The Neverborne. James Anderson

kind of crazy court is this? How can you hold…”

      Before BJ could finish his sentence, Lawyer Watkins said, “Not guilty, your honor.” After that, he leaned back over to BJ and hissed, “Shut your ugly mouth less’n I ask you a question.”

      The judge said, “Very well. Is the prosecution ready to proceed?”

      For the first time, BJ noticed a Black man immaculately dressed in a tan suit sitting at the next table. The Black man stood up and said, “We are, your honor.”

      BJ couldn’t contain himself. He shot up and yelled, “A nigger lawyer? You got a nigger lawyer here?”

      The judge slammed down his gavel, leaned over his bench, and pointed his finger at BJ. “One more outburst like that, Mr. Walker, and I will have you in chains and gagged with a dirty sock. Do you understand?”

      The prosecuting attorney continued. “Your honor, we would like to call as our first witness Mrs. Ruth McCallum.”

      A Black woman stood and came forward. BJ looked behind him and saw the three men who had rifles pointed at him and the two teenagers they saw walking down the road. The boy had a white bandage wrapped around his head and the girl, when BJ looked at her, turned and buried her head in a Black woman’s arm.

      From the beginning, BJ knew he was doomed. The prosecuting attorney brought one witness after another to testify about what they saw. Lawyer Watkins never asked one question, nor uttered so much as a how-dee-do.

      Finally, the prosecution rested, and it was time for the defense to state its case. Lawyer Watkins stood up, took out his toothpick and put it on the table.

      “Your honor, and ladies and gentlemen occupying this here courtroom, I ain’t going to stand here and tell you my clients didn’t do all the things they are accused of, because they did. They whacked young Johnny Rose on the back of his head with a baseball bat for no other reason than he was Black. They were fixing to rape his thirteen-year-old sister in every way possible for no other reason than she was Black. They were probably gonna kill them afterwards.”

      BJ spoke, “Now that’s a lie!”

      “Shut up!” said the judge.

      Lawyer Watkins continued. “The only defense I can offer, your honor, is that they are young and stupid. They come from Biloxi, a known hotbed of cracker mentality, and each of these boys probably comes from a long line of cracker mentality fools.

      He stepped from behind the table and spread his arms. “Now, everyone in this courtroom knows that we all try to get along in this county. Sheriff Rawlins does everything he can to treat folks fair and proper.” There were mutterings of agreement in the courtroom.

      “I am not condoning any action by any one of these idiots. Heaven knows, what they did is terrible and needs to be dealt with. What I’m saying is, don’t be too hard on them. They may even be passable human beings once someone beats some sense into their cracker heads. Granted, it will take a lot of beatings, but it is possible.”

      Lawyer Watkins sat down and replaced his toothpick. BJ, stunned, tried to rise. Sheriff Rawlins pushed him back down and said, “Shut your mouth, boy.”

      It took the jury 15 minutes to return a guilty verdict. Afterwards, the judge sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin. He finally leaned forward and spoke.

      “As you three boys know, you made a big mistake trying your shenanigans in this county. Well, it’s time to pay the piper. Luke Johnson, stand up.” Luke stood up, his head was down and his fat shoulders were slumped forward.

      “I did some checking on you, Mr. Johnson, and you come from a respectable family. I don’t know how you got mixed up with these other two, but it appears to me that you were just along for the ride and took no real part in it. However, you’re still an accessory. Therefore, I am sentencing you to six months in the county jail and three years probation. I have also contacted your father and he has agreed to pay a twenty thousand dollar fine to the victims’ family. They had to mortgage the house your family has lived in for generations, but they did it. So, after your time in the county jail, I advise you to go home, find new friends, kiss your poor mother, and do everything your father tells you quick, fast, and in a hurry.” The judge slammed his gavel and said, “Sit down.”

      Luke sat down, clearly relieved. The judge slammed his gavel again and said, “Wallace Killibrew, stand up.”

      Wallace stood up. The judge spoke, “Mr. Killibrew, you are a mean tempered, ugly, one-eyed polecat. Even so, if you had both eyes in your head I might be inclined to offer you an option. As it is, I can’t. Consequently, I sentence you to ten years in the Mississippi State Prison to begin now. There is a large number of big Colored convicts who hate everything about you. You better pray to the Almighty, not that he’ll listen to the likes of you, that they don’t find out what you done. You will be eligible for parole in five years, if you live that long. Sit down.” The judge slammed his gavel and BJ heard Wallace whimper.

      “BJ Walker,” stand up.” BJ stood and sneered at the judge. “Mr. Walker, you seem to be the brains of this outfit, such as it is. Now, I done some checking on you, too. It seems to me that if you had some direction, you might amount to something, so I am going to offer you an option. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this, but I got a feeling about you. I spoke with the victims’ mother and father, and managed to talk them into agreeing to this under the condition that if you in any way screw this up, you will immediately be remanded to the custody of the Mississippi State Prison for no less than fifteen years. Is that clear, Mr. Walker?”

      BJ’s hopes soared. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He said, “Yeah.”

      The judge slammed his gavel again and pointed it at BJ. “From now on, young man, you will address folks in authority as sir. You understand?”

      “Yes, sir,” said BJ.

      “All right, Mr. Walker, I want you to turn around and meet Sgt. Santee of the United States Marine Corps.”