Free Dying Declaration by Randy Singer

negligent homicide in the death of Joshua Caleb Hammond. How plead you?”
    Harry Pursifull rose to his feet and majestically buttoned his suit coat. The button strained but held.
    “The defendants plead not guilty, Your Honor,” he announced.
    Crawford quickly rose to her feet. “The commonwealth requests bail in the amount of two hundred thousand for Mr. Hammond and fifty thousand for Mrs. Hammond,” she said sternly, staring at the defendants. “This is the tragic death of a very young child who could have been saved if defendants had simply sought appropriate medical care—”
    “Spare me your speeches,” the judge said. “We’ll try the case later. Are defendants a flight risk?”
    “No, Your Honor,” Harry responded. “On the contrary, they have lived in the community their whole lives. Mr. Hammond runs a lawn care business—”
    “Whether he mows lawns or not is immaterial,” Crawford snapped. “What is material is the fact that last night Mr. Hammond threatened the deputies who served him with the arrest warrant and told those same deputies that nobody was going to take his kids away. The commonwealth believes he is a substantial flight risk, Your Honor.”
    “What about Mrs. Hammond?” the judge asked, his hands tented in front of him as he eyed the defendants. “Does the commonwealth believe she poses a flight risk?”
    “Not necessarily, Judge. That’s why we’ve requested a lower bond for her. But we strongly urge that it be conditioned on foster care for the children pending trial. We can’t run the risk that she’ll neglect another child with similar consequences.”
    Nikki watched the Hammond woman tug on the suit coat of Harry and whisper in his ear. Nikki could see the urgency on her face but couldn’t make out what she said.
    “For these defendants,” Harry said, “fifty thousand bucks is like a million. This case calls for a PR bond, Judge. And Mrs. Hammond is not willing to give up the children under any circumstances.”
    Crawford started to respond—she was always ready to respond—but Judge Silverman held up his hand and silenced both lawyers. He thought in silence, staring at the back wall for an interminable length of time, and then finally looked down at the deputy commonwealth’s attorney.
    “Is there any evidence of child abuse?” he asked.
    “You mean besides the child neglect that caused the death of Joshua?” Crawford asked snidely.
    “Alleged death,” Harry shot back from the defense table.
    “No, Harry, the death is not alleged; it’s very real.” Crawford turned on him. “If you want, we can go to the cemetery and I’ll show you the body.”
    “Counsel!” Silverman barked, his frustration showing. “Address your comments to the court.” He paused, changing his tone. “Is there any evidence of child abuse?”
    “The commonwealth has a reasonable suspicion that such abuse has occurred. That’s why we subpoenaed the other children to court today to testify. We would request leave of court to interview those children in the presence of a court reporter, defense counsel, and a court appointed special advocate, to determine if such abuse has in fact occurred.”
    “Are the children here?” The judge directed his comments toward Theresa Hammond. The woman’s eyes went wide, and Nikki immediately felt sorry for her.
    Theresa stood slowly and nervously. “Yes, Your Honor,” she said, motioning to the back of the courtroom. “Right back there.”
    As she pointed at the kids, all eyes turned to stare at them. The girl raised her hand in a timid little wave and smiled nervously. Her little brother slid down in his seat and stared at the floor.
    “Very well, then,” Silverman said. “This case will be adjourned for half an hour while the children are interviewed. I will take the amount of bond under advisement pending the results of that interview. . . . Ms. Moreno?”
    Nikki rose to her full height and stared directly into the camera. Crawford