Two in a Million

He Said-He Said

Like a boxer, Ernest Kinney had to find a hole in the prosecution's case and take a poke. His only chance was to go after Jack Ponce, the prosecution's key witness, who wasn't going to be charged with a crime in exchange for his testimony. Ponce, Kinney implied, had a motive to murder the Ewells, too, same as Joel. Ponce had purchased the murder weapon, which was an AT-9 assault rifle (one damn powerful gun).

Oppliger, however, tried to cover every base he knew his counterpart would want to explore and exploit.

"Jack Ponce and [Joel's brother, Peter,] were unwittingly involved in these murders," Oppliger had said during his opening. "Jack Ponce will come in and tell you what he knows about this case. He was not there at the time of the murders and can only tell you what Joel told him."

But Dana's lawyer made a great point when, given the opportunity, he told the jury, "The people's case rests on second- and third-hand testimony of an incorrigible liar and thief who is not only a liar and thief, he's a murderer."