Part 4: 12 Calm Men.
You'd have thought the employment history of Ricky G would have been quite significant. It was surprising that neither the defense nor the prosecution had brought it up. I almost felt a little insulted that it was casually slid in there, like we wouldn't notice (it also bothered me that the press found out before we did, although I didn't find that out until afterwards).
I couldn't figure out if it worked for or against him. On the one hand, a police officer, you'd hope, is a man of honour. Surely someone who spent 25 years locking (and sometimes beating) up people who committed similar crimes to what we were hearing had to be falsely accused? Then again, someone with experience on that side of the law would learn a thing or two about the correct way to cover yourself up and tell a great lie. With his knowledge of criminal behaviour and enough time, it would have been easy to put on a convincing act.
Obviously at the ripe old age of 78, Ricky G was now retired. He'd worked his later years as a taxi driver and now, judging by the state he was in, I very much doubted he could hold down any sort of job. This once powerful and respected man now hobbled across the courtroom floor at a snails pace. Shuffling his feet almost as if he was pushing a zimmer frame. Could this really be the same person that has been built up in our minds as a devastatingly evil beast over the last 6 days?
I almost expected him to be brought out of his glass box in chains, just in case he made a break for the door while holding a biro against the throat of an usher and demanding a helicopter.... But actually, I ended up just feeling a bit sorry for him.
His cross examination filled my mind with even more doubt. He honestly seemed to be telling the truth. I was even looking for clues in his body language. He looked to the left when answering more in depth questions. According to the ever-correct-and-100-percent-accurate internet, this would indicate a lie. But that would be reversed for people who were left handed. I had written this down on my notes, but quickly scribbled it out after realising how much of a dick I sounded. I was no Columbo. There was nothing that was going to be sussed out. It was purely his word against theirs. This was finally confirmed by the Judge.
"You have the envy of no one being in your positions in this case" he said. "It is not going to be an easy decision to make and you have as much time as you need to go over what little evidence you have been presented with."
The Judge, Barristers and ushers had been so calm and casual throughout the proceedings I had started to think maybe this was a common case and not as heavy as I thought it was in my mind. How often does a case like this come around? But then, all the other jurors in other court rooms seemed to be having such a grand old time. While we sat around in the holding pen is cold silence, they'd be cracking jokes and quite openly saying things like "Naaaah, he's blates guilty". Something they could be arrested for themselves.
I felt relief that it was finally confirmed that, yes, it was a fucked up case and yes, it was going to be extremely hard going for all of us.
Surely the majority of paedophiles just plead guilty knowing they will be caught by DNA or some other scientific evidence, therefore eliminating the need for a jury. Ricky G must have known this, being an ex-cop. If he really had raped his Granddaughter only a few weeks before hand, he'd know there would be DNA proof to nail him and he'd just admit to it. But he hadn't. And there wasn't. Was he taking a gamble, or was he confident purely because he didn't do it?
He genuinely seemed like a nice bloke who loved his family and wouldn't want to ever hurt them. But did that love go too far? I was about ready to smart repeatedly smacking my head on the bench until I'd hopefully wake up in a nice hospital bed far away with all of this gone and forgotten.
Maybe Emma was confused. We already know she had access to the internet. It wouldn't have been too much of a surprise if she had stumbled upon some hardcore pornography. It had also been mentioned on a couple of occasions that she had accidentally walked in on her mother having sex with her boyfriend. Mix all this with the fact she had been a long time sufferer of night terrors and a story about these strange things happening to her could have been fabricated within her mind, right? But if so, why would she think to make up little details like how when he used to play with her he'd say "Yeah, that feels good, doesn't it?". A girl of her age, even after witnessing the act of sex, would not be able to comprehend sexual pleasure. Or could she? Then maybe Catherine, as a way to further punish this man who may or may not have done anything wrong, decides she too was almost abused by him. Two words against his. It was plausible.
-
Guilty;
- How could a little girl make up all that stuff?
- The mother went through something similar.
- Other witnesses, such as Emma's younger brother, had their stories very straight.
- He showed no emotion at all in court.
- The vaginal examination supported Emma's story.
Not Guilty;
- She knew what sex was. She could have gotten confused.
- Can you lock away a man on verbal evidence alone?
- The vaginal examination also supported his story...
We entered the deliberation room and finally it all came spilling out. All these thoughts and opinions that we had been keeping to ourselves now flooded the room. We needed a foreman to keep it under control and also to actually stand in court and read the verdicts. I had thought about doing it myself, but wondered if I'd actually be able to stand and say what I had to say without cracking. Instead, I nominated a relatively young guy who'd become my single-serving friend over the last week. He was a medical student and he had his head firmly screwed on. Everyone agreed with me. Because of this, I ended up being given the nickname "vice foreman".
It seemed the old members of the jury had all made up their minds. Guilty. The barely even wanted to discuss it. Eventually this seemed to spread to everyone else. Having watched 12 Angry Men only a few days before, I ended up making a few people quite annoyed. "I feel that he's guilty, but given the situation and what is going to happen to this man, we at least owe him a discussion." I couldn't just say guilty without first talking about it. Giving reasons for and against. We were in that room for 1 hour. 1 hour? That is ridiculous. I'd spent all week worrying about how difficult it was going to be and even the judge thought we were going to be deliberating for days. 30 minutes of that hour was spent ordering and eating a jacket potato!
Guilty on all 15 counts. Why not? If he was guilty of one, he may as well be guilty on all of them. Was I sure? It was too late now. I had wanted to say guilty, I really thought that is what I felt inside. Perhaps I was just giving in to the pressure of the group? They had all said guilty, maybe I just didn't want to be "that guy". That could have been what everyone else was thinking too.
When we re-entered the court room I was so glad I hadn't put myself up for foreman. I was shaking. (afterwards, the foreman told me that it was the scariest and most difficult moment of his life having to stand and read out the verdict aloud). This freedom also gave me the chance to look Ricky G right in the face when his world came crashing down. Police don't exactly have an easy time in jail, and can you imagine what kind of reception an ex-cop and child molester will get inside? At his age, I doubted he would last even the minimum sentence that could be given to him. Even if his health didn't fail him, he'd probably end up getting shanked. We knew that. He knew that.
One by one the counts were said in the court. A "Guilty" came in response to each. The family members, including Catherine, who had been sitting facing us uncomfortably from the other side of the court for the whole week started celebrating. One member punched the air. I stared directly into the defendants eyes. You could see the defeat.
He nodded his head in agreement.
The doubt was erased.
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