Steven D. Green

Steven D. Green
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Monday, May 18, 2009

Final Furlong

Day 14

The defense has almost completed its case for the jury. Noah Galloway was called to the stand first today. Patrick Bouldin questioned him about his level of confidence and his reasons for that confidence surrounding his February 2003 campaign in Iraq. "I was very confident, because of the excellent leadership. I told my wife to not worry about me because I wasn't worried about myself, I was in good hands." In contrast, regarding his second tour of duty in Iraq, he wasn't nearly as confident, due to the lack of training, and communication..."From the position of Company Commander, that was Captain Goodwin, all the way up past Colonel Kunk, I had my doubts," he told the jury.

The second witness to take the stand today was Deacon Dan Houck. Houck is a Deacon with the Archdiocese of Louisville. He is 82 years old, having served in WWII('44-'46) as a scout, Korea(3 years) as a 2nd Lieutenant with an 89th Tank Battallion, and Vietnam('69-'70) as a Lieutenant Colonel. He has served 16 years as a chaplain to the Kentucky State Reformatory. He testified that Steven Green requested to begin discussions with someone about joining the Catholic Church. Houck accepted the offer, thinking he could help with his past military experience. He testified that he had met with a very sincere Green around 40 times, expressing interest in the history of the Church. "Steven was very well read, in my talks with him. He did his homework. He was sincere," Houck told jurors. He told the court that as Green stands trial today, he is a baptized Catholic.

The final witness to testify today was Patricia Ruth, Steven's aunt, and sister to John Green, Steven's dad. Her daughter is Suzi Woolsey, who testified last Thursday. She spoke of Roxanne being a flamboyant and outgoing person who "lived in her own world." She contrasted in that she herself was "strict" on her children, whereas Roxanne was "the opposite" with hers. "She wanted her children to be individuals and live an unstructured life," she told the jury. She said that as a child, Steven was "always the kid who wanted to know 'why?,' and he was also very hyper active. He was like having a squirrel loose in the house." When Pat Bouldin asked if she still loved Green, she had to retrieve tissues for her tears before answering, "I'm like a second mother to him, he's my Stevie...(pauses)...you can't just...stop loving someone, that you've always loved." She paused and thought for a moment before going on, "I don't know, I don't know how we got to spot...I don't know, we did not send a rapist and a murderer to Iraq."

Perhaps the biggest point in her testimony, Bouldin asked her why Roxanne, Steven's mother, couldn't be here in Paducah to testify. "I'm not sure, but from what I've heard, to the best of my knowledge, she had to move and had plans to have a going away party so she couldn't attend?" In contrast, Bouldin noted that John Green and David Green, Green's Dad and Uncle, were present in the gallery. After she finished testimony and after the mid-morning break, a paralegal from the defense team would approach Ruth to tell her that "Steve wanted me to tell you that he wishes he could come over here and hug you." She tearfully wished she could do the same.

Court adjourned at roughly 11AM today(Monday, May 18th).

The schedule as it stands:

Tuesday(tomorrow): Remaining defense witnesses, if there are any, followed by the Prosecution's one rebuttal witness(an expert/specialist of some kind). There is a "50/50" chance that we will hear closing statements tomorrow, Pat Bouldin allegedly said. If not tomorrow, expect to hear them on Wednesday.

Notes:
-Any ideas on what should become of this blog post-trial? Feel free to suggest!
-Dull dark brown sweater vest. Defense Attorney Darren Wolff looking extra Dapper Dan in the three piece suit as well.

1 comment:

  1. Journalism is changing. It's a lot of work, and no one really knows what it's gonna look like 10 years from now. All I can say is, if you continue to be a reliable source of information, I'll continue to follow your work. I bet others will too.

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