JUSTICE REBORN (A Charlie Taylor Novel Book 1) (5 page)

“You killed 155 men in 45 days?” 

Pat’s response was measured. “Warden, as
you know, Justice Reborn requires all prisons to be decommissioned within 12
months. And one of the first steps is clearing death row by either carrying out
the original sentence or freeing the prisoner. Hence, it would be more accurate
to state: we executed 125 convicts by carrying out the court imposed sentence.
The only nuance of this process was the additional 30 prisoners who had
previous capital crimes uncovered, and they were dealt with under Amendment
33-2.”

Five people occupied all the chairs in a
large conference room on the top floor of the administration building. A small
east window filtered in the early morning sun and faint noises sifted in from
the exercise yard below, overall a drab morning. Seated at the head of the
table, the Warden acted as chairman. He wore a baseball cap, an old cotton
athletic windbreaker with a time-worn crest, the entire ensemble inappropriate
for the meeting, the most intense in the history of Fort Green prison.

Labeled as old fashioned, too soft,
avuncular, and known in the yard as ‘Uncle Willie’, the Warden had failed to
keep himself or his staff current. He generally ignored technological advances
and the new legislation which appeared to be changing weekly. There was little
doubt the Warden, an anomaly among prison administrators, was not a fan of the
new approach, Justice Reborn. But before he could retire his prison had been
selected as the second to clear a death row unit.

“Warden, it appears I proceeded too quickly
under the assumption everyone was fully aware of what has taken place. Let me
start again.”

They were huddled around a large
rectangular table. Pat, the speaker, although not condescending, was certainly
not impressed with the Warden and his senior staff, and she decided to revert
to basics.

 “To repeat my name is Pat Holdner, and I’m
the advance person for Sector 14. My job is to ensure you and your staff
understand the details and roles in this first step of Prison Decommissioning;
this means clearing death row. During the next 24 hours, members of my team
will begin arriving at various times throughout the day.

This team will set up all the equipment
required, walk your staff through the process, debrief death row, ensure
convicts understand their options and contact the local resources required. For
example, bodies are cremated, and if we don’t have sufficient local resources,
we have contacts outside the district.”

Pat thought her presentation sounded like a
computer delivery, but if it seemed rather abrupt and cold, it might be the
best approach for this group. The prison population had dubbed her the Black
Angel because they said she was preparing the way for their trip to heaven or
hell.

“Although the inmates have already been
sentenced and some have pending appeals, we are using S3 to confirm their guilt
or innocence. White Rock prison, in Sector 13, has completed the process and,
as I said, 155 convicts were executed and 10 others found innocent. At White
Rock, the death row cells are now empty.

The only complication to the event was that
Amendment 33-2 was passed before White Rock started. This Amendment means when
we are proceeding with an S3 Interrogation and encounter a capital crime the
prisoner may be executed for that particular crime. Since there is always a
Legal presence and all records are archived, the entire process is deemed
valid. Under this amendment the execution occurs, even though this was not the
original crime that resulted in the court imposed death sentence.

Another point to remember, at White Rock we
were observers and only assisted when Sector 13 requested additional resources.
It is now our turn in Sector 14 to process Fort Green’s death row.”

The Warden was trying to ask a question and
simultaneously control his temper. This was not a process he endorsed.  “It is
correct that 30 inmates were executed under this Amendment?”

“True but that doesn’t mean they were not
guilty of the original crime. It just means another capital crime was
encountered first, and it was deemed unnecessary to prolong the process.  And,
I should point out it doesn’t matter if the offense was committed before the
Justice Reborn legislation was passed. There are no time constraints. To
repeat:  of the 165 convicts on White Rock’s death row, 125 had their original
sentence confirmed, that is proven with the S3 interrogation. The other 30 were
executed under Amendment 33-2 and 10 were found to be innocent of any crime and
released.”

Jeff Hellson, the Deputy Warden, asked,
“Pat, I assume Dr. Kate and her group will be in charge of the interrogations
in our prison. Did they get any direct experience at White Rock? And, second,
has staff morale become an issue with all those executions?”

“First question: Dr. Kate and her staff
were directly involved and conducted 12 of the interrogations at White Rock.
The second question, morale has not been an issue but the workload has been
intense, and everyone felt it was best to take a few days off. As well,
Forensics wanted time to assess procedures and see if changes should be made.

I should point out the process didn’t
unfold as most planned. At first, the convicts were excited and ready to
participate; most were career criminals and many thought they could beat an S3,
possibly, in the same way some had confused the lie detector equipment.

This enthusiasm didn’t last. They soon
understood an S3 Interrogation is solid, and they we’re not going to beat the
system. Within days a surprising trend surfaced, most prisoners exercised their
option to bypass the S3 and proceed directly to the prison’s execution room. It
was because of this so many were executed in such a short time and one of the
reasons for the need for more resources. I am sure your staff will have to deal
with the same issue of many executions in a very short time but …”

 The Warden interrupted. “This seems
impossible for my staff to prepare the chambers, contact relatives and...”

Pat recaptured control. “Don’t worry. As I
said, my team will arrive shortly and will provide detailed instructions on all
roles and responsibilities; and, I will be responsible for communicating the
process and options to all inmates on death row.”

The Warden, still upset, ignored the
answer. “Why did so many go directly to the execution chambers?”

“An S3 is not painful, but it can be
embarrassing. You have to understand the Watchers, who are relatives, a friend
or spouse, will be able to see any part of your life. And many different memory
streams will be displayed before the crime scene is located.

 And after you have been shouting your
innocence for years, your actual history will come as a merciless shock. When
it became apparent the memory displays are uncompromising images, most of the
men decided the best option was to avoid revealing the ruthless segments of
their lives. Remember these memory streams are raw unedited data; there is no
censure and any segment at any time can surface, from the most savage to the
most personal. Most of the convicts would have been showing some rather
horrendous warts, and it was not something they wanted a mother or relative to
have as their last memory.”

Uncle Willie wasn’t satisfied. “I need some
detail as to how this S3 works?”

Pat was tired and technology was not her
strength, but the request was valid. She started.

“Memory research and associated debates
have been going on for centuries. For example, in the 1940s a neurosurgeon, Dr.
Wilder Penfield, was using weak electric currents which stimulated portions of
the brain and resulted in amazing recollections from his patients and this type
of research never stopped.

Around 2008, a neurobiologist in Georgia,
Joe Tsien, was manipulating levels of the protein alpha-CaMKII to selectively
delete memories from mice. And, for years molecular neuroscience has been
researching the nanoworld of the brain, studying the signals sent from one cell
to another cell…..”

Again the Warden broke in.  “OK…….OK ….
those of us around this table are not technically inclined, have no degrees in
physics, medicine or whatever, nor are we particularly interested in how the
atoms and nerve connections line up. Can you give us a comic-book version of
what the hell happens?’’

Pat understood their frustration. “I think
if I continue, I’ll just confuse the situation. Later in the week you’ll all
get to see a live recording. This’ll make it much easier to understand the
process.  But I should explain the Watchers because they will be arriving
before any S3 can start.

During the scanning process,
electromagnetic signals are blasted into the brain or more correctly are aimed
at a particular region. This is an unwelcome stimulus, and the cells respond or
release their contents as a weak transmission; these responses are captured and
displayed.

All this probing should be completed in 45
minutes or less. Any longer and, usually, permanent brain damage results. The
scanner, a Medical Technician, works with a small group of people, known as the
Watchers. This group consists of three or four people.

As the streams of memory play out on a
monitor, the Watchers signal the Medical Technician to move “ahead” or “back”
in time. They determine if the displayed memory pocket happened before or after
the crime scene. Each new position of the scanner provides a fresh pocket of
memories to be viewed and assessed. Watchers are forced to make rapid
decisions; any prolonged discussion about the point in time being displayed
will eat into the 45-minute limit.

 The mandatory member of the group is the
Historian, a government employee, who as the name implies specializes in
historical events, customs, and fashions. Also, it is standard practice to have
a detective who was associated with the case and can recognize the crime scene.

 Last, the convict will select one or two people.
His selections have to be very familiar with his life and are usually parents,
siblings, or spouse. They will be able to recognize a family event, like a
wedding and know when it happened.”

The Warden had enough. “So individuals are
going to be executed or released based on their own memory of the crime and now
with Amendment 33-2, it could be a capital crime they committed at any time.”
He got up and left the room. Pat watched the Warden walk away, certainly not
pleased with what she had brought to his prison

Her own concerns and frustrations grew with
each hour.  The Board concluded earlier in the week. Where was the green light
to proceed? Jacob, the Head of the Prisons Division, was not answering her
calls. Maybe it was related to the environmental issue. Transmission problems
were common, signals breaking up, calls just abruptly dropped, depending on an
erratic magnetic flux. Friends tried to explain it was all related to the
bloody magnetic north pole; all the technical terminology was beyond her.

She wanted to keep resending her requests
for clarification but was concerned the repetitions might irritate Jacob. His
physical appearance and style often deceived newcomers into believing they were
dealing with the third string, a serious mistake in judgment which, if they had
no trading cards, would cost them.  He never paraded his backers, a discretion
they all respected. The political world, also, appreciated his willingness to
accept the public opprobrium associated with some of their more devious
agendas.

Pat was left with unanswered questions. Her
plan was to corner Dr. Kate or Emma at tonight’s Spring Dance; maybe they’d
have the answers. Why no team for the prison? Why no clearance from the Board?

                                       # #
#

Back at the Hall of Justice, Chief Duncan
Stirling was in a black mood. His session with the tourist still lingered and
irritated him. He had to appease and win over an angry blond who claimed
Charlie grabbed her breast at a damn basketball game.

  The new legislation meant innovation and
change at a rapid pace with many issues not covered by regulations; creative
decisions were necessary without preordained guidelines. The Chief struggled
when working in this gray zone, the result unwanted pressure and anxiety.

 This was compounded by problems with
Charlie, his best detective, the man he usually relied on when a case proved
difficult or unusual. Although Charlie frequently drove him to the edge because
he never stayed in the box and regularly forgot to provide the type of
obsequiousness the brass expected, Duncan recognized his strength and lived
with the problems this brought to his office. Or, he had to this point.

The first few months after Charlie lost his
wife and daughter, he appeared to be coping. This solitude quickly disappeared.
More and more incidents reached the Chief: bouts of heavy drinking and juvenile
behavior, coupled with the occasional burst of anger. All finally proved too
much. Duncan assigned him to a desk in Records, out of the public eye, and away
from the Homicide squad. But now this bullshit.

The basketball charge was a valid
complaint: Charlie had grabbed and held her breast, a goddamn handful of
breast. After his strong recommendation at the Monday Board meeting, what the
hell was he to do? Call the Judge and ask for an emergency meeting? Difficult
to describe this as a crisis with the S3 issue hanging over them. This was not
the time to declare an error in promoting Charlie.