After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 49

January 19, 1993. 10:12 AM.

It was hard for Ralph Langley to ignore the feeling that everyday was the same day playing on repeat. For the past week and a half, he woke up at the same time, picked between the same three suits to wear, walked out the same doors, and into the same courtroom in the same courthouse. He needn't try and recall what he was doing at exactly this time the day before because it was precisely the same thing he was doing right now and yesterday, and would be doing tomorrow and the next day. It felt like starring in the same episode of a TV show every single day. The plot never changed, half the words he heard were recited from a script, and there was no escape.

Sitting in Courtroom 4 at the Chatham County Juvenile Courthouse on this particularly gloomy Tuesday afternoon was draining, as it always was. You'd think that standing trial for voluntary manslaughter would be more eventful than this.

It had been over a week of listening to testimony from witnesses of close connection to Larry Evans. Barnes nearly sweat the tight bun out of her hair trying to milk them for every questionable thing Larry had ever done, even going back to his barely post potty training days. But it eventually became clear to Ralph that it wasn't that simple. Dana Barnes wasn't just making Larry out to be a bad person. In fact, she wasn't trying to question his morality or even his character hardly at all.

What Barnes wanted the jury to see in Larry Evans was that despite having a relatively stable upbringing and a decent head on his shoulders, he could be impulsive and unpredictably violent. She painted him as a boy with subconscious impulses that came out in times of weakness, threat, or fear. And in spite of him being a relatively normal child on the outside, it was only a matter of time before his impulsive, reactive nature cost somebody else their life. She wasn't trying to demonize Larry at all, just a hidden side of him that would continue to be dangerous if left unpunished.

"The only thing Larry Evans will learn from ending the life of a navy veteran if left unpunished is that it's okay to be violent and even kill so long as you can justify it" Barnes declared after finishing with her final character witness against Larry. "Despite living a relatively normal life before the island and even returning to that life after being rescued, Larry Evans still killed Johnathan Benson. Scared or not, ten years old or not, remorseful or not, he still violently murdered an American navy pilot. And as proud citizens of this country who believe in and support our brave military officers, I beg of you to not let this crime go unpunished. You've heard from Johnathan's mother, his sister, his co-workers, his friends, his community. They lost someone incredibly important to them, a loss that could've been prevented if Larry Evans had just stopped to think about what he was doing. His loved ones deserve closure and justice. Johnathan Benson deserves justice. Please do not dishonor this proud military man's memory by letting his murder go unpunished" she concluded, having spent most of her dramatic send off of this most recent witness addressing the jury. "No further questions, Your Honor."

And just like that, the day changed. It stopped playing on repeat, and Ralph started paying attention again. The testimony was closed on the death of Captain Benson. All the evidence was in, and everything that would be used to determine whether Larry was guilty of the involuntary manslaughter was out in the open. The spotlight was naturally about to shift away from Larry after nearly three weeks of shining so brightly on him, Ralph figured he must've been both blind and humiliated by now.

Dana Barnes took her seat at the prosecution table after proudly finishing her speech. Her final witness in her fight for justice for Captain Benson was currently crossing the threshold between the front of the courtroom and the gallery before exiting behind the large, double wooden doors. This was it. The hardest part was finally over.

That is, if you're Larry Evans. If you happened to be one of the other twenty-one defendants in the courtroom right now, it was only just beginning.

Judge Eldeson banged his gavel and adjourned court for recess a few minutes earlier than usual. Ralph figured now was the natural time to take a break before moving onto the next order of business. He knew this moment was coming. Zoey begun to prepare him for it early last week. The evidence for the Benson case was being wrapped up with a bow. And wrapped it was. Ralph's stomach felt heavy, his face hot, and his heart beat erratic.