Episode 7 "Most Evil People"

Episode 7 Judge Small begins to share stories about the truly evil people he has encountered during his extensive legal career. Listeners will also find out what happens to Officer Hernández during his encounter with Arturo Azul as we continue the story of True Justice. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

The Smoke and Gavel Podcast is now in session. I'm retired Judge Chip Small, who will preside over this podcast, along with my bailiff, Madeline Rose. We welcome you and ask you to join us as we take a look at our justice system from a unique, candid, and inside view. Maddie, what's on the docket today?

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Okay, Your Honor. Today you will finally begin to discuss true crimes, one of my favorite subjects, by discussing some of the evil people you've encountered during your career. Then you'll share with us the factors you've considered before you believe someone is evil. And finally, we'll continue the story of true justice. So, Judge, how many evil people have you encountered during your career?

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Surprisingly few. But before we get specific, as a former attorney, I must start with a disclaimer. My opinion of who is evil is just that, my own opinion. It's a personal opinion based upon my own personal observations, experiences, and values. The listener needs to understand that I'm simply offering my own opinions. I suspect most listeners may have differing opinions, and that's fine. So how many evil people do I think I've encountered in my career? Only four. Which is remarkable considering that I was a trial court judge for almost 27 years, and I've sentenced hundreds, if not thousands, of people for felonies they have committed. Equally remarkable is that of all those individuals, I never sentenced anyone I thought was truly evil. Don't get me wrong, many of those people I sentenced did do evil things, but I didn't consider them to be truly evil people. As the listener will see or hear in my novels, a recurrent theme of mine is that good people do bad things and bad people do bad things.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Okay. Well, I know that you've had a lot of pretty evil cases. I mean, you can anyone can look up your name and see that there's a lot more than four people. And so you're saying that you have not actually convicted any of the four people that you truly believed were evil?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

I didn't sentence any of the four.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

So there's people that you have sentenced.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

I've sentenced a lot of people that did evil things, but those four that I believe are truly evil, it turns out that I had never sentenced any of them. When I went back and reflected how I knew them, it turned out I never sentenced any of them.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

Oh, that's interesting. So we're going to get to know who the four people are then, huh?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

So the the first one, in my humble opinion, that was truly evil, I only observed briefly when I was in law school. Before I was a lawyer, before I was a judge, and most of you have probably heard of him. His name was Ted Bundy.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

What? You didn't tell me this one.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Well, you wanted us to be extemporaneous.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Okay, well, this is a surprise, guys. Ted Bundy. Chip met Ted Bundy.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Well, I was studying at the UW Law School Library one day.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

So he wasn't in your courtroom. This was before you were even a judge. When you were in law school, you met Ted Bundy. So he'd be like your age right now, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

I didn't meet him. I've done it. Okay, I'm getting ahead of us.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

I'm getting ahead. Let's let's hear the story.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

So I'm at the UW Law School Library, and it's usually a very, very quiet place. Everybody's booking hard. But that day there was a buzz in the main reading room, which is pretty large, that Ted Bundy was in the stacks. I looked up and sure enough, there he was. He wasn't there for very long, but when he turned away from the bookshelf, you could see his eyes. Deep, piercing, soulless eyes. There was also an aura about him that you could feel that wasn't so much frightening as it was evil. Even the way he walked, he seemed to be stalking.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

So that's that's the number one person.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

When he finally did get convicted, did you think about this story back then? He must have been popular if people said it no, I it it's kind of when you see somebody like that, you don't forget. Yeah. I mean it's well and I guess, you know, I from what I hear, he was a a considered attractive back then, you know. So he was a good looking guy. Yeah, yeah. So I mean people usually remember good looking guys, you know, tall, dark, and handsome, whatever. Most evil predators have the most welcoming visage, right? Right? Like heats, it's harder to tell true evil when it's hiding. Uh Wolf and Sheep's or sheep in wolf's clothing. How does it go? Wolf and sheep's clothing. My brain's backwards today, guys. Chip keeps me organized. Well, time for our sponsor break. The Smoke and Gamble Podcast is sponsored by Judge Small Books and Gatekeeper Press, a full service publishing company empowering authors with complete creative control, professional guidance, and 100% royalties. Whether you're publishing your first book or your tenth, their team makes a process simple, transparent, and truly author-friendly. Listeners of the show can receive 10% off any publishing package with Gatekeeper Press. Just mention Chip Small when requesting a quote or during your free consultation at gatekeeperpress.com. So, Your Honor, who else is in your evil four?

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Another one was actually a witness in a first degree arson case that I presided over.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

A witness?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

He's a witness. At the time, he was also a defendant in another case before another judge. The charges in that case were aggravated murder in the first degree and murder in the first degree.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

So he was a w able to be a witness, but he's also a defendant in another case?

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yep. And before the trial in the arson case, where he's a witness, it was discovered that he was uh keeping a journal of sorts in his jail cell. And the attorney for the defendant in the arson case convinced me that his client had the right to have the court look at what was in the journal, but it would be what's called an in-camera review, where only I see what's in the journal and don't disclose it to anyone else unless I see something that might help the defendant in in uh when it's time for the witness to testify. So before we get the results of my in-camera review, the listener should know some of the facts in the murder case. Considering YouTube standards, I'll be s try to be circumspect describing the allegations against the murder defendant and arson witness. The murder victim was allegedly bludgeoned to death with multiple blows to the head by a baseball bat. Most of the victim's clothes were removed, and post-mortem the defendant had sex with the deceased body of the victim. My review of the journal that he kept included many drawings by the murder defendant. What they depicted is unspeakable. And I hope no one else ever sees them. While the arson witness aggravated murder defendant had the same deep black pools for eyes like Bundy, his conduct in the murder case and his drawings left me with the opinion that not only were his acts evil, but so was he.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

So deep dark eyes kind of indicates evil, maybe. I don't know. It's one of the factors. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

I mean, just black pools. I mean, it just seemed like endless votes for votes for Bundy and this this defendant.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

I wonder if there's some scientific thing about that, like having your pupils always dilated or not dilated, the opposite, right? Where they're they're so big.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Oh, no, they're dilated. Yeah, dilated.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Okay, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna I'm gonna sound uh very uneducated here with our judge.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Like I said, this is just opinions. I'm not trying to prove anything or say it's factual, but those two people, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Well, guys, I think it's time for us to continue reading True Justice. Chip.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Chapter three. Beverly Campbell, a mother of three girls, is at New Dawn, a woman's center that serves survivors of abuse in Eagleton. Her ex-husband, Carl Stalker, has custody of the girls but refuses to get them into counseling. After years of abuse, Beverly finally got the courage to divorce Stalker, but at the time of the trial, she did not have an attorney and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The trial judge determined that Beverly was incapable of taking care of herself, let alone three young girls. Despite the emotional and psychological abuse by Stalker, the court awarded custody of the girls to him, but ordered they be immediately provided counseling at Stalker's expense. Two years have passed since a decree requiring counseling for the girls was entered. However, the girls have not spent one minute in counseling. During that time, Beverly was successful in obtaining counseling for herself, finding a decent paying job and a suitable place to live.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

I don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Beverly tells the New Dawn advocate.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

I cannot afford to hire a lawyer, and Carl refuses to get the girls into counseling. Even when he does allow the girls to visit me, they treat me like their father did and constantly complain that they want to go home. After what you have been through and more importantly what your daughters are going through, I will try to find an attorney to represent you pro bono. That means for free.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Jean states understandingly.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Is that even possible?

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Beverly asks.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

There are a handful of lawyers that have helped us in the past on cases like yours.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

She assures her.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

How soon will you know? Honestly, I don't know, but I will try to find one for you by next week.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Chapter 4. For a stocky, 32-year-old man, Homer is unusually fast. A high school wrestler, Homer has stayed in remarkably good shape. He takes off in a sprint to catch Arturo. Arturo seems to be limping as he tries to outrun the deputy. Homer launches himself, tackling the teen to the ground. As they hit the turf, Arturo's foot catches the thumb release on the deputy's holster, freeing his nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol. They continue to wrestle, and the Glock pistol falls out onto the ground. The Glock 17 incorporates a safe action system, which eliminates the need for a separate safety switch. This system means that the safety is always on, but it automatically disengages as one pulls the trigger. Like most law enforcement officers, Deputy Hernandez always carries his firearm with one bullet already chambered, eliminating the need to pull the slide to inject a bullet into the chamber. All he has to do is pull the trigger. When Homer feels his firearm fall out of his holster, he knows he must get his hands on the Glock fast. As the two continue to struggle, Arturo sees the deputy reaching for the pistol lying on the ground next to them. Fearing for his life, the youth tries to get to the weapon first. Simultaneously, they both grab hold of the Glock. Homer manages to roll the teen onto his back. The firearm is now gripped between them when it suddenly discharges. The bullet strikes the deputy above his armored vest and travels through his neck. The sound of the explosion is deafening. Arturo still clutches the Glock as he manages to crawl out from under the wounded deputy. He looks down to see blood spurting from the wound. The sight of all the blood and the smell of gunpowder make his stomach churn. His ears still ringing, Arturo runs toward Lupe's home, shoving the firearm into his waistband. I've got to get away now. Hearing the gunshot, Lupe steps out onto her front porch when she sees Arturo running toward her with the weapon sticking out from the front of his jeans.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Kasle?

SPEAKER_00 12:21

She screams at Arturo. It was an accident. We've got to get out of here.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

What did you do?

SPEAKER_00 12:27

She demands. We must go. Is your mother at home? Arturo asks.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

No, she is at work. Go where?

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Is that her car?

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

She replies hesitantly.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

I'm not going anywhere, Arturo, until you tell me what happened.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Ignoring her demand, Arturo yells, get the keys. No, she says, folding her arms across her chest. Grabbing her by the shoulders, Arturo pleads, Lupe, Karita, we must leave now. If you love me, you'll get the keys. Reluctantly, Lupe goes inside to retrieve the keys from the hook in the kitchen. Arturo grabs them out of her hands. Are you coming?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Not until I know what is going on.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

There's no time to explain. I'll call you as soon as I can. I love you, Mikarira Lupe. Having heard the sirens, the neighbor across the road looks out from her front porch at the nearby orchard. She sees the deputy running after the teen. Then she sees the deputy tackle the teen, and the two of them struggled on the ground. The sharp retort of the gunshot scares her back into her home. After a few moments, she ventures to look out again and sees the officer on the ground. No one else is in sight. She slowly walks out her front door again and begins to walk toward the officer. He isn't moving. She approaches and sees blood everywhere. She runs back to her home, picks up her cell phone, and dials 911. So listeners, in these chapters, we're introduced to additional characters. Beverly Campbell, the ex-wife of the abuser Carl Stalker. The two of them had three daughters who reside with Stalker. Beverly is seeking help from New Dawn. We also learn the fate of Alleria's brother, Homer Hernandez, at the hands of Arturo Azul, Lupe's boyfriend and Maria Azul's son.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

In our next episode, the judge will share the story of the $25,000 one-night stand and the story of when his courtroom became a crime scene. We'll also continue the story of true justice.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Thanks for listening today. We hope you enjoyed this episode of the Smoke and Gavel Podcast. To learn more, visit judgesmallbooks.com. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share to stay connected. Until next time, God bless.