A Time to Kill

Buckley tendered him as an expert, and Jake had no questions.

Buckley continued. "Dr. Rodeheaver, when did you first examine Carl Lee Hailey?"

The expert checked his notes. "June 19."

"Where did the examination take place?"

"In my office at Whitfield."

"How long did you examine him?"

"Couple of hours."

"What was the’ purpose of this examination?"

"To try and determine his mental condition at that time and also at the time he killed Mr. Cobb and Mr. Willard."

"Did you obtain his medical history?"

"Most of the information was taken by an associate at the hospital. I reviewed it with Mr. Hailey."

"What did the history reveal?"

"Nothing remarkable. He talked a lot about Vietnam, but nothing remarkable."

"Did he talk freely about Vietnam?"

"Oh yes. He wanted to talk about it. It was almost like he had been told to discuss it as much as possible."

"What else did you discuss at the first examination?"

"We covered a wide variety of topics. His childhood, family, education, various jobs, just about everything."

"Did he discuss the rape of his daughter?"

"Yes, in great detail. It was painful for him to talk about it, the sam as it would have been for me had it been my daughter."

"Did he discuss with you the events leading up to the shootings of Cobb and Willard?"

"Yes, we talked about that for quite a while. I tried to ascertain the degree of knowledge and understanding he had about those events."

"What did he tell you?"

"Initially, not much. But with time, he opened up and explained how he inspected "the courthouse three days before the shooting and picked a good place to attack."

"What about the shootings?"

"He never told me much about the actual killings. Said he didn’t remember much, but I suspect otherwise."

Jake sprang to his feet. "Objection! The witness can only testify as to what he actually knows. He cannot speculate."

"Sustained. Please continue, Mr. Buckley."

"What else did you observe concerning his mood, attitude, and manner of speech?"

Rodeheaver crossed his legs and rocked gently. He lowered his eyebrows in deep thought. "Initially, he was distrustful of me and had difficulty looking me in the eye. He gave short answers to my questions. He was very resentful of the fact that he was guarded and sometimes handcuffed while at our facility. He questioned the padded walls. But after a while, he opened up and talked freely about most

everything. He flatly refused to answer a few questions, but other than that I would say he was fairly cooperative."

"When and where did you examine him again?"

"The next day, same place."

"What was his mood and attitude?"

"About the same as the day before. Cool at first, but he opened up eventually. He discussed basically the same topics as the day before."

"How long did this examination last?"

"Approximately four hours."

Buckley reviewed something on a legal pad, then whispered to Musgrove. "Now, Dr. Rodeheaver, as a result of your examinations of Mr. Hailey on June 19 and 20, were you able to arrive at a medical diagnosis of the defendant’s psychiatric condition on those dates?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what is that diagnosis?"

"On June 19 and 20, Mr. Hailey appeared to be of sound mind. Perfectly normal, I would say."

"Thank you. Based on your examinations, were you able to arrive at a diagnosis of Mr. Hailey’s mental condition on the day he shot Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard?"

"Yes."

"And what is that diagnosis?"

"At that time his mental condition was sound, no defects of any nature."

"Upon what factors do you base this?"

Rodeheaver turned to the jury and became a professor. "You must look at the level of premeditation involved in this crime. Motive is an element of premeditation. He certainly had a motive for doing what he did, and his mental condition at that time did not prevent him from entertaining the requisite premeditation. Frankly, Mr. Hailey carefully planned what he did."

"Doctor, you are familiar with the M’Naghten Rule as a test for criminal responsibility?"

"Certainly."

"And you are aware that another psychiatrist, a Dr. W.T. Bass, has told this jury that Mr. Hailey was incapable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, and,

further, that he was unable to understand and appreciate the nature and quality of his actions."

"Yes, I am aware of that."

"Do you agree with that testimony?"

"No. I find it preposterous, and I am personally offended by it. Mr. Hailey himself has testified he planned the murders. He’s admitted, in effect, that his mental condition at the time did not prevent him from possessing the ability to plan. That’s called premeditation in every legal and medical book. I’ve never heard of someone planning a murder, admitting he planned it, then claiming he did not know what he was doing. It’s absurd."

At that moment, Jake felt it was absurd too, and as it echoed around the courtroom it sounded mighty absurd. Rodeheaver sounded good and infinitely credible. Jake thought of Bass and cursed to himself.

Lucien sat with the blacks and agreed with every word of Rodeheaver’s testimony. When compared to Bass, the State’s doctor was terribly believable. Lucien ignored the jury box. From time to time he would cut his eyes without moving his head and catch Clyde Sisco blatantly and openly staring directly at him. But Lucien would not allow their eyes to meet. The messenger had not called Monday morning as instructed. An affirmative nod or wink from Lucien would consummate the deal, with payment to be arranged later, after the verdict. Sisco knew the rules, and he watched for an answer. There was none. Lucien wanted to discuss it with Jake.

"Now, Doctor, based upon these factors and your diagnosis of his mental condition as of May 20, do you have an opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as to whether Mr. Hailey was capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong when he shot Billy Ray Cobb, Pete Willard, and Deputy DeWayne Looney?"

"I have."

"And what is that opinion?"

"His mental condition was sound, and he was very capable of distinguishing right from wrong."

"And do you have an opinion, based upon the same factors, as to whether Mr. Hailey was able to understand and appreciate the nature and quality of his actions?"

"I have."

"And what is that opinion?"

"That he fully appreciated what he was doing."

Buckley snatched his legal pad and bowed politely. "Thank you, Doctor. I have no further questions."

"Any cross-examination, Mr. Brigance?" Noose asked.

"Just a few questions."

"I thought so. Let’s take a fifteen-minute recess."

Jake ignored Carl Lee, and moved quickly out of the courtroom, up the stairs, and into the law library on the third floor. Harry Rex was waiting, and smiling.

"Relax, Jake. I’ve called every newspaper in North Carolina, and there’s no story about the house. There’s nothing about Row Ark. The Raleigh morning paper ran a story about the trial, but it was in real general terms. Nothing else. Carla doesn’t know about it, Jake. As far as she knows, her pretty little landmark is still standing. Isn’t that great?"