Executioner's Song, The - Norman Mailer [430]
He was calm. He put out his hands and Campbell left to go to the waiting car. After Cline passed through the gates, however, he turned around and could see a scuffle going on. Over the leg shackles.
Moody saw it clearly. "Look," said Gary to the guards, "I'll walk out. You don't really need those things." The guards were saying, "This is prison procedure. We're following orders." It was a mistake. Gary was all the way down from the speed by now. Just about crashing. It was the wrong time to push.
Before it was over, it looked like a gang rape. It was like he had to have one final fight to show the guards he was not going to take it ever again. Moody wanted to cry out, "Couldn't you just come in and say, 'Okay, Gary, it's time,' and see if he'll walk out like a man? If he doesn't, then go to the shackles? Dumb, dumb gorillas." They kept grabbing ahold of Gary, and Gary kept saying, "I'm not ready to go yet." He was looking to pick up some last object, whatever it was.
Then they seized him and took him through another door. Other guards were requesting Moody to exit, and he passed outside and into the vehicle that would carry him to the appointed place.
Chapter 36
MICKEY FROM WHEELING, AND EUDORA FROM PARK HILL
As soon as the Attorney General's people were in the courtroom, the panel of three Judges came out from their chambers. With Lewis were Judges William E. Doyle and Gene S. Breitenstein. Earl glanced at his watch. It was ten to seven.
Bob Hansen stood up, introduced his assistants, and began to present the basic background. One of the Judges interrupted. Would he get immediately to the merits? Bob nodded, and asked Earl to present the first portion of the case.
Earl started to make his opening comment. At that point, Judge Lewis looked down from the high bench and remarked that no one was present for the ACLU. It was bewildering. Their counsel table was empty. No one knew where they were. That left Earl up on the podium by himself.
He was furious. Everybody had to recognize the urgency. The ACLU must be deliberately attempting to delay the hearing. Earl stood there, three minutes, five minutes, six, then seven minutes ticking away. The longer he waited, the angrier he became. Finally, Judy entered the courtroom with the other ACLU attorneys, and he glared at her. In fact, he got into a staring contest with her. She stared back in equal fury.
Coming into the building, the first thought in Judy's head had been, Where do I meet my people? Everything was up in the air. The separate parts of the case had been assigned on the telephone. Now, soon as she got into the lobby, a charming young lady whose name she never caught whisked Judy down the hall to four ACLU lawyers who were waiting for her in the attorneys' lounge. They had just barely sat down when Schwendiman came rushing in with the Clerk and said, "They've started. You're wanted in Court." Oh, my God, thought Judy, what a way to start out, Contempt of Court already.
Then she tried to walk in without being too obtrusive about it, but the atmosphere was pompous. The Judges were wearing robes and sitting way up on a bench higher than any she'd ever seen before. Must have been six feet above the floor. Looking up to address them, you felt as if you were on your knees.
Then Dorius began to glare at her. At seven o'clock in the morning!
Judy could always put on a perpetual glare at that hour. She just said to herself, "I hate and despise him," and glared back as good as she got.
Earl proceeded through his opening statement. "Members