Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (2012 Watty Winner)

Gotcha!

"As good as I can be." She replies lightly.

"Are you a religious person, Mrs. Dennison?" I ask.

"I believe in God, yes." She says and nods.

"So marriage is something that you hold sacred then right?"

"Yes."

"So even when you thought that your husband was cheating on you, you still stayed with him, correct?"

"I believe that marriage is forever, for better or for worse." She says sternly

"What do your beliefs state about murder?"

"Murder is a sin." She says simply.

"And you live by that rule?"

"Yes."

"Did you murder your husband, Mrs. Dennison?"

"No." she shakes her head and looks the members of the jury square in their faces.

"Could you tell the court what happened on the day your husband was murdered?"

"It started out as a normal day. I did some chores and then went up to bed to get some rest. When I came downstairs for a drink of water I found him laying on the floor covered in blood." She says and I can hear the crack in her voice. I don't want to get her too emotional because Scott will pick her apart. So I end my questioning.

"No further questions your honor." I say and go to take a seat as Scott stands and approaches her.

"Mrs. Dennison, were you aware of your husbands two million dollar life insurance policy?" He comes right out of the gate and ask her. Way to skip foreplay, Scott. And he wonders why he never had a chance with me.

"No." Spencer shakes her head. Scott scoffs.

"So you had no idea that your husband had taken out a two million dollar policy on himself in the event of his untimely death, five days prior to the murder?"

"No, I had no idea about any policy." She tells him firmly.

"Were you and Mr. Dennison having problems?"

Spencer shrugs before answering, "I guess the normal things people experience when they get married right out of high school."

"So you were unhappy in your marriage?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you implied it."

"I didn't imply—"

"You suspected your husband of cheating on you right Mrs. Dennison?" He asks, cutting her off.

"Yes." She nods.

"What gave you these suspicions?"

"I don't know, a woman's intuition mostly but he'd lie to me about the most simple things too."

"Like what?"

"Well once I found this receipt in his pocket for an expensive lunch and when I asked him about it, he lied." She answers.

"And that made you quite upset didn't it?"

"Objection." I stand and say and Scott shoots me a look.

"Let me rephrase the question." He says, turning back to Spencer. "How did his constant lying, make you feel?"

"Upset I guess, maybe more disappointed than anything. We used to share everything with each other back in high school, but then things changed when he got promoted at his job."

"So his promotion also made you angry?"

"Objection." I stand and say again. Scott waves me off.

"How did the promotion change you and your husbands relationship?" He rephrases.

"He had longer hours, so I didn't see him much, I had to find hobbies to fill up my days." Scott looks as if he's trying to think of something else to say.

"Were your fingerprints found on the murder weapon, Mrs. Dennison?"

"Yes."

"And the bullet casings found next to the victim, correct?" He asks.

"Yes, but-"

"Did you shoot your husband three times in cold blood because you found out he was cheating on you and you wanted to collect his insurance money." It took everything in me not to stand up and tell Scott to go sit the fuck down. To just leave her alone.

"No." Spencer answers without hesitation.

"No further questions." He says and sits down.

"Redirect Your Honor." He gestures me to go on. "Spencer, what were you doing at the time your husband was murdered? I only ask because there were three gunshots fired and you didn't hear any of them, so what were you doing?"

"I was asleep." She answers.

"You sleep that heavily?"

"I'd taken some sleeping pills to help me sleep." She answers.

"Why'd you take sleeping pills?"

"I'd been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately so my doctor prescribed them for me."

"So it's safe to say that there could have been a stampede in your house and you wouldn't have known?" I ask and she smiles.

"You'd be correct."

"Mrs. Dennison, were you aware that your husband kept a weapon in the house?" I ask and she nods.

"It was a purchase that we'd decided to make together about two years ago after our neighbors' home was broken into." She tells the court and I get so mesmerized by her voice, I forget it's my turn to speak.

"Counselor?" The judge says with a confused look on his face.

Shit.

"So you've probably touched the gun before?" I ask, snapping out of it.

"Many times. I often check just to make sure the safety is on. I don't particularly like guns but I know that it was something we needed to have around, especially when Aiden working so much."

"What about the bullets, you ever touch those?"

"Yes. I purchased the bullets and loaded them into the gun myself."

"Have you ever shot a gun Mrs. Dennison?"

"No, I haven't actually." She says shaking her head.

"No further questions."

"Court will resume tomorrow morning at seven am." The judge says and bangs his gavel.

"What's left?" Spencer asks me as she walks to the table from the witness stand.

"That's it." I tell her. "We'll give our closing arguments and then it'll be up to the jury." She nods.

"You think we're gonna win this?" I don't know. I planted plenty of doubt into the jurors minds. I just hope they see it.

"Thank you, Ashley." She says reaching out and grabbing my hand that was resting at my side. "I really appreciate all you've done for me and no matter what happens after this, I'm glad that you were my attorney." She smiles a dazzling smile at me. And that was all the assurance I needed. I felt a renewed sense of confidence.

We're totally gonna win this...