A witness for the prosecution, Michael Peacock had been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony. Thin and jumpy, he looked like he could have used a shower.
From the moment he took the stand, I felt like Mr. Spock in the old Star Trek episode when he mind-melded with a rock (which was actually a sentient being) and when his hand touched it he wailed, "Pain!" This man was frightened, he spoke in many unique phrases, and he seem accustomed to being trapped:
"Is this the car owned by your brother's girlfriend?"
"I'm not for sure she owns it. She was driving it, but whether it's her car or not I can't say."
"Did you testify on Friday that you saw your brother on the day before the shooting, and that he told you he was bringing a gun to Westport, just in case?"
By the end of the long complex questions the ADA asked, Michael Peacock forgot what the question was and vamped with a bunch of filler: "I'm not for sure, uh, that is, it might have happened that way, but I don't recall exactly."
The prosecutor began to get impatient, raising his voice and repeating the questions with exactly the same confusing clauses.
Defense attorney: "How did you feel when Kenny kicked you off his property?"
Michael Peacock: "I felt unjusted by the whole thing."
ADA: "What was the relationship of your brother and Miss ___ ?"
Michael Peacock: "I'm not for sure what you mean?"
ADA: "What was Miss ____ to him?"
Michael Peacock: "One night stand."
Although I can't recall the context now, a phrase he used many times was "That's a horse of a different color." During deliberations, we had many examples of "on the one hand, on the other hand," and several times a few of us said in unison, "Now that's a horse of a different color!"
About six weeks after the verdict, Michael Peacock was found dead in this Placer County travel trailer. Homicide is suspected.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment