Murder on the Mound

SCOTT Davis sat at counsel table in sheer disbelief at the pandemonium around him. After nearly four weeks, the case was finally over. The murder of a star Major League pitcher certainly was huge news, but the young lawyer did not expect this. Immediately following the judge’s pronouncement, reporters, who had hunkered down in the Arizona courtroom since the trial began, frantically started filing reports from their laptops, updating their Twitter feeds, and shouting the news into their smartphones. Outside, mobile TV vans were double-parked across the span of the courthouse, reporters spilling out and racing up the steps hoping to speak to Scott, the prosecutors, the families, or anyone else who could provide a reaction to the shocking outcome of this sensational case. Numb, Scott started gathering his files, then saw his wife, Debbie, standing in the first row of the gallery. She was trying to comprehend what had just occurred. Scott tried explaining it to her, but his words were lost amidst all the commotion. Debbie reached over the gallery bar and gave Scott a reassuring hug. She could hear the explanation later, on their way home. Scott and Debbie exited the main doors of the courtroom just as a reporter thrust a microphone into his face. “What was Doug Simons’s reaction to the judge’s decision?” she said. Scott, physically and mentally exhausted, had contemplated sneaking out the back entrance to avoid this barrage of questions, but he knew he’d have to face the press. Before he had time to answer, at least thirty other reporters had gathered around him. For twenty minutes he responded to their questions, then turned to look for Debbie, who had gotten separated from him and was now earnestly pushing past the throng of courthouse security and press. When she finally reached him, she grabbed Scott’s hand. “It’s over,” she said. “Let’s go home.”