This is a far cry from the John Goodman that took the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 for his DUI- Vehicular Manslaughter trial in the death of Scott Patrick Wilson age 23.
Watching his testimony was shocking. It was not what was said. It was Mr. Goodman's demeanor, which generated whispers, texts, twitters - you name it. Jaws dropped, brows furrowed, smirks were rampant, and, yes, even empathy followed.
Those that did not personally know Mr. Goodman, might have wondered if he was Special Needs; did he have a speech impediment? Next, inquiries went out as to whether Mr. Goodman could be medicated. Then, of course, why on earth would Roy Black put Mr. Goodman on the stand?
Mr. Goodman had selective memory loss. He contradicted his 911 call. "I'm in big trouble, huh?" he said. "It's just horrible. I just didn't see the car coming." "I just pulled out in front of someone." He hit a car. He testified he didn't know he hit a car. The two glasses of wine disappeared and turned into two shots of tequila. A light was on at a barn that was off. He had an undiagnosed concussion. He hopped over a fence - the gate was open. He only went to the Players Club 5 times a year - oops - 3-4 times a month. He was on his way to Wendy's to get a "frosty." Oops, a drug term for cocaine - poor choice of words. There were more "I don't knows" or "I don't remember," than a child that got caught with their hand in a cookie jar. Which raised more questions. One in particular stands out, "How on earth, did this man before us, 'build' International Polo?"
Another troubling question, with Mr. Goodman's 'seasoned' defense team, why was Mr. Goodman so ill-prepared? Did Mr. Black and Mr. Shapiro honestly think Bentley was going to stay silent? The prosecutor was generous in stating the defense team was "formidable."
911 calls -
Whether staged or not, Mr. Goodman did illicit sympathy for a moment in time, until one remembered that an innocent, beautiful young man named Scott Patrick Wilson perished because of John Goodman's negligence. A grave, horrid error in judgement destroyed so many lives, including Mr. Goodman's own life. Mr. Goodman is breathing. He was given a gift and those that saw those crashed cars, know it was Scott Patrick Wilson's car that probably saved Mr. Goodman from going into that canal. Scott Patrick Wilson was not offered grace, yet in his death, he gave it.
The video above shows an alive, joyous John Goodman in 2009. It is a stark contrast to what we all observed on the witness stand Wednesday. The prosecutor essentially stated in her closing that she did not believe Mr. Goodman to be a monster, a "bad" person.
She did state that she is asking for accountability. She was right. Mr. Goodman's remorse, although evident, was not vocalized thanks to his attorney, Mr. Roy Black. Mr. Black issued a statement of apology to the Wilson family for Mr. Goodman a while back. Mr. Black blew it in more ways than one. For his client, accountability, it allows you to own it, and let go of the monsters inside that will eventually destroy you. We will not even go there for the Wilson family.
Whatever sympathy was left for Mr. Goodman, all was lost when Mr. Black started grandstanding at the end of his closing. Mr. Black not only thanked everyone, he blessed everyone, including the USA. Then, Mr. Black stumbled over "From sea to shining sea." It appeared all that was missing was Mr. Black's rendition of "America." Totally bizarre for someone that isn't running for office ...
Other than feeling totally sad, one could not help
wondering, "what exactly was in that water they were all drinking?"
And that's my take.
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