Executioner's Song, The - Norman Mailer [197]
The transformation was abrupt. It was as if Gilmore would never forgive Wootton for trying to keep Nicole out of the courtroom. Hostility came back with every speech.
"How did you kill him?" Wootton began.
"Shot him," said Gilmore.
"Tell me about it," said Wootton, "tell me what you did."
"I shot him," said Gilmore with contempt for the question and man who would ask such a question.
MR. WOOTTON Did you lay him down on the floor?
MR. GILMORE Not with my own hands, no.
MR. WOOTTON Did you tell him to get down on the floor?
MR. GILMORE Yes, I guess I did
MR. WOOTTON Face down?
MR. GILMORE No, I don't know if I went into all that much detail.
MR. WOOTTON Did he lay down face down?
MR. GILMORE He laid down on the floor.
MR. WOOTTON Did you put the gun up against his head?
MR. GILMORE I suppose I did.
MR. WOOTTON Did you pull the trigger?
MR. GILMORE Yeah.
MR. WOOTTON Then what did you do?
MR. GILMORE I left
MR. WOOTTON Did you take the cash box with you?
MR. GILMORE I don't recall taking the cash box with me.
MR. WOOTTON But you saw it in the courtroom, didn't you?
MR. GILMORE Yes, I saw what you said was the cash box sitting there.
MR. WOOTTON You don't ever remember seeing that before?
MR. GILMORE No.
MR. WOOTTON Did you take his money?
MR. GILMORE I don't recall that either.
MR. WOOTTON Do you remember taking any money?
MR. GILMORE I don't recall that either, I said.
MR. WOOTTON Do you remember having some money on you when were arrested later that night?
MR. GILMORE I always had money on me.
MR. WOOTTON How much did you have on you?
MR. GILMORE I don't know.
MR. WOOTTON You don't have any idea?
MR. GILMORE I don't have a bank account. I always just carry my money in my pocket.
MR. WOOTTON You don't know where it came from?
MR. GILMORE Well, I got paid Friday. That wasn't too long before that.
MR. WOOTTON You said you were pushed out of shape that night over a personal matter. Why don't you tell us about that?
MR. GILMORE I'd rather not.
MR. WOOTTON Are you refusing?
MR. GILMORE Right.
MR. WOOTTON Even if the Court tells you that you have to, you won't?
MR. GILMORE Right.
Walking away, Wootton thought Gilmore had certainly been damaging to his own chances. He had come across as very cold.
Wootton wanted to be objective, but he was feeling pretty good. He thought his cross-examination had been very effective, particularly that first question, "How did you kill him?" and the answer, "I shot him." No remorse at all. Not the smartest way to fight for your life.
Wootton took another look at the Jury now and knew he'd be surprised if Gilmore didn't get death. Wootton had been watching that Jury all the way, and while they had not been looking at Gilmore before he testified, which to Wootton meant they felt uneasy at sitting in judgment on him, they were now staring at him like crazy, almost stunned, particularly one of the two women Wootton had selected to work on all through the case.
In talking to a Jury, Wootton's strategy was to pick one member who was strong and intelligent and one who, in his opinion, wasn't.
You tried to present your case in story form to the juror who was not intelligent, whereas you argued the contradictions before the one who was. This latter lady was now really watching Gilmore. The expression on her face was all Wootton could have desired. It said: "You are as bad as the prosecutor says you are."
After that cross-examination Wootton was careful not to make his summation too long.
"Benny Bushnell did not deserve to die," Wootton told them, "and it's hard for me to get across to you the real grief that this kind of behavior on the part of Gary Gilmore has caused to Benny's wife and his children."
MR. SNYDER Your Honor, I object to the introduction of that kind of prejudicial statement in the argument by counsel . . .
THE COURT All right. I'll reserve a ruling on your motion. I'll ask Mr. Wootton to omit any further reference to that matter.
MR. WOOTTON Let's look at the kind of man the defendant is. For the last twelve years he's been in prison. All