The Accused

Barrington I wonder, Professor, if you would be kind enough to confine yourself to answering my questions and not making speeches. This courtroom is not an extension of your lecture theatre and I am not one of your undergraduates. So allow me to move on to the constituents of Potassium Chloride and, may I say, Professor, how much we all enjoyed your little demonstration with the hypodermic needle, which you claimed was consistent with the amount of the chemical found on the kitchen glove.

Forsyth (now angry) It most certainly was.

Barrington But tell me, Professor, as an acknowledged expert on the subject, would it not also be consistent with the amount of Potassium found in this bottle of grapefruit juice, which is more likely to be located in a kitchen?

Forsyth Yes, but …

Barrington Search as I might, I couldn’t find any reference to grapefruit juice in your hundred-and-thirty-nine-page report.

Forsyth My report was not concerned with … the contents …

Barrington Then perhaps it should have been. Professor, you told the court that the first thing you did when you were asked to look into this case was to study Mrs Sherwood’s medical history.

Forsyth And I did so.

Barrington And so did I, Professor, and I discovered that Mrs Sherwood’s father had died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-eight. Why didn’t you consider this possible hereditary condition worthy of mention?

Forsyth Because I could find no connection between the death of a thirty-seven-year old woman and her father’s demise at fifty-eight. Had you been one of my undergraduates Sir James, you would have learnt that research is one thing, being able to draw scientific conclusions from it is quite another.

Barrington Well, let us consider some of your scientific conclusions, shall we, Professor, and try to find out what you have learnt from them. On how many occasions have you testified for the crown in murder trials where poisoning was involved?

Forsyth A dozen - more, perhaps.

Barrington And was one of those cases ‘The Crown versus Mr Roger Latham’?

Forsyth (embarrassed) Yes, it was.

Barrington And were you called by the prosecuting counsel as an expert witness?

Forsyth Yes, I was.

Barrington And was it your evidence that influenced the jury to return a verdict of guilty?

Kersley (leaps up) My Lord, is my learned friend questioning Professor Forsyth’s integrity?

Judge Are you, Sir James?

Barrington Certainly not. But I would refer your Lordship to the Judge’s summing up, and I quote, (He picks up a book and quotes from the trial.) ‘I find the evidence presented by Professor Forsyth as compelling, and feel it should weigh heavily with the jury when they come to consider their verdict.’

Judge In the judge’s summing up. I see. Please continue, Sir James.

Barrington Did you tell the court on that occasion that after you had carried out extensive laboratory tests, you were in no doubt that the liquid Mr Roger Latham poured into his brother’s coffee not only poisoned him, but was responsible for his premature death?

Forsyth That was my opinion at the time.

Barrington At the time. I see. And did another professor later prove that when the liquid was poured into hot coffee it was immediately neutralised and couldn’t have poisoned a mouse?

Forsyth Yes, but there was no way of knowing that then. It was some years later …

Barrington I was not suggesting, even for one moment, Professor, that you were culpable, only human, like the rest of us and therefore capable of making mistakes. Remind me, what verdict did the jury reach on that occasion?

Forsyth Guilty.

Barrington And did Mr Latham die in gaol, having served fourteen years of his life sentence?

Forsyth (nods) Yes, I believe he did.

Barrington And, two years after his death, did his family receive an unconditional pardon from the Home Secretary?