The Fire Part 4: The Arson and the Trial
I mentioned in part two that I found out when I was on the burn unit that the fire was the result of arson and that they hadn't caught anyone yet. This was not surprising to me since somewhere in the back of mind I knew the fire grew too quickly to be just a simple fire.
About six weeks later I got a call from one of the investigators on the case and he told me that they had someone in custody. They also told me that he had tried to make a run for it at the police station and slammed the station door open so hard on his way out that he shattered the glass. They caught him two blocks away from the station.
I had met the lead arson investigator on the case. He had stopped by the hospital to take some pictures of my hands which were sewn into my hips at the time and to take a statement from me. His name is Mr. S and his partner's name is Mr. T. Bless his heart the fire that I was in happened on Mr. T's first day on the job. What a way to kick off your new career. Arson investigators are half cop half firefighter. They usually start out as firefighters before going through intensive training to become an investigator. Along with investigating arson fires they also check out all of the fires in their area to determine the cause of the fire.
You should know that arson investigators have one of the hardest jobs to do in law enforcement. It is very hard to prove that arson has taken place because a lot of the time all of the evidence gets washed away by the water used to put out the fire. There are tell tale signs like pour patterns if a flammable liquid was involved or if the fire has multiple points of origin.
There was a clear pour pattern down the back stairwell. I have a picture of it and even my untrained eye spotted it when I first saw it. They also brought in an arson sniffing dog named Kingston who confirmed that an accelerant was used. I've met Kingston and he is one cool dog.
There were two people involved in causing the fire. I will call them Dumbass and Jackass. I'm sorry if my use of these names offends you but I'm keeping the names pertaining to these events anonymous (with Kingston the dog being the only exception) and honestly those are the politest names I could think of. The fire was mostly Jackass's doing (he rolled over on Dumbass to try and get some of the pressure taken off of himself). Dumbass just bought the kerosene and sat back while Jackass set a fire in an occupied building at three in the morning.
While Jackass insisted on a trial even though he confessed Dumbass had the decency to plead guilty at his arraignment. I couldn't attend it because I was still in the hospital. He also said, "For what it's worth I'm sorry." Believe it or not it was worth something to me. At least it meant something until I ran into an old friend who knew his mother. She said that Dumbass had sworn to his mother that he had nothing to do with the fire. I informed my friend that there was convenience store footage of Dumbass buying the kerosene. Anyway, Dumbass is in jail until 2020 but is up for parole in 2012.
They caught Jackass because he had broken into a young woman's apartment and stole a laptop along with a few other items. He then set a fire to try and cover up his crime. Jackass pawned the laptop. The arson investigators checked all of the pawn shops in the area for her computer. They found one that matched the kind of laptop she owned and when she entered her password into the computer it worked. Since the pawn shop had Jackass's address they went and picked him up for questioning. Jackass set that fire about two weeks before he set the fire at my apartment building.
The reason Jackass gave for setting fire to my apartment building was that about a week and a half before the fire Jackass walked into the lobby of the building and stole mail out of people's mailboxes. He found a credit card statement among the mail of one of the girls who lived in the building. He then used the card number to order things from catalogues and off of TV. So he decided at 3AM eleven days later that he needed to start a fire to cover up his crime. He started the kerosene trail just outside of the girl's door, down the back stairwell, and out the back door. Fortunately she wasn't there because she had gone home for Christmas. He was successful in destroying the building, injuring two people, seriously injuring another two people, and killing a guy, all of this only four days before Christmas no less.
Unfortunately they didn't catch Jackass before he committed another crime even more heinous than the two he had committed so far. He lied his way into a nineteen year old girl's apartment (I'll call her Mary) by saying that he needed to use her phone because his car had broken down. Well Mary, a sweet, Christian, homecoming queen, from small-town Georgia, let Jackass in out of the goodness of her heart. She died for her kindness.
After he got in the door Jackass knocked Mary down and tied her up using an electrical cord. He raped her and stabbed her over sixty-four times. The coroner had to stop counting at sixty-four because the stab wounds started to overlap at that point. Then Jackass started a fire to cover up his crime. Big surprise! The only things he took from the apartment were the knife (which was never recovered), her car keys, and a cordless phone.
I know this next part because a friend of mine worked with Mary's brother at the time. Mary's brother came home not too long after Jackass had visited. He saw the smoke and the smoldering fire (Jackass didn't bring any kerosene to this gig) and went in and got Mary out of the apartment. Mary's brother was a first responder and when he set her down in the hallway he proceeded to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. He still thought there was hope because her body was warm but this was because she was near the fire. When he breathed into her mouth the air he exhaled came out of a stab wound in Mary's neck and hit him in the face. Needless to say he wasn't quite the same after that.
Jackass is a real firebug. He was nineteen when he committed the crimes mentioned above and his juvenile records were of course sealed. It was inferred to me that he might have a background of setting fires though. Dumbass was seventeen but they tried him as an adult.
I've read a few criminal profiling books so I could try and see the reasoning behind Jackass's actions. I learned two things. The first thing I learned is that fire setting is one part of three behaviors that can predict a person becoming a violent sociopath or a serial killer. Many of the cops and people in the district attorney's office believe that Jackass was on his way to becoming just that. The other two behaviors are cruelty to animals and bed wetting. If a person shows two out of the three behaviors chances are they will commit violent crimes repeatedly in their lifetime. The second and most valuable thing that I learned is that Jackass did what he did because he chose to do it. There are plenty of people who come from horrible backgrounds and have suffered unimaginable abuse and they turn out to be fine upstanding citizens. I actually know some people like this. Jackass's childhood might have been a bit difficult because he didn't have a father and was raised by a partially blind mother but that is not a horrible childhood by any stretch of the imagination, just an unfortunate one.
The trial for Jackass burning down my apartment building started in the spring of 1996. I was still having the surgeries to create the web spaces between my fingers and I had been experiencing drug withdrawal from the removal of my permanent epidural the week before and had another week of withdrawal symptoms to go. I was not exactly in what you would call a good place.
I was glad to be at the trial however. I was the only person from my apartment building that showed up every day of the trial. Like having to see my hands when I was on the burn unit, I simply had to be there. I had to hear and know the truth.
I really don't recommend sitting through a jury selection. Since this was a death penalty case and one that had gotten quite a bit of media coverage a lot of questions were asked. They were mostly yes or no questions and unfortunately most prospective jurors gave longwinded answers. I came very close to screaming "It's a yes or no question people. YES OR NO!” more than once. I will say this; I have a lot of respect for juries. It can't be easy to take time out of your life to sit and listen to horrible things that you could never even begin to imagine.
Jackass was charged with first degree felony murder because of the death in the fire along with a slew of other charges. The reason they were able to charge him with first degree murder was that his act was premeditated and although he didn't kill his main target because she wasn't home, a person died. In the state of North Carolina (and most other states I believe) if I plan your murder, try to shoot you and hit and kill someone else, it's still considered first degree murder and I am eligible for the death penalty.
When the jury was finally seated (it took three very long days) the trial began. Two excellent ADA’s argued for the prosecution; Mr. W who is an expert in trying arson cases and Ms. D who has never lost a major case and is known around town by the nickname bulldog because of how tenacious she is. I forget the names of Jackass's lawyers. Although they were court appointed they both had reputations for doing an excellent job of defending their clients. I'm glad they were because that means there's less of a chance for the verdict to be overturned on appeal.
The prosecution called several witnesses. Of course the arson investigator Mr. S was called, as well as a couple of firefighters who fought the fire, a paramedic, the 911 operator (tapes of the 911 calls were played for the jury), detectives who worked the case, the girl who's apartment was robbed and set on fire before our building was lit up, some of the tenants who lived in the building, and a doctor from the hospital who was initially in charge of the other girl who was hurt in the fire and my case when we arrived. He is a trauma specialist who deals with the serious cases until it is decided who will be the patient’s primary doctor. He did an excellent job. He got choked up when he started talking about how badly burned the other girl was in the fire. I think seeing a doctor who deals with serious traumas every day get choked up on the stand had a huge effect on the jury.
I was called to the stand as well. As nervous as I was I was damn glad to have the chance to tell my story. Ms. D was the one who questioned me. She was kind enough to show me the courtroom before the trial started and let me sit in the witness chair so it wouldn't feel so intimidating when I was called on to testify. The only things she told me was to be honest and straightforward (no problem there) and when she asked me a question that began with "Now tell the jury..." it meant that I needed to look at the jury. Testifying was kind of hard. I don't think I got choked up but I know I didn't cry while on the stand. I did have a good long cry after I was done though. There were tears in the eyes of the jury during my testimony.
Along with hearing the 911 tapes, the jury got to see graphic pictures of the other girl who got burned in the fire and my injuries. They got to see the news footage of Jackass's attempted escape. A camera crew was there when he was brought in and got the escape on film. They were also shown footage from a convenience store camera of him being present when the kerosene was bought. It showed Jackass picking up a book of matches too.
While the defense questioned the arson investigator, the detective, and one of the tenants, they did not question me, the doctor, or the rest of the witnesses. The only reason they questioned that one tenant was that he arrived at the building just after 3AM and they wanted to know if he saw or heard anything. While he did testify to hearing a car pull in the parking lot he did admit that he didn't see anything. When the case was turned over to the defense Jackass didn't testify and they had no witnesses.
It was now time closing arguments. Both Mr. W and Ms. D gave closing arguments; Mr. W covered the technical side mostly although he did mention the victims. It was part of Ms. D's closing argument that struck me and I think the jury the hardest. The following is part of the official court transcript of the trial. I did leave out the names of both people and places however to protect peoples' privacy.
"Now we're getting to the justice part. This is where we get to the justice part. This is the law in civilized society in --- County and the state of North Carolina, in City, North Carolina. This is due process. You have sat here, you have watched it. You have watched due process. We have our trials; we have them during the daytime. Anybody can come and watch. That's due process. Anybody can call anybody they want as a witness. They can cross-examine anyone they want. Don't you think that the man who died and the girl who hung from her window and the girl who was burned over sixty percent of her body would have liked just a little bit of due process? But no. Your due process is you can hang out a window or suffocate or you can burn up . . ., and you've got two seconds to decide. You have a few moments to decide. That's the due process that they were given."
I bawled like a baby when she said that. I honestly don't remember what the defense's closing argument was.
The case went to the jury for deliberation. I was an absolute mess. Everyone assured me that the jury would come back with guilty verdicts and I knew in the back of my mind that they were right. I still had to hear the jury say it before I could relax though. It took them four hours to come back with the verdict. Here are the crimes Jackass was declared guilty of by law: First degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree arson, two counts of attempted first degree murder (for the other girl and myself), first degree arson, misdemeanor larceny, and credit card fraud.
Next was the penalty phase of the trial. Jackass was eligible for the death penalty or the sentence of life in prison without parole. You should know something, in North Carolina (and other states as well) there really is no such thing as a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Even if a person is sentenced to "life" they are eligible to appear in front of a parole board in twenty-five years. It is against the law for the prosecution to tell the jury this however.
This is how a jury in North Carolina determines whether or not a person is deserving of a death sentence. They are told to weigh the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances are things like the severity and nature of the crime. Mitigating circumstances are things like mental illness or abuse in childhood. If the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstance the jury recommends death.
Basically what happened was that a member of Jackass's family and an old family friend testified to the fact that he was a sweet boy and was simply a troubled soul. The defense then brought an expert witness to testify to Jackass' state of mind.
The witness was a doctor who testified to Jackass's intelligence and his mental state. It was extremely funny when Ms. D cross-examined the defense witness because while she was questioning the doctor about the intelligence test that Jackass took she brought up one of the questions on the test. She asked if there was a question on the test that said, "If you buy six dollars of gasoline and pay for it with a ten dollar bill how much change should you receive?" The doctor answered yes, that was a question on the test. Ms. D replied, "He knew that one, didn't he?" I tell you what, that lady is something else.
Closing arguments were made again and the defense made a very eloquent argument against the death penalty. The jury was out for two hours before they came back with a verdict supporting the death penalty.
The next day was the formal sentencing and I went just to hear the judge list the charges, tell him his time to be served, and hear him condemn Jackass to death; that and the fact that I had to be there from the beginning to the very end. The jurors were excused the day before and while they couldn't communicate with anyone else other than the other jury members during the trial they were free to speak to whoever they wanted to at this point. A couple members of the jury and both of the alternates showed up for the sentencing. They introduced themselves to me and said very kind and wonderful things. One of the alternate jurors gave me an angel pin that she had made out of beads. I still have the pin and it hangs over my bed. I like to think that she watches over me while I sleep. I was allowed to contact the other jurors and I thanked every one of them for doing such a hard job.
The judge sentenced Jackass to eighty-five years in prison and informed him that he was to be put to death by lethal injection. When he said "May God have mercy on your soul" it didn't sound ominous like I though it would. Actually the judge said it like he didn't mean it at all.
I attended Mary's trial as well although I skipped the jury selection. Mary's family are very kind, strong people. I can't think of anything worse in life than to lose a child, especially in such a violent manner. We thought there was going to be an actual trial up until the last minute when the defense put in a guilty plea and we went straight to the death penalty phase. It is believed that Jackass's lawyers convinced him to plead guilty because there was conclusive DNA evidence against him and they thought that the jury might go a little easier on him if he owned up to his crimes.
Well you know how the death penalty phase works. The family testified about how it felt to lose Mary. The prosecution showed graphic autopsy photos to the jury and held up the bloody t-shirt that Mary was wearing when she died. I'll never forget the sight of that t-shirt as long as I live. I don't know why, but it hit me harder than the gruesome pictures did. I guess maybe it's because it was something more tangible. The defense used the same argument on Jackass's behalf that they did during my trial. It didn't work this time either; the jury sentenced him to death.
As he was leaving the courtroom I heard Jackass speak for the first time. He looked over at the prosecution and all of us sitting behind the prosecution table including Mary's family and said, "Fuck all ya'll, and fuck you too judge!" Such a sweet boy.
For most of my life I did not believe in the death penalty. Some would say that I believe in it now because I want revenge. While that may be true in part, I know he doesn't deserve to die because of what he did to me. I fully support the appeal process although I do think they should speed it up a bit. I will even go so far as to say that I've seriously considered the possibility that we shouldn't put people to death without DNA evidence. It would negate Jackass's death sentence from my trial but not from Mary's.
I will tell you how the burn unit nurses thought he should die. They wanted to put him on a stake with a nice big pile of dry wood under it. Give all of his victims a torch so we could all light the fire together. Put the fire out well before he was dead but when he was nice and crispy. They wanted to be the ones to take care of him. They said they would deny him the benefit of pain medication and thump him on his wound sites every once and a while. Make him go through the multiple surgeries and the months of painful therapy and when he was all better and had a good healthy respect for fire, put him back on the stake and finish the job.
Even if you don't agree with the death penalty you surely can agree that the state's method of execution is much more humane than what the burn unit nurses had in mind. It also doesn't change the fact that Jackass's death will be far more peaceful than that of his victim's.
I believe that evil is real. It exists in this world and is not just the imagined villains in books or movies. There are evil people in this world and they are not a consequence of a bad childhood or social injustice. There are remorseless people who have no chance at rehabilitation because they don't want it or feel they don't need it. Maybe you've seen these people. They are the ones with the dead, soulless look in their eyes that makes you shudder. They can be seen in the mug shots of murderers and child molesters on TV or simply just walking down the street.
Jackass is still alive and filing every appeal and motion he can come up with. It will likely be another five years before he is executed. I do plan on attending the execution. Not out of revenge but because I think that that will be the point when if I can’t forgive him, I can at least let go of my hate. I don't hate him as much as I used to but I still hate him quite a bit, and I long for the day when he has to answer to God for what he has done. I learned several things about myself after the fire and not all of them were good. I used to think that I was a peaceful person but I no longer suffer from that illusion.
The only things I have left to write about are the speeches I used to give, where I'm at now in my life, and mental illness. It occurs to me that some of you might have some questions you'd like answered. Just post them in the comments and I will answer them for you. Please feel free to ask me anything.
***Edit: In February 2007 the Governor of North Carolina and the Council of State put a moratorium on the death penalty.
About six weeks later I got a call from one of the investigators on the case and he told me that they had someone in custody. They also told me that he had tried to make a run for it at the police station and slammed the station door open so hard on his way out that he shattered the glass. They caught him two blocks away from the station.
I had met the lead arson investigator on the case. He had stopped by the hospital to take some pictures of my hands which were sewn into my hips at the time and to take a statement from me. His name is Mr. S and his partner's name is Mr. T. Bless his heart the fire that I was in happened on Mr. T's first day on the job. What a way to kick off your new career. Arson investigators are half cop half firefighter. They usually start out as firefighters before going through intensive training to become an investigator. Along with investigating arson fires they also check out all of the fires in their area to determine the cause of the fire.
You should know that arson investigators have one of the hardest jobs to do in law enforcement. It is very hard to prove that arson has taken place because a lot of the time all of the evidence gets washed away by the water used to put out the fire. There are tell tale signs like pour patterns if a flammable liquid was involved or if the fire has multiple points of origin.
There was a clear pour pattern down the back stairwell. I have a picture of it and even my untrained eye spotted it when I first saw it. They also brought in an arson sniffing dog named Kingston who confirmed that an accelerant was used. I've met Kingston and he is one cool dog.
There were two people involved in causing the fire. I will call them Dumbass and Jackass. I'm sorry if my use of these names offends you but I'm keeping the names pertaining to these events anonymous (with Kingston the dog being the only exception) and honestly those are the politest names I could think of. The fire was mostly Jackass's doing (he rolled over on Dumbass to try and get some of the pressure taken off of himself). Dumbass just bought the kerosene and sat back while Jackass set a fire in an occupied building at three in the morning.
While Jackass insisted on a trial even though he confessed Dumbass had the decency to plead guilty at his arraignment. I couldn't attend it because I was still in the hospital. He also said, "For what it's worth I'm sorry." Believe it or not it was worth something to me. At least it meant something until I ran into an old friend who knew his mother. She said that Dumbass had sworn to his mother that he had nothing to do with the fire. I informed my friend that there was convenience store footage of Dumbass buying the kerosene. Anyway, Dumbass is in jail until 2020 but is up for parole in 2012.
They caught Jackass because he had broken into a young woman's apartment and stole a laptop along with a few other items. He then set a fire to try and cover up his crime. Jackass pawned the laptop. The arson investigators checked all of the pawn shops in the area for her computer. They found one that matched the kind of laptop she owned and when she entered her password into the computer it worked. Since the pawn shop had Jackass's address they went and picked him up for questioning. Jackass set that fire about two weeks before he set the fire at my apartment building.
The reason Jackass gave for setting fire to my apartment building was that about a week and a half before the fire Jackass walked into the lobby of the building and stole mail out of people's mailboxes. He found a credit card statement among the mail of one of the girls who lived in the building. He then used the card number to order things from catalogues and off of TV. So he decided at 3AM eleven days later that he needed to start a fire to cover up his crime. He started the kerosene trail just outside of the girl's door, down the back stairwell, and out the back door. Fortunately she wasn't there because she had gone home for Christmas. He was successful in destroying the building, injuring two people, seriously injuring another two people, and killing a guy, all of this only four days before Christmas no less.
Unfortunately they didn't catch Jackass before he committed another crime even more heinous than the two he had committed so far. He lied his way into a nineteen year old girl's apartment (I'll call her Mary) by saying that he needed to use her phone because his car had broken down. Well Mary, a sweet, Christian, homecoming queen, from small-town Georgia, let Jackass in out of the goodness of her heart. She died for her kindness.
After he got in the door Jackass knocked Mary down and tied her up using an electrical cord. He raped her and stabbed her over sixty-four times. The coroner had to stop counting at sixty-four because the stab wounds started to overlap at that point. Then Jackass started a fire to cover up his crime. Big surprise! The only things he took from the apartment were the knife (which was never recovered), her car keys, and a cordless phone.
I know this next part because a friend of mine worked with Mary's brother at the time. Mary's brother came home not too long after Jackass had visited. He saw the smoke and the smoldering fire (Jackass didn't bring any kerosene to this gig) and went in and got Mary out of the apartment. Mary's brother was a first responder and when he set her down in the hallway he proceeded to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation. He still thought there was hope because her body was warm but this was because she was near the fire. When he breathed into her mouth the air he exhaled came out of a stab wound in Mary's neck and hit him in the face. Needless to say he wasn't quite the same after that.
Jackass is a real firebug. He was nineteen when he committed the crimes mentioned above and his juvenile records were of course sealed. It was inferred to me that he might have a background of setting fires though. Dumbass was seventeen but they tried him as an adult.
I've read a few criminal profiling books so I could try and see the reasoning behind Jackass's actions. I learned two things. The first thing I learned is that fire setting is one part of three behaviors that can predict a person becoming a violent sociopath or a serial killer. Many of the cops and people in the district attorney's office believe that Jackass was on his way to becoming just that. The other two behaviors are cruelty to animals and bed wetting. If a person shows two out of the three behaviors chances are they will commit violent crimes repeatedly in their lifetime. The second and most valuable thing that I learned is that Jackass did what he did because he chose to do it. There are plenty of people who come from horrible backgrounds and have suffered unimaginable abuse and they turn out to be fine upstanding citizens. I actually know some people like this. Jackass's childhood might have been a bit difficult because he didn't have a father and was raised by a partially blind mother but that is not a horrible childhood by any stretch of the imagination, just an unfortunate one.
The trial for Jackass burning down my apartment building started in the spring of 1996. I was still having the surgeries to create the web spaces between my fingers and I had been experiencing drug withdrawal from the removal of my permanent epidural the week before and had another week of withdrawal symptoms to go. I was not exactly in what you would call a good place.
I was glad to be at the trial however. I was the only person from my apartment building that showed up every day of the trial. Like having to see my hands when I was on the burn unit, I simply had to be there. I had to hear and know the truth.
I really don't recommend sitting through a jury selection. Since this was a death penalty case and one that had gotten quite a bit of media coverage a lot of questions were asked. They were mostly yes or no questions and unfortunately most prospective jurors gave longwinded answers. I came very close to screaming "It's a yes or no question people. YES OR NO!” more than once. I will say this; I have a lot of respect for juries. It can't be easy to take time out of your life to sit and listen to horrible things that you could never even begin to imagine.
Jackass was charged with first degree felony murder because of the death in the fire along with a slew of other charges. The reason they were able to charge him with first degree murder was that his act was premeditated and although he didn't kill his main target because she wasn't home, a person died. In the state of North Carolina (and most other states I believe) if I plan your murder, try to shoot you and hit and kill someone else, it's still considered first degree murder and I am eligible for the death penalty.
When the jury was finally seated (it took three very long days) the trial began. Two excellent ADA’s argued for the prosecution; Mr. W who is an expert in trying arson cases and Ms. D who has never lost a major case and is known around town by the nickname bulldog because of how tenacious she is. I forget the names of Jackass's lawyers. Although they were court appointed they both had reputations for doing an excellent job of defending their clients. I'm glad they were because that means there's less of a chance for the verdict to be overturned on appeal.
The prosecution called several witnesses. Of course the arson investigator Mr. S was called, as well as a couple of firefighters who fought the fire, a paramedic, the 911 operator (tapes of the 911 calls were played for the jury), detectives who worked the case, the girl who's apartment was robbed and set on fire before our building was lit up, some of the tenants who lived in the building, and a doctor from the hospital who was initially in charge of the other girl who was hurt in the fire and my case when we arrived. He is a trauma specialist who deals with the serious cases until it is decided who will be the patient’s primary doctor. He did an excellent job. He got choked up when he started talking about how badly burned the other girl was in the fire. I think seeing a doctor who deals with serious traumas every day get choked up on the stand had a huge effect on the jury.
I was called to the stand as well. As nervous as I was I was damn glad to have the chance to tell my story. Ms. D was the one who questioned me. She was kind enough to show me the courtroom before the trial started and let me sit in the witness chair so it wouldn't feel so intimidating when I was called on to testify. The only things she told me was to be honest and straightforward (no problem there) and when she asked me a question that began with "Now tell the jury..." it meant that I needed to look at the jury. Testifying was kind of hard. I don't think I got choked up but I know I didn't cry while on the stand. I did have a good long cry after I was done though. There were tears in the eyes of the jury during my testimony.
Along with hearing the 911 tapes, the jury got to see graphic pictures of the other girl who got burned in the fire and my injuries. They got to see the news footage of Jackass's attempted escape. A camera crew was there when he was brought in and got the escape on film. They were also shown footage from a convenience store camera of him being present when the kerosene was bought. It showed Jackass picking up a book of matches too.
While the defense questioned the arson investigator, the detective, and one of the tenants, they did not question me, the doctor, or the rest of the witnesses. The only reason they questioned that one tenant was that he arrived at the building just after 3AM and they wanted to know if he saw or heard anything. While he did testify to hearing a car pull in the parking lot he did admit that he didn't see anything. When the case was turned over to the defense Jackass didn't testify and they had no witnesses.
It was now time closing arguments. Both Mr. W and Ms. D gave closing arguments; Mr. W covered the technical side mostly although he did mention the victims. It was part of Ms. D's closing argument that struck me and I think the jury the hardest. The following is part of the official court transcript of the trial. I did leave out the names of both people and places however to protect peoples' privacy.
"Now we're getting to the justice part. This is where we get to the justice part. This is the law in civilized society in --- County and the state of North Carolina, in City, North Carolina. This is due process. You have sat here, you have watched it. You have watched due process. We have our trials; we have them during the daytime. Anybody can come and watch. That's due process. Anybody can call anybody they want as a witness. They can cross-examine anyone they want. Don't you think that the man who died and the girl who hung from her window and the girl who was burned over sixty percent of her body would have liked just a little bit of due process? But no. Your due process is you can hang out a window or suffocate or you can burn up . . ., and you've got two seconds to decide. You have a few moments to decide. That's the due process that they were given."
I bawled like a baby when she said that. I honestly don't remember what the defense's closing argument was.
The case went to the jury for deliberation. I was an absolute mess. Everyone assured me that the jury would come back with guilty verdicts and I knew in the back of my mind that they were right. I still had to hear the jury say it before I could relax though. It took them four hours to come back with the verdict. Here are the crimes Jackass was declared guilty of by law: First degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree arson, two counts of attempted first degree murder (for the other girl and myself), first degree arson, misdemeanor larceny, and credit card fraud.
Next was the penalty phase of the trial. Jackass was eligible for the death penalty or the sentence of life in prison without parole. You should know something, in North Carolina (and other states as well) there really is no such thing as a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Even if a person is sentenced to "life" they are eligible to appear in front of a parole board in twenty-five years. It is against the law for the prosecution to tell the jury this however.
This is how a jury in North Carolina determines whether or not a person is deserving of a death sentence. They are told to weigh the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances are things like the severity and nature of the crime. Mitigating circumstances are things like mental illness or abuse in childhood. If the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstance the jury recommends death.
Basically what happened was that a member of Jackass's family and an old family friend testified to the fact that he was a sweet boy and was simply a troubled soul. The defense then brought an expert witness to testify to Jackass' state of mind.
The witness was a doctor who testified to Jackass's intelligence and his mental state. It was extremely funny when Ms. D cross-examined the defense witness because while she was questioning the doctor about the intelligence test that Jackass took she brought up one of the questions on the test. She asked if there was a question on the test that said, "If you buy six dollars of gasoline and pay for it with a ten dollar bill how much change should you receive?" The doctor answered yes, that was a question on the test. Ms. D replied, "He knew that one, didn't he?" I tell you what, that lady is something else.
Closing arguments were made again and the defense made a very eloquent argument against the death penalty. The jury was out for two hours before they came back with a verdict supporting the death penalty.
The next day was the formal sentencing and I went just to hear the judge list the charges, tell him his time to be served, and hear him condemn Jackass to death; that and the fact that I had to be there from the beginning to the very end. The jurors were excused the day before and while they couldn't communicate with anyone else other than the other jury members during the trial they were free to speak to whoever they wanted to at this point. A couple members of the jury and both of the alternates showed up for the sentencing. They introduced themselves to me and said very kind and wonderful things. One of the alternate jurors gave me an angel pin that she had made out of beads. I still have the pin and it hangs over my bed. I like to think that she watches over me while I sleep. I was allowed to contact the other jurors and I thanked every one of them for doing such a hard job.
The judge sentenced Jackass to eighty-five years in prison and informed him that he was to be put to death by lethal injection. When he said "May God have mercy on your soul" it didn't sound ominous like I though it would. Actually the judge said it like he didn't mean it at all.
I attended Mary's trial as well although I skipped the jury selection. Mary's family are very kind, strong people. I can't think of anything worse in life than to lose a child, especially in such a violent manner. We thought there was going to be an actual trial up until the last minute when the defense put in a guilty plea and we went straight to the death penalty phase. It is believed that Jackass's lawyers convinced him to plead guilty because there was conclusive DNA evidence against him and they thought that the jury might go a little easier on him if he owned up to his crimes.
Well you know how the death penalty phase works. The family testified about how it felt to lose Mary. The prosecution showed graphic autopsy photos to the jury and held up the bloody t-shirt that Mary was wearing when she died. I'll never forget the sight of that t-shirt as long as I live. I don't know why, but it hit me harder than the gruesome pictures did. I guess maybe it's because it was something more tangible. The defense used the same argument on Jackass's behalf that they did during my trial. It didn't work this time either; the jury sentenced him to death.
As he was leaving the courtroom I heard Jackass speak for the first time. He looked over at the prosecution and all of us sitting behind the prosecution table including Mary's family and said, "Fuck all ya'll, and fuck you too judge!" Such a sweet boy.
For most of my life I did not believe in the death penalty. Some would say that I believe in it now because I want revenge. While that may be true in part, I know he doesn't deserve to die because of what he did to me. I fully support the appeal process although I do think they should speed it up a bit. I will even go so far as to say that I've seriously considered the possibility that we shouldn't put people to death without DNA evidence. It would negate Jackass's death sentence from my trial but not from Mary's.
I will tell you how the burn unit nurses thought he should die. They wanted to put him on a stake with a nice big pile of dry wood under it. Give all of his victims a torch so we could all light the fire together. Put the fire out well before he was dead but when he was nice and crispy. They wanted to be the ones to take care of him. They said they would deny him the benefit of pain medication and thump him on his wound sites every once and a while. Make him go through the multiple surgeries and the months of painful therapy and when he was all better and had a good healthy respect for fire, put him back on the stake and finish the job.
Even if you don't agree with the death penalty you surely can agree that the state's method of execution is much more humane than what the burn unit nurses had in mind. It also doesn't change the fact that Jackass's death will be far more peaceful than that of his victim's.
I believe that evil is real. It exists in this world and is not just the imagined villains in books or movies. There are evil people in this world and they are not a consequence of a bad childhood or social injustice. There are remorseless people who have no chance at rehabilitation because they don't want it or feel they don't need it. Maybe you've seen these people. They are the ones with the dead, soulless look in their eyes that makes you shudder. They can be seen in the mug shots of murderers and child molesters on TV or simply just walking down the street.
Jackass is still alive and filing every appeal and motion he can come up with. It will likely be another five years before he is executed. I do plan on attending the execution. Not out of revenge but because I think that that will be the point when if I can’t forgive him, I can at least let go of my hate. I don't hate him as much as I used to but I still hate him quite a bit, and I long for the day when he has to answer to God for what he has done. I learned several things about myself after the fire and not all of them were good. I used to think that I was a peaceful person but I no longer suffer from that illusion.
The only things I have left to write about are the speeches I used to give, where I'm at now in my life, and mental illness. It occurs to me that some of you might have some questions you'd like answered. Just post them in the comments and I will answer them for you. Please feel free to ask me anything.
***Edit: In February 2007 the Governor of North Carolina and the Council of State put a moratorium on the death penalty.
posted by whimsical brainpan at 10:27 PM
14 Comments:
Sorry if Im 'Creepifiying' or what ever. Figures I would challenge someone to find a higher perpose for thier life and I would be called "Creepifiying'.
You just live life to the fullest. Depend on God for your answers.
If thats 'Creepifiying'' then Im sorry and all you got to do is tell me to shut up and I will.
Wow. When my middle daughter was 12 yrs old, she had a little boyfriend. He liked to start fires, and when I heard that my kid had witnessed one of these fires, I signed her up for a program at the local fire station. It deals with fire safety, shows youa film about yopung fire victims, deals with a lot of stuff that the kids don't think of when they're setting fires. The boy that was setting fires didn't attend. His father decided that it was MY kids fault, and that his son was just fine.
This wonderful young man is now 15 1/2. He has continued to set fires, almost raped my daughter (then 12, he was caught in the act, his father thought that my daughter ASKED for it), and went on to rape a 10 yr old last year. I don't know what he is doing now. Or where he is. I do know that what you said about fire starters is 100% true. At laest in this case. I think that this boy may be getting help now - court imposed. I hope so.
You are an amazing person. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm going to get my daughter to read it.
I am speechless.
Absolutely speechless at the horror this little monster created for you and all the other innocents.
Good grief.
Thank goodness there was justice.
I can't even begin to imagine the horror.
I can't even begin to imagine your pain.
You are one tough cookie.
JACKASS? THAT IS TOO NICE A NAME FOR THAT ... single cell organism (I dont want to say animal and i cannot think of anything else to say).
Thank god for justice. You went through so much. I am speechless at how tough you are. I cannot image what you went through.
I'll be so very glad when you finally have closure to all of this.
Every time I read more of your story my heart is tied up in knots. Words come so easily to those of us who have never experienced anything like this in our lives.
I hope that listening is enough?
Oh my God... I'm so so sorry..
Oh my....I have read many of your posts and new that there was a fire but I didn't realize this was it. Words can't express how I feel for you. Few things come to mind.
My husband is a burn survivor...his was a childhood accident which burnt 35% of his body....he spent 6 months in hospital with the first month 1/2 in critical condition. His whole childhood was spent on surgery after surgery. He read your story as well and can relate to your recovery process. What is difficult it that is was not your fault...and living with the anger that someone did this to you.
I think about what you said about criminal profiling. There was a little boy in our neighbourhood who use to start fires as well, the recycling bins at our place and then at the school, he was also known to be cruel to animals...they eventually moved away...I fear that he was on a distructive path.
This person that cause you all this trauma isn't even worthy of your anger. He took to much of you already. don't let him taking anymore with you harbouring anger...anger can eat us up...let it go and find peace for you...don't give him anymore....find the strength somewhere to close the door. His punishment will come. I would consider him one of life's mutations...something was wrong from the get go with him...
I hope you find the peace you so rightly deserve.
Wow - I'm not sure there are words to express what I feel. If I was there I would give you a hug.
Fucking Jackass!
i'm stunned by your story.
i knew you were burned.
i knew from a previous post that you hung from a window. i didn't know it was arson..
My heart goes out to you. But your relative calmness in describing the agony and mental buffeting you went through serves me as a belief in your indomitable spirit.
You're someone we would be proud to call a friend, someone we would be proud to meet. Only the best wishes for you.
i think the punishment given to jackass was what he deserved. he should have been put to the most painful death that one can offer and that which makes it clear to all those psychos present out there.
Like you, I would rather know ugly truth than pretty lies. Thank you for sharing this part of the story, too.
This is deep and powerful stuff.
I normally would stand opposed to the death penalty because I don't have any faith in our so-called legal system which is simply riddled with flaws -
However in cases where there is absolutely no doubt at all - as to the guilty party - our society is too lenient. The bibical eye for an eye should be used and our society should be totally ashamed of having spouted this nonsense about "cruel and usual punishment". This guy deserves death by burning - pure and simple. And if our society insists on being "gentle" they should simply put him to sleep on an operating table (without poison) and harvest his organs for someone that can use them - and he will just never wake up.
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