Yet another celebrity-fueled trial, Jamie Ross thought to herself.
The five Defendants-Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Lana Lerner, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov-stood at the front of the packed courthouse; along with their attorneys.
"How do the Defendants plead?" Arraignment Judge William Koehler asked.
"Your Honor," Larry Weaver stood, apparently spokesman for the gaggle of attorneys representing the Defendants. "The Defendants are men and women of social standing, they have strong ties to the community, and intend to fight the charges brought against them."
"Your Honor," Jamie Ross stood too. "The evidence points to the Defendants as being material in the matters of the death of Adam Roberts, who was framed, by the Defendants. They had an agent of theirs plant cocaine on his person. There is also evidence that implicates them in the murder of Heidi Ellison, and the subsequent framing of Eddie Newman. On top of that, we also have evidence indicating they were responsible for the two million dollar life insurance policy taken out on Daniel Carrera, said policy taken out in the name of Anais Van der Hooten, and also for his murder."
She paused to take a breath, went on.
"Also, there is the murder of Roger Hall, and the attempt on Dr. Dan Duvall's life. We don't know who attempted to poison Dr. Duvall, but Samuel Gardinski pled guilty to murdering Roger Hall, on the orders of Emory Chance."
"So, a whole lot of murder…" Koehler murmured.
"Yes," Ross nodded. "The People request Remand for each Defendant, and their passports."
"The Defendants have already surrendered their passports, and they haven't been convicted yet," Weaver shot back, "Demanding incarceration would be premature, as our clients are totally innocent of all charges."
"So I take it the Defendants are pleading Not Guilty?" the Judge asked Weaver.
"Yes," Weaver nodded vigorously. "Not guilty in the strongest possible terms."
"All right," Koehler sighed. "Bail is set at two million each Defendant, cash or bond."
…..
"I didn't want to have anything to do with it!" Lana Lerner was almost in tears. "It was all of the others! They dragged me into it!"
"You could have called the police," Jamie Ross challenged her.
"And they would have killed her," Danielle Melnick pointed out. "As they already did with Roger Hall."
"The People are prepared to be lenient," Ross continued. "Provided she testifies against the others. We can protect her. But she has to do some prison time."
"Man Two seems to be the going rate, "Melnick said. "Eight to twelve then she disappears from the public record?"
Everybody's getting Man two, and eight to twelve…
Jamie Ross sighed.
It was the Deal of the Century…
…..
"How far do you want to take this, Jack?"
Jack McCoy frowned at Ben Stone's question. They had just received the news that Lana Lerner was going to cooperate with the DA's Office in the prosecution of the other four Defendants.
"You going to tell me they don't deserve the Death Penalty?"
McCoy knew Ben Stone's stance on the Death Penalty, and all the standard arguments against it.
It's unevenly applied, with the poor, and minorities bearing the brunt.
But that surely didn't apply to these Defendants…
Emory Chance, Nathaniel Freed, Toby Gillis, and Steven Sokolov, were all very white, and very, very rich.
With callous disregard for the lives and well-being of all the others whose lives were ruined by their murderous acts…
"Ben…a young woman with an infant, pregnant with another, was widowed on their orders. Another man was driven to suicide, and Eddie Newman…"
"They had Heidi Ellison killed by the doctor both she and Eddie Newman trusted," Jack McCoy stared at Ben Stone. "And he had orders from them to get Eddie Newman to implicate himself by carving her body up and disposing of it. His own doctor, the man who swore to do no harm…"
McCoy still couldn't believe it, how a doctor, sworn to heal, could so callously set an innocent man up for the Death Penalty...
"They used Dan Duvall, and Roger Hall, like tools of the trade," he snapped. "I can't let them off that easily."
"Duvall and Hall weren't the only tools they used," Stone spoke softly. "They used you too, Jack."
A wave of purest fury jolted through Jack McCoy, reddening the edges of his vision.
Ben Stone was right, though…
In an era of increasingly public trials, the Eddie Newman Trial had been one of the most publicly public trials McCoy had ever endured, with televised daily recaps, and Celebrity analysts weighing in on the event.
In a very real sense, it had made Jack McCoy's name a public one.
But Eddie Newman had been innocent all along…
Look at how easy it is to be convinced…Suddenly, McCoy could hear Claire Kincaid's voice in his mind. Or how easy it is to be deluded…
Claire Kincaid had always had deep trouble with the Death Penalty.
He blinked sudden tears away, hoping Ben Stone didn't see his momentary lapse. Right now, he missed Claire so intensely, her absence a gaping hole in the place where his heart should have been.
But, that was neither here nor there…
"Manhattan needs to know there are certain things that will not be tolerated," McCoy was glad to hear his voice didn't tremble. "Murder for Hire is one of those things. So is murder for profit. This case is both, and it needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms."
He looked back up at Stone.
"As you said, Ben, they used people like tools to do their dirty work; and they used the DA's Office, they used…me. If we don't come down on them hard, we're telling people it's okay to do what Chance, and his friends did; and I can't allow that. I won't. So, in answer to your earlier question, I'm going to take this all the way. Chance, and his cronies, are going to answer for what they did."