Crash Into Me_ A Survivor's Search for Justice - Liz Seccuro [70]
This all sounded like a bureaucratic nightmare, and left both the gallery and the judge thoroughly confused.
After a few more questions from both Quagliana and Worrell—confirming, for example, that Beebe would have to register in Virginia as a sex offender—the judge determined that very little could really be learned regarding probation or parole, and moved on. He also promised to take a recess shortly to review my victim impact statement.
For now, Quagliana took the floor.
QUAGLIANA: If I may, the Commonwealth has agreed that I may proffer certain information for the Court’s consideration at sentencing. To begin with, I would proffer that Mr. Beebe has been cooperative with authorities. Detective Rudman is in the courtroom. Detective Rudman would tell the Court that Mr. Beebe voluntarily gave a statement to him and was cooperative with him. Following an interview that Detective Rudman did with Mr. Beebe, Mr. Beebe was arrested in Las Vegas. He was arrested on January 4th of 2006, and he was held in the Clark County Jail for six days. He was released by a Nevada judge. The condition of his release in Nevada was that he returns to that Court. There was no condition placed upon him that he come to Virginia; nonetheless, he came to Virginia voluntarily. He got on a plane and came here on the 15th to face his charges. On the 17th, he turned himself in and he was released on bond. He has had meetings with Mr. Worrell and Detective Rudman and another detective from the Charlottesville Police Department. He shared information with them.
THE COURT: Do you want to go ahead and—you have some witnesses you want to put on?
QUAGLIANA: I do, Your Honor.
Quagliana called the first character witness, a young woman named Marcie. She told the court that she had known Beebe since 1994, when she was thirteen years old and an addict. At that time in her life, she bathed once every three months, shampooed her hair only twice a year, and had embezzled $24,000 from one of her employers. When she found sobriety and William Beebe in Alcoholics Anonymous, she turned her life around. He would help her get to meetings, take her to the Laundromat, and basically make sure her life was on the straight and narrow. She stated that he had never told her about what he had done at the University of Virginia. She herself had never been prosecuted for the embezzlement. Instead, at Beebe’s suggestion, she tried to make amends by anonymously donating $24,000 to a charity.
The next witness called was an older woman named Kristi, who had lived in Richmond for fifty years and worked at Offender Restoration. In her job she visited prisons and helped inmates who struggled with addiction and sobriety. She had met Beebe in 1994, when he began volunteering at Pamunkey Regional Jail. She said he was very active in helping prisoners transition to a life of sobriety. When asked, she also said Beebe had never mentioned the incident at the University of Virginia in 1984.
A gentleman named William G. was next. He was a full-time stay-at-home father in Richmond who had met Beebe at an AA meeting eleven years before. He had struggled with sobriety, and credited Beebe with saving his life. He also testified that when his child developed a life-threatening disease, Beebe took classes on how to help care for the child’s medical needs, learning CPR and how to intubate the child. But he also allowed that Beebe’s current sobriety did not excuse his past behavior.
All of these character witnesses made a powerful impression. They sat together on the side of the defense, occasionally smiling and nodding at Beebe, who sat at the defense table. Clearly, he had a tight-knit community in recovery.
Finally, Quagliana called Alex Downing, the man with whom Beebe had been living since leaving custody in Charlottesville in January 2006. He seemed to be the person closest to Beebe, and Mike and I were very curious to hear his testimony.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY RHONDA QUAGLIANA
QUAGLIANA: Mr. Downing, will