A Time to Kill

"How much do you know about the rape?"

Buckley leapt to his feet. "Objection! The rape is irrelevant!"

Noose ripped off his glasses again and stared angrily at the D.A. Seconds passed and Buckley glanced at the table. He shifted his weight from one foot to the next, then sat down. Noose leaned forward and glared down from the bench.

"Mr. Buckley, don’t yell at me. If you do it again, so help me God, I will hold you in contempt. You may be correct, the rape may be irrelevant. But this is not the trial, is it? This is simply a hearing, isn’t it? We don’t have a jury in the box, do we? You’re overruled and out of order. Now stay in your seat. I know it’s hard with this sort of audience, but I instruct you to stay in your seat unless you have something truly worthy to say. At that point, you may stand and politely and quietly tell me what’s on your mind."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Jake said as he smiled at Buckley. "Now, Mr. Vonner, as I was saying, how much do you know about the rape?"

"Just what I’ve heard."

"And what’s that?"

Buckley stood and bowed like a Japanese sumo wrestler. "If Your Honor please," he said softly and sweetly, "I would like to object at this point, if it pleases the court. The witness may testify to only what he knows from first-hand knowledge, not from what he’s heard from other people."

Noose answered just as sweetly. "Thank you, Mr. Buck-

ley. Your objection is noted, and you are overruled. Please continue, Mr. Brigance."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

"What have you heard about the rape?"

"Cobb and Willard grabbed the little Hailey girl and took her out in the woods somewhere. They were drunk, they tied her to a tree, raped her repeatedly and tried to hang her. They even urinated on her."

"They what!" asked Noose.

"They pissed on her, Judge."

The courtroom buzzed at this revelation. Jake had never heard it, Buckley hadn’t heard it, and evidently no one knew it but Harry Rex. Noose shook his head and lightly rapped his gavel.

Jake scribbled something on his legal pad and marveled at his friend’s esoteric knowledge. "Where did you learn about the rape?"

"All over town. It’s common knowledge. The cops were giving the details the next morning at the Coffee Shop. Everybody knows it."

"Is it common knowledge throughout the county?"

"Yes. I haven’t talked to anybody in a month who did not know the details of the rape."

"Tell us what you know about the shootings."

"Well, like I said, it was a Monday, afternoon. The boys were here in this courtroom for a bail hearing, I believe, and when they left the courtroom they were handcuffed and led by the deputies down the back stairs. When they got down the stairs, Mr. Hailey jumped out of a closet with an M-16. They were killed and DeWayne Looney was shot. Part of his leg was amputated."

"Exactly where did this take place?"

"Right below us here, at the rear entrance of the courthouse. Mr. Hailey was hiding in a janitor’s closet and just stepped out and opened fire."

"Do you believe this to be true?"

"I know it’s true."

"Where did you learn all this?"

"Here and there. Around town. In the newspapers. Everybody knows about it."

"Where have you heard it discussed?"

"Everywhere. In bars, in churches, at the bank, at the cleaners, at the Tea Shoppe, at the cafes around town, at the liquor store. Everywhere."

"Have you talked to anyone who believes Mr. Hailey did not kill Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard?"

"No. You won’t find a single person in this county who believes he didn’t do it."

"Have most folks around here made up their minds about his guilt or innocence?"

"Every single one of them. There are no fence strad-dlers on this one. It’s a hot topic, and everyone has an opinion."

"In your opinion, could Mr. Hailey receive a fair trial in Ford County?"

"No, sir. You couldn’t find three people in this county of thirty thousand who have not already made up their minds, one way or the other. Mr. Hailey has been judged already. There’s just no way to find an impartial jury."

"Thank you, Mr. Vonner. No further questions, Your Honor." Buckley patted his pompadour and ran his fingers over his ears to make sure every hair was in place. He walked purposefully to the podium.

"Mr. Vonner," he, bellowed magnificently, "have you already prejudged Carl Lee Hailey?"

"Damn right I have."

"Your language, please," said Noose.

"And what would your judgment be?"

"Mr. Buckley, let me explain it this way. And I’ll do so very carefully and slowly so that even you will understand it. If I was the sheriff, I would not have arrested him. If I was on the grand jury, I would not have indicted him. If I was the judge, I would not try him. If I was the D.A., I would not prosecute him. If I was on the trial jury, I would vote to give him a key to the city, a plaque to hang on his wall, and I would send him home to his family. And, Mr. Buckley, if my daughter is ever raped, I hope I have the guts to do what he did."

"I see. You think people should carry guns and settle their disputes in shootouts?"

"I think children have a right not to be raped, and their parents have the right to protect them. I think little girls are

special, and if mine was tied to a tree and gang raped by two dopeheads I’m sure it would make me crazy. I think good and decent fathers should have a constitutional right to execute any pervert who touches their children. And I think you’re a lying coward when you claim you would not want to kill the man who raped your daughter."

"Mr. Vonner, please!" Noose said.

Buckley struggled, but kept his cool. "You obviously feel very strongly about this case, don’t you?"

"You’re very perceptive."

"And you want to see him acquitted, don’t you?"

"I would pay money, if I had any."

"And you think he stands a better chance of acquittal in another county, don’t you?"

"I think he’s entitled to a jury made up of people who don’t know everything about the case before the trial starts."

"You would acquit him, wouldn’t you?"

"That’s what I said."

"And you’ve no doubt talked to other people who would acquit him?"

"I have talked to many."

"Are there folks in Ford County who would vote to convict him?"

"Of course. Plenty of them. He’s black, isn’t he?"

"In all your discussions around the county, have you detected a clear majority one way or the other?"

"Not really."

Buckley looked at his legal pad and made a note. "Mr. Vonner, is Jake Brigance a close friend of yours?"

Harry Rex smiled and rolled his eyes at Noose. "I’m a lawyer, Mr. Buckley, my friends are few and far between. But he is one of them. Yes, sir."

"And he asked you to come testify?"

"No. I just happened to stumble through the courtroom a few moments ago and landed here in this chair. I had no idea you guys were having a hearing this morning."

Buckley threw his legal pad on the table and sat down. Harry Rex was excused.

"Call your next witness," Noose ordered.

"Reverend Ollie Agee," Jake said.

The reverend was led from the witness room and seated

in the witness stand. Jake had met him at his church the day before with a list of questions. He wanted to testify. They did not discuss the NAACP lawyers.