Part Nine
Once the jury had been sworn in and the charges read out to the defendents, Jo rose from the prosecution bench and turned to face the jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will present before you a catalogue of evidence against the defendents which will prove their involvement in the explosion and hostage incident which took place at Larkhall prison last year. I will prove to you beyond all reasonable doubt that Ritchie Atkins and Tracy Pilkinton, also known as Snowball Merriman, conspired to commit the act of arsen, which resulted in the death of one inmate, sharon Wiley. I will also prove to you that the defendent Ritchie Atkins planted a gun on a wing governor of Larkhall prison, a miss Karen Betts, and that the defendent Tracy Pilkinton used this gun to take Karen Betts hostage in order to achieve her escape from custody, and that on escape she further used this firearm to cause the act of greavous bodily harm to her co-defendent, ritchie Atkins. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is an extremely complex one, and you will be asked to take in an enormous amount of facts and to decide, on your analysis of these facts, whether the defendents before you are guilty or not guilty. to take at first glannce the defendent Tracy Pilkinton. She was first brought in to Larkhall prison on a drugs charge. It can be anyone's personal opinion whether or not this crime was committed in order to obtain a place at Larkhall. On entering the prison, this woman befriended one of the prison officers, one James Fenner, and used her influence on him in order to procure herself a job in the prison library, and to enable herself to be given the privilege of receiving interlibrary loans from an outside source. Evidence will be presented to you which will show that the books which were received as part of her interlibrary loans, contained, in their spines no less, a quantity of plastic explosives. Tracy Pilkinton had continuous and on occasions solitary access to the prison library, enabling her to create and plant the bomb which has been proved to be the direct cause of the fire which took place at Larkhall prison in June 2002. As a result of this fire, one inmate, Sharon Wiley, was killed. It will be your task to decide whether or not this death makes Tracy Pilkinton guilty of the charge of man slaughter. Following this explosion, Tracy Pilkinton was kept in segregation, during which time she somehow obtained the posession of the firearm. An investigation took place at Larkhall prison, though it has never been established how the gun was returned to her. On her release from segregation, Tracy pilkinton was overheard making a phone call, quite obviously contacting her co-defendent, Ritchie Atkins. Subsequent to this phone call, Tracy Pilkinton took the wing governor, Miss Karen Betts, hostage. At gun point, she forced Karen Betts to leave the prison, and to drive to a rendez-vous with Ritchie Atkins. During the subsequent struggle, Tracy Pilkinton shot Ritchie Atkins, causing him to lose all power in his legs. To summarise the charges against the other defendent, Ritchie Atkins, it simply remains to say that it will be proved beyond all reasonable doubt that it was he who planted the explosives inside the spines of the books which were sent to Larkhall prison as a part of the interlibrary loan scheme. Evidence will also be brought before you to show that it was Ritchie Atkins who had unlawful posession of the firearm which he then planted in the handbag of the wing governor Miss Karen Betts. It will also be proved to you during the course of this trial, that the defendent, Ritchie Atkins, persistently and continuously aided and abetted Tracy Pilkinton in her various endeavours to escape custody from Larkhall prison. Ladies and gentelemen, throughout this trial, you will be introduced to a man and a woman who have maintained a total disregard for not only the damage they have caused, but for the death of Sharon Wiley. I will bring before you eight witnesses, one of them the governor of Larkhall prison and one of them the prison chaplin, who will testify to the unequivocal guilt of the two defendents before you. You will hear from three women who were fellow inmates of Tracy Pilkinton, women who were either taken in by this woman, or who had their own suspicions and who could not give voice to their concerns. You will discover just how clever this woman is and that her vocation as an actress put her in very good stead for the guise of innocent bystander. I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to listen to the evidence I will place before you, and to find the defendents guilty of the crimes with which they are charged."
As Jo moved back to the prosecution bench, in the public gallery, Cassie turned to Roisin and said,
"Jesus, we should have employed her for our defence."
"I just hope she can keep it up," Said Roisin. "Someone's got to make her," She gestured at where Snowball was handcuffed to two police officers in the dock, "pay for Shaz's death. That's what matters now, not what happened to us and to everyone else, just Shaz's death. She snuffed out that young life, and she has to be made to pay."
Once the jury had been sworn in and the charges read out to the defendents, Jo rose from the prosecution bench and turned to face the jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I will present before you a catalogue of evidence against the defendents which will prove their involvement in the explosion and hostage incident which took place at Larkhall prison last year. I will prove to you beyond all reasonable doubt that Ritchie Atkins and Tracy Pilkinton, also known as Snowball Merriman, conspired to commit the act of arsen, which resulted in the death of one inmate, sharon Wiley. I will also prove to you that the defendent Ritchie Atkins planted a gun on a wing governor of Larkhall prison, a miss Karen Betts, and that the defendent Tracy Pilkinton used this gun to take Karen Betts hostage in order to achieve her escape from custody, and that on escape she further used this firearm to cause the act of greavous bodily harm to her co-defendent, ritchie Atkins. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is an extremely complex one, and you will be asked to take in an enormous amount of facts and to decide, on your analysis of these facts, whether the defendents before you are guilty or not guilty. to take at first glannce the defendent Tracy Pilkinton. She was first brought in to Larkhall prison on a drugs charge. It can be anyone's personal opinion whether or not this crime was committed in order to obtain a place at Larkhall. On entering the prison, this woman befriended one of the prison officers, one James Fenner, and used her influence on him in order to procure herself a job in the prison library, and to enable herself to be given the privilege of receiving interlibrary loans from an outside source. Evidence will be presented to you which will show that the books which were received as part of her interlibrary loans, contained, in their spines no less, a quantity of plastic explosives. Tracy Pilkinton had continuous and on occasions solitary access to the prison library, enabling her to create and plant the bomb which has been proved to be the direct cause of the fire which took place at Larkhall prison in June 2002. As a result of this fire, one inmate, Sharon Wiley, was killed. It will be your task to decide whether or not this death makes Tracy Pilkinton guilty of the charge of man slaughter. Following this explosion, Tracy Pilkinton was kept in segregation, during which time she somehow obtained the posession of the firearm. An investigation took place at Larkhall prison, though it has never been established how the gun was returned to her. On her release from segregation, Tracy pilkinton was overheard making a phone call, quite obviously contacting her co-defendent, Ritchie Atkins. Subsequent to this phone call, Tracy Pilkinton took the wing governor, Miss Karen Betts, hostage. At gun point, she forced Karen Betts to leave the prison, and to drive to a rendez-vous with Ritchie Atkins. During the subsequent struggle, Tracy Pilkinton shot Ritchie Atkins, causing him to lose all power in his legs. To summarise the charges against the other defendent, Ritchie Atkins, it simply remains to say that it will be proved beyond all reasonable doubt that it was he who planted the explosives inside the spines of the books which were sent to Larkhall prison as a part of the interlibrary loan scheme. Evidence will also be brought before you to show that it was Ritchie Atkins who had unlawful posession of the firearm which he then planted in the handbag of the wing governor Miss Karen Betts. It will also be proved to you during the course of this trial, that the defendent, Ritchie Atkins, persistently and continuously aided and abetted Tracy Pilkinton in her various endeavours to escape custody from Larkhall prison. Ladies and gentelemen, throughout this trial, you will be introduced to a man and a woman who have maintained a total disregard for not only the damage they have caused, but for the death of Sharon Wiley. I will bring before you eight witnesses, one of them the governor of Larkhall prison and one of them the prison chaplin, who will testify to the unequivocal guilt of the two defendents before you. You will hear from three women who were fellow inmates of Tracy Pilkinton, women who were either taken in by this woman, or who had their own suspicions and who could not give voice to their concerns. You will discover just how clever this woman is and that her vocation as an actress put her in very good stead for the guise of innocent bystander. I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to listen to the evidence I will place before you, and to find the defendents guilty of the crimes with which they are charged."
As Jo moved back to the prosecution bench, in the public gallery, Cassie turned to Roisin and said,
"Jesus, we should have employed her for our defence."
"I just hope she can keep it up," Said Roisin. "Someone's got to make her," She gestured at where Snowball was handcuffed to two police officers in the dock, "pay for Shaz's death. That's what matters now, not what happened to us and to everyone else, just Shaz's death. She snuffed out that young life, and she has to be made to pay."