Beyond Justice by Joshua Graham Page B

random burglar, some unknown killer.  He was the husband and father of this beautiful family."  He pointed right at me.  I wanted to shrink into my seat until I remembered Dave’s strong arm, behind me, ready to yank me up.
    "The evidence will prove Samuel Hudson, a pedophile, with financial motive, did in fact murder his family.  He did so by taking full advantage of their trust.  A sacred trust given to the one person they depended on to provide for and to protect them.
    "When the trial is over, justice will be in your hands.  You’ll see no other choice but to find him guilty." He gazed at the photos on the easels, shaking his head sadly.  "Jennifer, Bethany, and Aaron are depending on you to do the right thing."  Dodd thanked the jury and returned to his seat.
    Without hesitation, Rachel stood up, fastened the top button of her navy blazer and walked quietly to the jurors.  "Seeing is not believing.  Not always, anyway.  The prosecution will attempt to place before your eyes what they consider evidence, in order to pin the blame on the easiest scapegoat they could find.  They want a quick conviction, not the truth.  But their entire case is circumstantial.  There are no eyewitnesses to this crime, nothing that can be proven to an absolute certainty.
    "Mister Dodd used that tired, old cliché, truth is stranger than fiction.  And he’s right."  She leaned closer to the jury box.  "Imagine this.  You come home and find your wife stabbed, dying in a pool of blood.  With her dying breathe, she compels you to go, check on your children.  What do you find?  The most horrible thing possible.  They’ve been attacked as well.  You spend the night watching your daughter die in the ER and the only comfort you have is that your four year old son has survived. But he's in a coma, from which the doctors doubt he’ll ever recover.
    "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is every man’s nightmare.  But it gets even worse.  Now imagine that you’ve just buried your wife and daughter, you’re trying to pick up the pieces of your life, and suddenly you’re arrested and charged with their murder.
    "You’ve lost your job, you’re slapped with a restraining order so you can’t even visit your son in the hospital, and you’ve lost legal guardianship.  Your son.  Your only family left, who may never come out of his coma, who may very well, at this moment, be dying."  She turned to me.  "All this while you’re forced to stand here, accused of these horrific crimes you couldn’t possibly have committed."
    She turned to the photos.
    "Jenn, Bethie, and Aaron weren’t the only victims," she said, emotion filling her words.  "My client is a victim too.  He’s a victim of the real killer, a victim of an irresponsible media, a victim of the district attorney’s office, and the police.  The police, who aren’t bothering to look for the real killer, who is out there now, waiting to strike again.
    "Sam Hudson is innocent.  Start with that assumption.  It’s not only your moral duty, it’s your legal duty.  By law he is presumed innocent.  And in truth, he is."
    When Rachel finished, she seemed to stand ten feet tall.  Never had I seen her speak with such authority and conviction.  Why did I ever doubt her?  The jurors kept their eyes on her as if she were Moses holding the sacred tablets in her hands. 
    And this was just her opening statement.
     
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    The first witness Dodd called was Detective Anita Pearson, clearly a seasoned pro on the stand.  Words rolled off her tongue like greased ball-bearings, giving the impression of one who was never mistaken.  With detached simplicity, she responded to the questions pointing at diagrams of my house, its exterior, the interior floor plans, and a table with various items such as the murder weapons, laid out and tagged.  She detailed a step-by-step re-creation of the events based on the crime scene investigation.
    "The defendant came