Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green Page 0,61
Dr. Samson at Meadowbrook Hospital. “I’ve got to admit, I didn’t think it was real, his story. I just let it go.”
She’d gotten what she needed from Wilson, and after a few more questions she turned him over to Getty.
The assistant U.S. attorney walked to the witness box. “Mr. Wilson, on any of your capital cases prior to Mr. Calhoun’s, had you ever sought DNA testing?”
“Not that I can remember.”
“And isn’t that because the science was still in its infancy at that time?”
“I believe that’s true. Wasn’t until years later it began to be used more often, and that was at first by the police. They started using it to tie up their evidence against the alleged perpetrator. It was after the prosecution began introducing it that defense counsel started using it to clear their clients.”
“So considering all of the circumstances at that time, would you say that, using an objective standard of reasonableness, it was proper to not seek DNA testing?”
“Objection,” Dani called out. “Calls for a conclusion.”
“He’s an attorney, and this is within his area of expertise,” Getty said.
“Whether or not it was unreasonable to seek DNA testing is the ultimate issue in this case and for the court to adjudicate,” Dani said.
“I’ll allow it,” Judge Smithson said.
“I can’t imagine another attorney back then would have asked for DNA tests, especially given the facts of this case,” Wilson answered.
Getty finished her questioning of Wilson and Dani stood up. “Just a few more questions. Do you know the state of DNA evidence five years ago?”
“Well, by then it was pretty much standard—that is, in cases where it was relevant.”
Dani thanked him and he was excused. He left the courtroom and purposely avoided looking at Dani. She was sure she wouldn’t be seeing him again.
“Do you have any more witnesses?” Judge Smithson asked.
“I do, Your Honor.”
“Well then, I think we’ll break for lunch now. We’ll reconvene at one o’clock.”
Dani walked over to George. A guard waited nearby to take him back to a cell in the courthouse. “It’s going well. You should keep your hopes up.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. He started to say something but stopped himself.
“What is it, George?”
“I wondered—I mean …” He stopped again and stared down at his feet. Dani saw that his hands were shaking.
“It’s okay, George. You can ask me anything.”
“It’s just—I just thought you might have tried to find out what happened to Angelina? After we left her at the hospital?”
Dani put her hand on top of his. “I’m sorry. We did try, but we haven’t been able to find anything.”
George nodded and didn’t say a word. As he left the courtroom, his head was slumped, his shoulders rounded. Before they’d gotten any ruling from this judge, their client was already defeated.
They found a small luncheonette two blocks from the courthouse and settled in for lunch. They got the last open table in the jampacked restaurant. Determined to be good, Dani ordered salad, dressing on the side, while Tommy and Melanie waited for their hamburgers.
“What do you think?” Melanie asked. “About this morning?”
“We got what we needed from Wilson into the record.”
“Do you think it’ll hurt us that they didn’t use DNA testing much when George was tried?”
“I don’t think it should. I mean, he didn’t even ask for blood-typing tests to be done on the child’s body. For all we know, their blood types were incompatible. He took whatever money George had and then went on autopilot.”
“What happens if you lose this round?” Tommy asked.
Dani shook her head. Normally the next steps would be an appeal to the federal court of appeals and then, if they lost, review by the United States Supreme Court. But they were running out of time. Only two weeks remained before the scheduled date of execution. “I don’t know. Try to get a quick appeal, I guess.”
They ate their meals in silence, each of them aware of the clock running out.
They were back in court ten minutes early. When the judge arrived and all were seated, Dani called Dr. Samson as her next witness. She’d caught one lucky break: He’d been able to locate his medical records for Angelina Calhoun.
“Dr. Samson, are you familiar with the defendant?” Dani asked.
“Yes, that’s George Calhoun. I treated his daughter, Angelina.”
“What did you treat her for?”
“Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, usually referenced as ‘ALL.’ Evaluation showed she was pre-B-cell ALL.”
“Can you tell the court what that means in laymen’s terms?”
“It means there are a large number of abnormal white