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REDIRECT (N.)
AN ADDITIONAL DIRECT EXAMINATION OF A WITNESS FOLLOWING CROSS-EXAMINATION
DAMIEN
My blood pressure was spiking to levels unknown, but I refused to jump to conclusions.I just stared at the goddamn facts.
“Elizabeth Tanner” wasneveraccepted into Harvard or Harvard Law School.
EllieTannerwas.
“Elizabeth Tanner” dropped out of college to pursue theater, but after committing a brutal assault and being charged with attempted murder, she began serving a prison sentence in her hometown of Seattle.
Ellie Tannercompleted her Harvard education and worked at Hamilton & Associates before moving on to the public defender’s office.
They switched lives.
I staredat the notes I’d written on my oversized whiteboard, shaking my head.
No matter how many times I ran this through my head, one thing was clear: Elizabeth,myElizabeth, deserved a round of applause for her brilliant acting.
How did I not catch this before?
Pulling up her sister’s public prison photo, I saw that she was the spitting image of Elizabeth, down to the exact curve in her bow-shaped lips.
Or issheEllie? I’m still slightly confused…
I walked over to my file cabinet and pulled out the pro bono case Elizabeth kept trying to make me look over.
I felt a pang in my chest the moment I finished.
Case Summary
A groupof seven college students broke into a Seattle high school theater overnight, luring a fellow student there for a revenge beating. At the same exact time, another student and her relative (who was never caught) also broke into the theater, through another entrance.
The police were called upon receiving an alarm, and all the intruders (except one) were temporarily detained, but not arrested.
The beating victim was left with permanent brain damage and suffered contusions, so arrest warrants were sent out for all the perpetrators who broke in that night.
All seven were charged with attempted murder, property theft, unlawful breaking and entering.
Six pleaded not guilty, while the other one, a female named “Elizabeth Tanner” went to trial.
She was found guilty and given the longest sentence.
Ten years.
No hues of gray.
All black and white.
Under the summarynote was a lavender sheet of paper, marred with Elizabeth’s cursive handwriting.
Dear Damien,
I didn’t tell you why I ventured out of town every other weekend, but…I’m sure you can draw a final conclusion from here.
Yes, I’m aware that taking over my sister’s life halfway into her Harvard career was wrong, and that practicing law without a license is a crime…but she insisted on taking my place since she was the reason we broke into that theater that night to begin with.
