Character Analysis
For the Prosecution
- Jose Delgado is a karate-kicking, good-kid employee. He was out eating Chinese food when the deal went down, but he found the body and saw that five packs of cigarettes were stolen. Nothin' further.
- Salvatore Zinzi is a dude who was out on Riker's Island (and not on a vacation cruise) looking for a chance to escape his balmy jail cell, as well as Island predators (and we're not talking about hyenas). That chance came in the form of Wendell Bolden, who gave him the skinny about a drugstore robbery/murder that went down. Bolden intended to use that bit of information for his own gain, but Zinzi beat him to it. He called his detective and got himself a get-out-of-jail-free card. Which raises the question: is he telling the truth? He's willing to betray Bolden to get his own deal, after all, so maybe he'll say anything to escape the terrors of his cell.
- Wendell Bolden says, "I just wanted to do the right thing. You know, like a good citizen" (4.57), and it's a total load of garbage, since Bolden's practically got a frequent flier jail card. Dude's served time for breaking and entering, drug possession, and—almost—assault. What's with the almost? His charges suddenly vanished when he made a deal with the cops: he tells them about a convo he had with Bobo, and bye-bye assault charges. It's a pretty good deal, but just how much can we trust what this guy says?
- Lorelle Henry is a sweet old grannie who inadvertently became a witness when she went to pick up some medicine for her granddaughter and ended up overhearing the robbery and ensuing argument. She booked it before anything else could go down, but her testimony looks bad for King's case anyway, because she recognizes him as one of the two young men involved. What makes it even worse for King is that Lorelle is black. She says, "I have trouble testifying against a Black man" (16.50), but she does so anyway, saying, "I think I'm doing the right thing. I think I'm identifying the right man" (16.52). This all looks good for Steve, though, because if she was in the store he couldn't have been working as lookout. Either that or he did a really lousy job at his post.
- Allen Forbes is the city clerk who testifies that Aguinaldo's gun was legally registered. Done.
- Dr. James Moody is the lucky stiff who studies unlucky stiffs, a.k.a. the medical examiner. He testifies that Nesbitt died thanks to internal organ trauma and "by the lungs filling with blood" (12.19). Translation: "he literally drowned in his own blood" (12.21). Moody's revelation of these gory details provides an interesting moment of insight into King and Steve through their reactions: King doesn't flinch, and Steve audibly gasps.
- Aguinaldo Nesbitt is the store owner turned murder victim after pulling his gun to defend his business. Though dead and not technically a witness, Nesbitt haunts the book, fueling the prosecution's fire.
For the Defense
- George Sawicki is Steve's film teacher extraordinaire. In fact, when O'Brien asked Steve to write down all the people he admired, Mr. Sawicki's name turned up twice. This is the guy who taught Steve how to use a camera and shoot a film, skills he mimics on the page as he copes with his traumatic trial experience by converting it into a screenplay. In the midst of an arduous experience, Mr. Sawicki reminds Steve of his humanity, taking the stand and calling him "an outstanding young man […] talented, bright, and compassionate" (18.176). As if that weren't enough, he keeps rooting for Steve even when the prosecution tries to beat down his assumptions. He says Steve's "film footage shows me what he's seeing and, to a large extent, what he's thinking. And what he sees, the humanity of it, speaks of a very deep character" (18.187). No matter the outcome of the trial, these are things Steve desperately needs to hear—he just needs so badly for someone to believe he's not a monster.
- Dorothy Moore and George Nipping don't make a huge splash, though they serve as witnesses for King's defense. Moore is King's cousin who claims he was at her home at the time of the crime. Her story quickly falls apart, though, when pressed. Nipping bought King a baseball glove, a fact used to prove that King is left-handed; since the gunshot was on Nesbitt's left side, this may mean King's innocence in the shooting. It's not much of a defense, though.