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chatty woman who lives three houses down from the shooting site
half-apologizes for the neighborhood. "It's real quiet--and nothJng
ever happens out there. This was so unusual."
|^ The crowd is jittery; they rush through the doors. A man who
was far back in line stomps out when he finds the courtroom
filled. "I couldn't find a seat," he announces loudly to no one in
particular. "There are three fat ladies taking up a whole rowF'
The three fat ladies stay put, but look annoyed.
Dr. John Mackey is a most articulate witness. He looks
directly at the jury: "I found a small child gasping for air, crying
weakly . . . and then I saw what I assumed to be a child--
crumpled on the floor. I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, there's a
third one. What will we do?'
"What did you do?" Fred Hugi asks softly.
"Can I refer to the children by name--it would be a lot
easier." .,^
"Of course."
"Cheryl appeared to be dead."
Diane is immobile, her pale right hand--with long, carefully
filed nails--droops languidly on her chair's arm.
"Cheryl--had dilated pupils, no respiration. We hooked her
up to a heart monitor."
Mackey's voice is emotional and husky. For twelve minuses,
he describes the measures they had tried. "I knew that Danny
had been shot in the chest, I knew that Christie had been shot in
350 ANN RULE
the chest, and Cheryl also had been shot in the chest. Christie had
actually begun the process of dying ... the oxygen level in her
bloodstream was incompatible with life . . . One of the most
serious injuries you can have is a gunshot wound to the chest. . .
we were just doing everything we could to bring those kids back."
One of Mackey's other jobs had been to report to the mother
what was happening with her children. Dr. Mackey's encounters
with Diane Downs had left him astounded. He told her all three
children were critically injured, and that one of them had diedù
one of the girls. He started to describe the dead childùbut stopped,
realizing how similar the girls were in appearance.
"She said, 'Oh. She was to be my athlete' . . . She was
extremely composed. She was unbelievably composed. I couldn't
disbelieve she was a family member. There were no tears ... no
disbelief ... no, 'Why did this happen to me?' "
Slowly, Dr. Mackey shifts slightly on the stand and turns to
look at Diane as he speaks. "I told her that she would have to
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stay at the hospital," and she said, 'Well, will I be able to work
tomorrow? I must work the day after at least.' I thought that was
a truly inappropriate response."
"Objection, your honor," Jagger booms.
"Sustained."
"I feltù"
"Objection!"
' "Sustained."
Hugi rephrases a question to elicit Dr. Mackey's observation.
"Objection." i 'Ife
"Overruled."
Mackey says that he observed a lack of concern by a mother
for her children. "I felt that something was very wrong at that
pointù"
"Objection!"
They tussle with their legal points, and finally John Mackey
is allowed to say a complete sentence or two about the woman he
saw on the night of May 19.
"A woman very calm, very self-assured, excitedùnot tearfulù
but angry. Occasionally smiling, occasionally chuckling. I saw a
woman who appeared to be in very good control of herself. That's
"surprising."
Fred Hugi asks if the police put undue pressure on Diane.
No. "I felt they acted in a very professional manner . . . they
were very cautious."
SMALL SACRIFICES 351
Asked about the normal reactions to grief--and he had seen
many--Mackey says people tend to react in a similar fashion with
crying and disbelief although men are less overtly tearful than
women.
On cross-examination, Jim Jagger attempts to modify the
picture Mackey has painted. "All you're saying is that during the
five minutes she spent with you, she wasn't reacting? Isn't that
true?"
"Yes."
"Would it be fair to say this was one of the most serious and
emotional situations you have been in in your years in the ER?"
"Yes."
Mackey offers that he had already formed an emotional attachment
to the Downs children when they were in the ER. "I'm
that kind of person . . . We were very proud of the fact that we
were able to save a couple of the children."
Jagger is careful; Mackey has clearly won over the jury. An
overt attack on the doctor could be disastrous.
On redirect, Fred Hugi asks Mackey if he was surprised
when he heard that Diane was suing the hospital.
"Well, yeah--we saved two kids ... I felt we had been more
or less heroic."
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