the courtroom. willie t. s track record spoke for itself. he lost very few. he was very dramatic. i ve seen that man cry in front of the jury. mr. jones in the courtroom could probably outperform sir lawrence olivier. let s put it that way. he could overpower you, overcontrol you, and he was not beyond saying things that he couldn t prove if they weren t challenged. early in the first trial, anderson challenged jones by objecting that a single thumbprint was not enough to arrest elmore. in order to obtain an arrest warrant the police presented an upsidedown thumbprint on the back outside door frame. that s exactly consistent with cleaning the windows. cleaning the door. that is not probable cause in anywhere else in america that i m aware of. but willie t. said, oh, well i m glad y all brought that up. the forensic pathologist let us know that she had located negroid pubic hairs on the victim s chest and abdomen.
you can t even read all of the evidence and assess it and crunch it. in retrospect, perhaps i should have asked for more time. i never have proclaimed to be the best lawyer that ever graced the courtroom. overworked and underpaid, mr. anderson also had a reputation as a drinker. that s fair. that s a fair accusation. i have had certain, i guess you could say problems with it but i can say this categorically. i was totally clear-headed and not drinking during those trials. every one of them. but on the other hand, you know, i would go out on occasion. i m not as bad as i used to be. in create, prosecutor william t. jones iii, known as willie t., was considered a master of
first hearing as a lawyer. she was very fierce. she had not the slightest doubt about eddie elmore s innocence. she was determined to make sure that i did my job. the state was represented by donald zelenka, who reportedly once argued that women who had abortions in the third trimester could be executed for murder. and elmore s fate would be decided by judge ernest kinard. one of the first witnesses called was james gilliam, the inmate who said elmore confessed to him in jail. but in the small town of greenwood, both elmore and gilliam knew bishop spearman. and before the hearing, gilliam told spearman the truth. james gilliam and i go back i guess all our life. one night he called me and he told me i lied and my conscience is bothering me. gilliam said he made a deal with the prosecutor to testify against elmore in exchange for release from prison.
non-drinking during everyone one of those trials. everyone of them. but on the other hand, you know, i would go out on occasion. i m not as bad as i used to be. in contrast, prosecutor, william t. jones iii, known as willie t., was considered a master of the courtroom. willie t. s track record spoke for itself. he lost very few. he was very dramatic. i ve seen that man cry in front of the jury. mr. jones in the courtroom could probably outperform sir lawrence olivier. let s put it that way. he could overpower you, overcontrol you, and he was not beyond saying things that he couldn t prove if they weren t challenged. early in the first trial, anderson challenged jones by objecting that a single thumbprint was not enough to arrest elmore. in order to obtain an arrest warrant the police presented an unside down thumbprint on the
gilliam knew bishop spearman. and before the hearing, gilliam told spearman the truth. james gilliam and i go back i guess all our life. one night he called me and he told me i lied and my conscience is bothering me. gilliam said he made a deal with the prosecutor to testify against elmore in exchange for release from prison. but with elmore facing the electric chair, he felt bad about what he had done. i said james, make it right. and i got excited. i felt like once this comes out that ed would be free. gilliam said the testimony that i gave in these prior trials was false. that he made up this story to try to get better treatment for himself on his criminal sentence. gilliam would go on to state that the only thing elmore had ever said was that he didn t kill dorothy edwards. but diana s team also felt they needed to refute dorothy