The Accused (Modern Plays) Read Online Free PDF Page A

sixty, very formal and slightly pompom. He enters the courtroom and goes straight to the witness box. He takes the card in his right hand, as if he has been through the process many times before. He does not wait for the
Usher
to instruct him
.
    Forsyth I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
    Kersley Professor, I would like to establish with the jury the particular expertise you bring to this case. ( Forsyth
nods
.) You were educated at Edinburgh Academy, from where you won a scholarship to Cambridge to read medicine?
    Forsyth Yes, Mr Kersley, that is correct.
    Kersley At Cambridge you graduated with honours in Pharmacology and went on to do research for an MD?
    Forsyth That is also correct.
    Kersley On completing your MD, you took up a Fellowship at King’s College, London, where you continued your research. May I enquire what your specialist subject was?
    Forsyth Toxicology, the study of poisons.
    Kersley You were offered the Chair of Toxicology at London University, and you have since written several books on the subject, which are acknowledged as the recognised text for any student reading for a medical degree?
    Forsyth Only three of my works are set texts, Mr Kersley. The rest of them would be far beyond the understanding of the average undergraduate.
    Kersley Quite so. You are a Fellow of the Royal Society and have recently been awarded a CBE for services to medicine?
    Judge I do believe, Mr Kersley, that you have established beyond peradventure the credentials of your expert witness, so perhaps the time has come to get on with the case in hand.
    Kersley I am delighted to learn, My Lord, that you feel Professor Forsyth’s credentials need no further claims on my part, as I believe your endorsement can only give the jury added confidence in his opinions.
    Judge (
scowls
) Mr Kersley. Get on with it.
    Kersley First let me ask you, Professor, how you became involved in this case?
    Forsyth The Crown Prosecution Service invited me to make a report on Mrs Sherwood’s medical history. I began by reading all Mrs Sherwood’s files held at St George’s.
    Kersley And would I be correct in thinking that you sought a Home Office order to exhume the body?
    Forsyth I would have done so, Mr Kersley, had Mr Sherwood not given instructions for the body to be cremated a few days after her death.
    Kersley Really. Despite this setback, were you able to discover any new evidence?
    Forsyth No, because Mr Sherwood had misled his colleagues into believing that his wife’s previous heart attack explained her premature death. They also emphasised that as she was married to a surgeon who specialised in the subject, her aftercare treatment could hardly have been better.
    Kersley Or worse, as the case may be.
    Judge Mr Kersley, you will in future desist from making these
sotto voce
remarks. (
Turns to the audience
.) Members of the Jury, Mr Kersley’s comment should be ignored.
    Kersley But not forgotten, I suspect.
    Judge Did you wish to say something, Mr Kerlsey?
    Kersley My Lord, I was simply at pains to point out that …
    Judge It is not your responsibility to point out anything, Mr Kersley, merely to ask questions, which may elicit answers that in turn might possibly assist the jury.
    Kersley But … My Lord … if I am to discharge …
    Judge No buts, Mr Kersley, as Sir James has so properly reminded us. From you, I only require questions. I expect the answers to come from the witnesses.
    Kersley So be it, My Lord. Professor, would it be possible for an experienced doctor to poison a patient while at the same time fooling his colleagues?
    Forsyth Yes, nowadays that would be easy enough for anyone with Mr Sherwood’s experience. There are three known poisons - only one available on prescription - that would kill an intended victim without leaving any clue that a murder had taken place.
    Kersley Well, I will deal only with the one poison that is available on