Ft.
Hood – The judge could not hide her emotions as she spoke directly
to the man who condemned himself with a pistol equipped with laser
sights, and then made no effort to defend himself against the most
serious of charges.
Though
Judge (Col.) Tara Osborn spoke as a professional, a trial judge, seated on a somber
mahogany-toned dais elevated far above the heads and shoulders of
everyone else, she could not hide the basic decency and kind
intonations of a sensible, middle-aged American woman.
“Major
Hasan,” she said, beginning very carefully, “this is the phase
where the members decide whether you should live or you should die.”
The
former Army psychiatrist who had only a couple of hours before heard
the verdict of a 13-member jury of senior officers convict him of the
capital murder of 13 of his fellow soldiers on Nov. 5, 2009, and the
attempted premeditated murder of an additional 32 persons, had
defended himself after dismissing a retired Army judge, and then a
top notch defense team of two Lt. Colonels and a Major.
His
defense consisted of absolutely nothing. He called no witnesses, made
very few attempts at cross examining the witnesses who testified
against him, and made no closing argument in his own behalf.
“Just
because you represented yourself is no reason you cannot have
representation,” Col. Osborn continued. “You understand you will
be better off with an attorney to represent you.”
“Yes,
ma'am,” said Hasan, with all due respect. Listening to the tone and
timbre of his voice, you get the idea he really is genuinely
respectful. He listened calmly as she explained that his standby
counsel are ready to resume their professional responsibilities at
any time, that they will do their best to try to help preserve his
natural life, a life he cannot now avoid living in the penitentiary
without the possibility of parole in even the best case scenario.
He
is paralyzed from the middle of his chest to his lower extremities,
wheelchair bound and nerve-damaged in both his arms and hands as a
result of a gunfight with two civilian military policemen who stopped
his murderous rampage at a medical clinic with their 9 millimeter
pistols.
He
is dependent on others for even his most basic needs.
“I
think it is unwise for you to represent yourself,” the judge
continued. Without proper legal training, he is unable to determine
when to object in order to preserve the record in his favor.
He
did not relent. He said he wishes to continue, and the judge remarked
that the record should reflect that the decision was “made with
full knowledge and understanding.” She went a little bit further by
pointing out that without legal training, he is not a lawyer, and
that there is no possibility of his raising the point on appeal that
he had ineffective counsel if he continues to represent himself.
He
has not been threatened or treated in any abusive manner; he has not
been promised anything, or in any way influenced by others, she
determined for the record through her questions.
And
then the afternoon's hearing into the procedures and evidentiary
requirements of the Government's case for a death sentence began.
There
was a long and pettifogging discussion of the Major's actual date of
service as an enlisted man, his pay grade, and the date upon which he
assumed his duties as a commissioned officer. He will hold the rank
of Major until he is sentenced and the court martial is complete.
At
that point, the judge, the prosecutors, and Hasan began to sound like
the career military people they are, their discussion veering into
the military arcana of what is professionally referred to as “G-1,”
which is Army for the personnel department, their dialogue peppered
with references to the initials of bureaucratic phrases.
Col.
Mike Mulligan, the lead prosecutor, informed the judge that he will
call 19 in-person witnesses and revisit the stipulated expected
testimony of Officer Mark Todd, the man who ended the gunfight with
Hasan and finally kicked the wicked little 5.7 x 28 mm FN Herstal
semiautomatic out of his hands, flipped him over on his stomach and
cuffed his hands behind his back, then flipped him back over so the
medics could treat his wounds and preserve his life.
How
long will that take?
“It
is possible I could go through them in one day,” Col. Mulligan
replied.
Then
began the tedious and meticulous process of the examination of the
exhibits that will be shown, which are many snapshots of the victims
and their families.
“I
have said before that I will not admit any pictures which might have
a cumulative effect,” the judge declared.
She
is carefully preserving the record so that it will not be shown on
appeal that the repetitive nature of near-identical photos had a
cumulative or prejudicial effect on the jurors.
How
is this picture different from that one? The judge asked it over and
over again during the long and droning afternoon's hearing until,
finally, Hasan himself interjected by saying – several times - “You
honor, I have no objections to these pictures.”
“Thank
you for that, Major Hasan,” the judge said in a composed tone that
nevertheless carried some air of dismissal.
He
didn't take the hint. He repeated himself several times, as if he did
not understand that now, as a convicted murderer, his social cachet
is ultimately diminished in the eyes of the world.
Finally,
in a nervous way, Hasan repeated his caveat, that he has no objection
to the pictures, their repetitive or cumulative nature, and he showed
some considerable pique by saying, “So we can just knock all this
off.”
“Thank
you, Major Hasan,” the judge replied, which is a very polite and
militarily courteous way of saying that's all very well, and that
what has been said is really all we will need to say about all that -
for now.
Thus
chastened, Hasan then spoke only when she addressed him.
No comments:
Post a Comment