📸 Photo

SENTENCING

This time, the policeman was stupid; in his attempt to appear innocent, he didn't look at the ring as he took it off. When the judge asked him to describe the ring, he couldn't.

'I can't remember precisely,' he said confidently, as though it was an unimportant detail and that his forgetfulness didn't prove a thing.

'It's a portrait of the Queen of England,' I announced triumphantly once everyone had had time to assess the policeman's answer and it was clear that he had nothing more to add. 'You can't buy that ring in Bolivia.'

The spectators in the courtroom stirred when the translator repeated what I had said. The judge handed the ring to his assistant for his confirmation, and the prosecutor stepped forward to examine it also. The spectators remained quiet, waiting for them to decide. None of the three said anything aloud, but it was obvious that they agreed I was right.

'The defendant will have an opportunity to give evidence later, if he chooses,' the judge informed the court, sitting back in his chair and placing the ring in his pocket. He was eager to move on.

'But that's my ring. He stole my ring,' I said weakly, not wanting to let the issue die. However, by then the prosecutor had resumed his position behind his desk and he immediately continued his examination of the police witness.

'And you say that there was a controlled substance in the defendant's suitcase?' he asked in a loud voice that drowned out my protests. I wanted to say more, but my lawyer didn't agree.

'Keep quiet, Thomas,' he advised me in English out of the corner of his mouth, still facing the front. 'You have more at stake here than a gold ring.'

#

My team of lawyers remained confident that I would be let off, but I was no longer so sure. After what had happened with my ring, I was worried that the judge was no longer on my side, if he ever had been. On one of the final court dates before the verdict was to be handed down, Fernando was in charge of escorting me back to San Pedro. When there was a slight delay in taking the prisoners down to the transport bus, I saw my opportunity.