Pieces of a Woman Page #8

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– It should be a walk in the park. – I know.

[indistinct chatter]

[clerk] All rise.

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye.

All persons having anything to do before the Honorable Judge Spencer,

now sitting in the County of Suffolk, the justices of this court, draw near.

Give your attention, and you shall be heard.

God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The court is open. You may be seated.

[Judge Spencer] Yesterday, we heard opening arguments

onState versus Eva Woodward.

Prosecution through the district attorney carries the burden of proof.

Therefore, the prosecution will go first.

You may call your first witness.

[Suzanne] Your Honor, the Commonwealth calls Martha Weiss.

[Judge Spencer] Ms. Weiss, please come forward and be sworn in by the clerk.

Stand there, please.

Raise your right hand.

Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

– [Martha] I do. – Please state your name.

Martha Weiss.

– [Suzanne] May I, Your Honor? – [Judge Spencer] Please.

Could you please tell the court

how the defendant came to be the midwife for the delivery of your baby?

She was standing in for our original midwife

who couldn’t make it to the house in time.

[Suzanne] But you weren’t happy when you heard she was going to be coming

instead of your chosen midwife, Barbara.

I didn’t know her, but I thought it would be fine.

[Suzanne] You trusted her to safely deliver your baby.

– I did, yes. – [Suzanne] May I ask why you trusted her?

Because, um, Barbara did and because she was qualified, I guess.

[Suzanne] During the labor, Ms. Woodward was taking the baby’s heart rate

to see if the baby was okay and that she could handle the labor?

Yes.

[Suzanne] The first time she checked the baby’s heart rate, it was strong, yes?

Yes, it was.

[Suzanne] How many times did she check the heart rate?

About three, I would say.

– [Suzanne] Three times? – Yes.

– [Suzanne] That’s all? Only three times? – Yes.

[Suzanne] And then she told you to take a bath.

Yes.

[Suzanne] Did she take the baby’s heart rate while in the bath?

– [Martha] No. – [Suzanne] So, let me get this straight.

There’s a sustained period of time while you were in the bath

where the baby’s heart rate was not being monitored.

[Martha] Yes.

[Suzanne] Did she ever communicate to you explicitly that a lowered heart rate

could mean that the baby was in distress and that this could cause her death?

She didn’t say that to me.

If you knew about the risk, would you have demanded to go to the hospital?

Of course I would have wanted to know that.

– Would you ever willingly harm your baby? – Of course not.

[Suzanne] No. So if in one of the most difficult moments of your life,

during a difficult labor,

the woman who you’ve decided to put your trust in,

who’s been present at hundreds of births, has far more experience than you do,

turns to you and says, “You must go to the hospital right now,”

would you have gone in? Yes or no?

Yes, I would have.

No further questions, Your Honor.

Mr. Lane, cross-examine?

[Lane] Thank you, Your Honor.

First, may I say how deeply sorry I am for your loss?

Thank you.

[Lane] May I ask you why you decided on a home birth?

I wanted the baby to decide when she wanted to come.

Would it be fair to say you were absolutely determined

to have a home birth, that you had your heart set on it?

– [Martha] Yes. – [Lane] And your partner agreed with you?

We agreed to do it together. Yes.

And you both knew if there was a problem,

you may have to go to the hospital to deliver the baby. Is that true?

Of course, yes.

[Lane] Because at a hospital, you knew that should a problem arise,

– that there was equipment… – Yes, I knew that.

– There was expertise in a crisis… – Yes.

And yet, when complications did arrive,

and your midwife suggested you may consider going to the hospital

because of a heart arrhythmia, you decided to stay at the house.

Yes, but she didn’t say that to me. No.

[Lane] Let me ask this. You said earlier you trust your midwife. Is that right?

I did.

[Lane] Yes. And do you trust your husband?

– My partner?

[Lane] Yes.

Yes, I do… did.

[Lane] Because your partner has given testimony

that your midwife strongly advised you should go to the hospital.

You say you’re working together as a team.

And when your partner asked you to go to the hospital, you refused to go.

Is that correct?

Is that correct?

I wanted to stay at home myself.

[Lane] And you actively and adamantly stated that to your husband

that you didn’t want to go to the hospital?

[Martha] I did. Yes.

[Lane] The few moments after your baby was born,

was her breathing disturbed

or was there anything to indicate her condition was poor?

– No, not at…

[Lane] Did you hear her cry?

– Yes, a bit.

Did you hold her?

– Yes, I held…

[Lane] Was her body warm or cold?

I can’t remember that.

You can’t remember that? Did you notice anything strange?

Did you notice that her feet were turning blue and purple?

– I didn’t look at her feet.

Did you look at her hands?

No.

You didn’t look at her feet or her hands. Did you notice the color of her eyes?

Did you notice whether she had blonde hair,

dark hair, lots of hair, no hair?

Yes, she…

– [Lane] Pardon me?

It was dark. Yes.

[Lane] Her hair was dark. Yes.

Did you notice anything else?

That her fingers were long? Or her toes… Did she have ten fingers…

– I said I looked at her face.

[Lane] You looked at her face.

Yes.

What did you feel when you were holding your baby?

How did I feel?

[Lane] Yes, how did you feel holding your baby you had just given birth to?

She smelled like an apple. [chuckles softly]

– She smelled like an apple.

[Martha] Mm-hmm.

“What did she feel?” was the question. Did she feel like a healthy baby?

She did. Yes.

[Lane softly] Yes.

[sighs] If your baby had died because of something like SIDS…

[Suzanne] Objection, Your Honor.

SIDS has not been established as a definite cause of death.

Let the jury decide, not the witness.

I would like to hear the witness’s testimony as to her state of mind.

If you feel you can answer the question, I would like you to.

[sniffles] Can I have a break? Just one minute?

Mr. Lane?

I have no further questions, Your Honor.

[Judge Spencer] Then this court will be in recess till this afternoon.

– Thank you.

The trial will continue after the break.

[clerk] All rise.

[man] Can I help you?

Um, do you have any photos here under the name of Weiss?

[man] Weiss.

Weiss.

Um… Oh, yeah.

We prepared the negatives,

but we didn’t print any ’cause we never heard back.

– You wanna check them out?

Yes. Is that okay?

[man] Sure.

There you go.

– Can you print them right now?

[man] Sure.

It just takes a second.

I’ll be back in a minute.

[Martha breathing shakily]

[sniffles]

[whimpers]

[shakily] Oh, God.

Oh, God.

[breathing shakily]

[Lane] Your Honor, I’d like to submit additional documents indicating

certain inconsistencies that were presented earlier by the prosecution.

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