No. Did she call Ariel's parents to confirm? No. Yet you provided the clippers that were used to shave Ariel's head. The nurse's eyes filled with tears.
Yes. It's the biggest regret of my career. During cross-examination, Whitfield tried to shift blame to the nurse. Isn't it your responsibility, not Ms. Rors, to know which students have medical exemptions?
Objection, Grace called. Council is attempting to deflect responsibility from his client. Sustained. Judge Barnes ruled. Mr.
Whitfield, stay focused on your client's actions. As the day progressed, Grace methodically dismantled the defense's arguments. She produced emails showing Wexley had been notified within minutes of the incident and had advised Ms. Ror to handle it quietly and avoid detailed documentation. Then came the moment that shifted the entire atmosphere of the courtroom.
Alex, the IT technician who had disappeared after contacting Naomi, entered through a side door escorted by a court officer. He looked nervous but determined as he took the stand. "Mr. Baker," Grace began. "Can you tell the court about the security footage from the day of the incident?"
Alex nodded. Every area of the school is under video surveillance, including the hallways and the nurse's office. The system automatically saves footage for 30 days before overwriting. What happened to the footage from the day Ariel's head was shaved? Principal Wexley asked me to delete it.
Alex stated clearly. He said it was a student privacy issue, but that's never been our protocol before. We preserve footage whenever there's an incident. Did you delete the footage as instructed? I told him I did, Alex replied.
But I actually created a backup first. It didn't feel right. Grace approached the bench. Your honor, we'd like to submit this recovered footage as evidence. The video was displayed on screens throughout the courtroom.
The quality was grainy, the angle slightly offcenter, but the content was unmistakable. Ariel sitting in the nurse's chair, tears streaming down her face as Ms. Ror held the clippers to her head. The girl's mouth was moving, pleading, but there was no audio. It didn't matter.
The visual told the story clearly enough. A collective gasp went through the courtroom. One juror visibly wiped away tears. During the lunch recess, Lawrence Whitfield cornered Miss Ror in a private conference room. "This is not going well," he said bluntly.