SIXTY
As he made his closing argument, Ronnie Hooper stood directly in front of the jury box, arms extended and palms upward, as if he were asking for a handout. And maybe he was. The intensity and confidence that marked his direct examination of prosecution witnesses were nowhere to be seen. That wasn’t unusual in litigation. The whole tenor of a case could change with the words of a single witness, as it had here. And with those words, a carefully constructed house of cards could come tumbling down. Hooper’s posture fit his words, since his closing argument was more of a plea than an argument.
“When you go back into that jury room,” Hooper said, “just add up the evidence.” He counted on his fingers as he listed things he wanted the jury to consider.”
“Number one is motive. No question
