TWENTY-FIVE
Every bench in the courtroom of Judge William Maximillian Drexel was filled with a cornucopia of Portland’s eccentric population. Local celebrities, business leaders, media figures, and a group of youths dressed in black anxiously awaited the proceedings. Josiah Alexander, permitted to sit in the vacant front seat directly behind the table for the accused, had implored his group to refrain from commenting on the proceedings, and to act respectfully in front of the judge. A nervous collection of uniformed deputies and court bailiffs kept a wary eye upon the group.
A collection of brilliant minds sat at both counsel tables. Prominent and ambitious attorneys filled the large tables beyond the maple railings for the defense and the prosecution. Two empty seats appeared at th
