Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh

Author:Joseph Wambaugh [Wambaugh, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non Fiction
ISBN: 9780060095284

Chapter 13: VERDICT

Ironically, Douglas McCann was late for court on day five, delayed for three hours because of a fire on the freeway. And it had not been set by the defendant.

The first issue was facial hair. The time had arrived for the defense to introduce evidence that the defendant had a full beard in January 1987, and could not possibly have been the person with the "Don Johnson" stubble whom witnesses had chosen from the task-force mug shots. The defense had photos to prove their contention, in an album that the prosecution had not seen.

Hanly said to the judge, "I think the problem here is the fact that, mysteriously, a photograph shows up in this scrapbook which just happens to have 'one-seventeen - eighty-seven' written on it. It seems a little strange that all of a sudden this photograph would come up, not having been received in discovery, and just happened to have been taken the day after the January sixteenth, 1987, fires."

But prior to the appearance of Wanda Orr to testify about the photos, the defense called Conway Lu, the former employee of CraftMart in Bakersfield, where the crucial fingerprint evidence had been found. Referring to arson investigator Marvin Casey, the witness said, "The guy came in and was digging around and he says, 'Well here it is.' "

"Then what happened?" McCann asked.

"I said, 'What did you find?' And he pulled out a book of matches, a cigarette butt, and some burnt paper."

"Was he then talking to you and showing you what he'd found?"

"He explained how it worked because I asked him."

"You said some burnt paper. What color was it?"

"Yellow, if I recall."

"Did he show you the cigarette?"

"It was a cigarette butt that had been scorched."

"And he showed you a matchbook?"

"Yes."

"In terms of the yellow paper, was it one piece or two pieces?"

"It was two pieces that were . . . well, that looked like they should've been one piece at one time."

"But it was in two pieces?"

"Yeah."

This witness was perhaps the last and best hope to perpetuate the idea of a government frame-up. Marvin Casey had testified that the notebook paper was in one piece when he'd found it, and two pieces when it came back from the lab after processing. And he'd said nothing about a matchbook, which ran counter to the government's description of an unusual signature device.

Hanly's cross-examination went to the crux of the testimony: "You said that the Bakersfield fireman showed you the actual device, is that correct?"

"He kind of explained how it worked."

"And he showed you some yellow lined paper?"

"Some paper, a book of matches, a cigarette butt."

"Was it a book of matches or was it just individual matches and a cigarette butt?"

"If I recall, it was a book of matches."

"But are you sure about that?"

"It's been five years. It's hard to say."

Hanly then showed the witness Marvin Casey's photo of the incendiary evidence he'd recovered.

"Does that look like the paper you were shown on the date of the fire?"

"It's hard for me to say.

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