Page 111 of Dissection of a Murder
This is going to be excruciating to witness.
“I’m not.”
“You’re a liaranda fantasist.”
“No.”
“Do you honestly expect these twelve intelligent members of the jury to believe this ludicrous story you’ve told under oath?”
He stretches the question out, an octave higher than his normal speaking range, emphasizing every word. He signposts his arm out to the jury when he says it for maximum effect, as if Jack doesn’t know who they are.
“It’s the truth.”
“It’s quite a story. Well thought out, I’ll give you that,” Julian remarks. “You had an opportunity to tell it to the police the second you were arrested, but you didn’t, did you?”
“No.”
“You could have told them in interview, couldn’t you?”
“I didn’t have to say anything in interview, actually.”
“If you were innocent, that would have been the time to hold your hands up and say, ‘It wasn’t me, I didn’t do this, this is why I am innocent.’ But you didn’t, did you?”
“No.”
“And the reason you haven’t mentioned it is because you’ve made it up between then and now, haven’t you?”
“No. Like I said, I wanted to have a fair trial. I didn’t want evidence being tampered with. Things and people tend to go missing when you’re dealing with powerful people.”
Jack stands firm in the witness box, hands together in front of him. Confident but not cocky.
“Oh, yes. Let’s dive into this. You’re talking about your previous conviction for s.20 GBH assault, which I have permission to bring into evidence. Members of the jury, in 2019, the defendant was convicted following a trial for a violent offense against a man that caused him severe injuries. In that trial, the defendant argued he was defending a woman from being sexually assaulted when the offense took place. You do like telling elaborate tales, don’t you, Mr. Millman?”
“No, just the truth. And you missed the part about how the ‘victim’ I assaulted was one of the most dangerous criminals in the northeast,” Jack says, facing the jury.
“Can you tell this jury, Mr. Millman, if the woman you were allegedly defending gave evidence in that trial?”
“She didn’t. That’s my point.”
“And were you convicted of that offense?”
“Yes.”
“After a trial, no less?”
“Yes, but—”
“So, the jury in that case heard all of the evidence, including your story, and they still convicted you?”
“Yes.”
“In other words, they decided you weren’t worthy of belief in that case?”
“It wasn’t a fair trial.”
“But this one is, presumably?”
“I hope so.”
