more trials, she’ll be up to par. How did opening go?”
“Fine. The jury was on the edge of their seats.”
“Sorry I missed it. I guess I’ll have to read the transcripts. What do you have lined up for tomorrow?”
Carmichael sat up and began pulling files from her briefcase. “Oh, you know the drill. The next few days will be filled with expert testimony: Briscoe relating how they finally tracked Sara Grayson down, someone from C.S.U. on the crime scene, Rodgers from forensics. All the usual suspects. Tomorrow I’m going to start with an expert on battered-woman-syndrome. I want the jury to understand that most women who finally kill their abusers turn themselves in immediately afterwards. Then when all the other testimony shows how Sara Grayson planned and tried to hide what she had done, they’ll see that she doesn’t fit the profile of an abused spouse. I’m going to leave the defense with a lot of explaining to do.”
McCoy was glad Carmichael’s coolness toward him had warmed somewhat. Until only the last couple of days, she had seemed reluctant to discuss any details of her case with him, no matter how solicitous and supportive he had been once resigning himself to the circumstances.
“It sounds like you have everything under control. I hope things go well for you.”
“Thanks, Jack. Same for you.”
“I was thinking that since we both start at 9:00 in the morning and should break for lunch about the same time, maybe you and Calea could have lunch with me. Serena has a errand to run, so I’ll be all by my lonesome.”
“I’ll have to check with Calea. Todd will be with us, too.”
“Can’t you find an errand for him to run?”
“You want me to ditch my indispensable second chair? What do have against him, anyway?”
“Nothing. I was just hoping to have lunch with two beautiful women all by myself,” he answered, standing up and heading for the door. “Let me know if you can make it.”
“I’ll talk with Calea when we run tonight and get back to you in the morning,” Carmichael said with a smile. “Oh, and Jack, would you turn on the light for me?”