Carlisle's Diary

Closing Arguments

"Ladies and gentlemen, please find it in your hearts to see that my client is a victim too. She isn't the monster the prosecution wants you to believe; she's just a very sick person. And a sick person cannot and should not be put to death; it is inhumane. Please find her not guilty by reason of insanity. Thank you."

           The defense having made his point, went, and sat down as the judge turned toward the DA, who hesitated only slightly to look over any last minute notes and then stood up and walked up to where the jury was sitting and looked straight at them.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered for a very important reason here and that is to remember who the real victims were. The defense will want you to believe that his client is a victim when in reality she is a criminal with a rap sheet a mile long. His client heartlessly and cold-bloodedly murdered 9 people grand total in two states. For what? Attention or because she could get away with it? The defense would also have you believe that all her multiple illnesses caused Ms. Cunningham to become violent and that she didn't know what she was doing. Yet she traveled through multiple states with multiple aliases that she stole from unsuspecting people. The only thing Ms. Cunningham is....is....ironically cunning. Just like her last name suggests. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there are millions of people in America today that suffer from similar psychiatric illnesses that go untreated for years but live as law abiding citizens. What makes Ms. Cunningham so special? Absolutely nothing."

He paused briefly so that his words would sink in, and then continued.

"She poisoned people, she tried to kill people, and succeeded on several occasions, she stalked someone, and she brutally attacked another person. She has held people at gunpoint in order for them to give her recommendations so she could get jobs. That's not normal but it doesn't make her insane either. An insane person wouldn't be so calculating, going from state to state. Ms. Cunningham only became 'insane' when it came to something she didn't like to hear like Dr. Cullen's testimony or when things went on in the hospital as you heard from previous people's testimonies. Have America's worst serial killers been classified as insane? Look at Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos, Gary Ridgeway, and Jeffrey Dahmer! What makes them any different from Ms. Cunningham? Ms. Cunningham killed more people than Aileen Wuornos, who was executed in Florida. There is absolutely nothing mentally wrong with Ms. Cunningham except a really bad acting job. Think of the victims like the patients who she killed or who survived but will never be the same again, think of Dr. Cullen and his family, the nurses and staff at the hospital, think of Charlotte Clark who lost more than half of her blood volume after being stabbed repeatedly by Ms. Cunningham. Think about that when you are sitting in deliberation. This woman said......no screamed it herself that she will kill as many people as she needs to; not even wants to but needs to. Ladies and gentlemen, please help these victims and their families find closure and find Ms. Cunningham guilty on all counts especially capital murder. Thank you."

          With that, the jury filed out of the court. It was a very intense morning. The proceedings lasted 2 hours and it was only noon when we all made our way out of the court house. It was now up to the jury. We had done every single thing we could. Now all anyone could do was hope and pray. My family and the Watchers dispersed to our respective homes. I needed to hunt so when I mentioned that, I realized my whole family needed to go so we all went while Nessie stayed with the wolves. No one said a word as we picked off lions, bears, deer, and any other juicy animal that crossed our path.

          There wasn't anything to say. We all just prayed that the jury would see the light and convict her. Of course then we would have to go through the sentencing phase which was up to the judge to decide whether that would be on the same day as the verdict or on a different day. It would also mean that those of us who want, could give victim impact statements. I know Charlotte and Ben both will as will Betsy, Melanie, and the 4 other nurses she poisoned. Mr. Yang still being in the hospital is sending his daughter to do it for him. I met her; she's a sweet girl who was just accepted into Harvard Law School. She and Rogue had a lot to talk about on the subject. She wants to go into medical malpractice and that's really no surprise all things considered.

        After thinking about it very carefully and consulting with my family and Rogue who was sort of our in house counsel if you will, I decided that I would give one too. After all the havoc Ashley created in my life and the lives of my family, she deserved for me to give her a piece of my mind!

        Just two days after deciding this, we got the call; jury was back with a verdict! It took them 3.5 days to decide on Ashley's fate. So Friday as it were, we were all gathered in the courtroom, pretty much squished in because of family and relatives of victims. Rogue and Agent Kramer were sitting directly behind the DA in case Ashley would try something again. She was actually in court that day. She was wearing a lighter blue floral dress, with beige flats and a beige shawl over her shoulders. She had a dark blue brooch in her hair. You'd think she was some southern belle waiting to be called for tea or something (pictures of the courtroom and Ashley's clothes are above).

        After the judge called order, we watched as the jury filed in. Then once they all sat down, the judge looked at the foreman of the jury and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"

"We have your honor." The foreman said.

"Bailiff please bring me the paper." The bailiff did and the judge looked over it, frowned and nodded. He then returned the paper to the bailiff to return to the foreman.

"Mr. Foreman, will you please read out the verdict for the court."

          We all held our breath as the foreman put his glasses on, took the paper and took a deep breath.

"We the jury find the defendant Ms. Carrie Cunningham........."

To be continued.........

~Carlisle Cullen