The Witness: Unfolding the Anatomy of a Killer

Prologue

Another stabbing! This is getting insane. That’s the third this week!

Yeah … This time it’s a kid who attacked his high school classmate. He’s a sophomore.

Wow! He’s really just a kid …. What’s happening to our nation?

I wish I knew ’cause it’s happening too often. It’s scary being a parent.

Here, help me roll up this tape. The forensics boys just left.

You heard about that forum over at the children’s hospital? It’s on Saturday morning.

I hear the speaker’s a woman who’s been on the front line in several states, dealing with defendants up for the death penalty. Maybe it’s time to go hear what she says about kids and killing … You wanna go?

Why not? We need any help we can get to help shed light on what’s happening … and why.

We are very pleased to have Dr. Wanda Draper as our special guest for this annual forum. I am your forum host, Julius Ladero.

Applause politely filled the amphitheater that seated no less than five hundred participants. The soft, rolling thunder of clapping diminished to a quieter muffling like lapping waves as the tall, stately woman glided gracefully across the stage. She wore her favorite hunter green and ebony herringbone wool suit, complemented by a tailored, ivory silk blouse. Her outfit was adorned at the neck with a simple strand of petite freshwater pearls, sparingly alternated with small jade beads. The simplicity of her apparel supported the joie-de-vive exuberance of her dignified features. High-heeled black patent leather pumps added even more height to her five foot, nine inch frame. Moderately cropped blonde hair, slightly waved and elegantly coiffed, framed her high cheekbones and compassionate, intelligent hazel eyes. Her attire conveyed respect and appreciation for the invitation to speak at one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals.

Wanda clasped the welcoming hand of Dr. Ladero, shaking it sincerely. She took a seat in a straight-back but comfortable Charles Eames chair across from the host and scanned the gallery that rose before her. No table or podium in front of or between them restricted their exposure to the audience. Wanda always insisted on seeing all members of an audience, whether in a packed lecture hall or in an intimate group. She always preferred eye-to-eye juxtaposition.

She was pleased to see such a varied audience. This particular forum’s attendees were a composite of medical professionals, legal representatives, law enforcement officers, various members of health and human services, as well as child development personnel, and a few local and state politicians. Each group clustered to their fellow colleagues, resembling a patchwork quilt.

Ladero gave a brief but poignant introduction and immediately began with two questions: How did you, a developmentalist, a professor of human development in a college of medicine, become an expert witness in capital murder cases? And why, after working on over one hundred death penalty cases and testifying in the majority of them, do you remain steadfast in your belief that every person has the potential to succeed?

America is blessed with smart children, Wanda Draper stated to the assembly, whose members eagerly anticipated the answer to be that she sought a position that would enable her to attack the epidemic of crime that plagues society—murderers, rapists, thieves, and gangs. This crowd was further stratified by parents and grandparents who were secretly motivated to attend in order to ensure that their children and grandchildren did not meet the criteria of a future offender. They were curious to learn what an expert in human development, who has interviewed and studied defendants and their families, had observed throughout her forty years of work with children and adults. They were impressed with her twenty-plus years of spending hours and hours in jails and prisons and in seeking out families in the remote and dangerous inner city and countryside habitats that most professionals would choose to avoid.

Children are not dumb. They are not slow. And they are not lazy. Some lack opportunity, but they rarely lack potential. I would argue that there is no shortage of intelligence—only shortage in actualizing it. Her opening won a popping of applause by a large contingency of the listeners. If the audience was polled regarding the method of treating the social epidemic, a tie would occur between the proponents of creating more educational programs for children and those in favor of expanding jails.

Children are smarter than we think! Wanda emphasized. She could see smiles across the audience as they acknowledged the statement, like one would agree that kittens are cute. Anticipating this response, she elaborated, They process and react to their world based on how they feel and how they perceive others’ treatment of them. They often base their relationships on how they get along with their environmental modulators. Blank glances and confused silence swelled and surged before her. Again, she anticipated this. She had prepared her comments for that effect. In order to break through longtime societal beliefs, she needed to tear down preconceived notions about children as immature adults by describing an unfamiliar, albeit accurate, picture of children as astonishingly unique from adults. She wanted to convey the idea that just because they turn sixteen doesn’t mean they suddenly think and behave like responsible adults.

Ladero interjected two more questions: How are you convinced that every person has the potential to succeed? What makes a successful person?

Wanda paused momentarily, considering these questions. She changed the direction of the discussion in order to respond: "In July of 1975, history was made when two nations, worlds apart and the bitterest of enemies, united to accomplish a cosmic endeavor. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first meeting in Space between American Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts that ended the international Space Race. It involved the docking of an American Apollo spacecraft with the then-Soviet Soyuz spacecraft." She paused as she scanned the gallery.

"Their differences in cultures, politics, ideologies, and languages were transcended. These astronauts and cosmonauts were successful in accomplishing this feat of human aspirations. They had to do two things: one, they had to build trust in one another, and two, they had to form personal attachments to one another. In my studies of successful people, I decided to explore the lives of these space travelers because the world agreed they were successful.

Fortunately, I became acquainted with General Tom Stafford, the pilot of the Apollo. After interviewing him, he became interested in my study, and I was invited to the International Conference for Space Travelers in Washington, DC, in the 1980s. I was able to personally interview General Alexi Leonov, the Russian pilot of the Soyuz. I learned that both men, prior to this historic mission, traveled back and forth for two years between the United States and Russia to learn each other’s language and to build a friendship that, incidentally, has continued. My interviews of American astronauts and Russian, Romanian, and Czech cosmonauts confirmed my notion that to be successful, one must master five qualities: self-confidence, getting along with others, a broader view of the world and a sense of wonder, the ability to focus until the task is complete, and self-evaluation—how am I doing?" Wanda ticked these off on her fingers. The audience nodded in comprehension.

But what about those people who never become world-renowned? Ladero challenged her. How can the common man inculcate those five characteristics of success?

Let me share a story with you of just such a person, Wanda announced with a glint in her eyes. This man’s name was John Carlyle. Wanda’s arms gestured in story-telling fashion.

Wanda explained how one day while she was teaching human development in seminars for doctors in their third and fourth year residencies and fifth year psychiatry fellowships at the College of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma, she received a letter from a John Carlyle in McAlister, Oklahoma.

"I thought, as I was opening the letter, it was a request to do some consulting for the parent-child program affiliated with the guidance center there. However, upon opening it, a most intriguing and surprising first line greeted me: ‘People, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world. This isn’t true.’ Of course, I was astonished that a consulting request would open with a lyric from the popular Barbra Streisand song. I read on, soon realizing this letter was not from some professional or a lawyer, but from John Carlyle, an inmate in the state’s largest high-security prison. One cannot get more common than this.

"Carlyle ventured on to write that he was contacting me as a last resort. He had written to reporters, attorneys, and finally the governor. But, nobody had replied to his call for help. He didn’t tell me why he was incarcerated or where he was from. Neither did his one-page request say how he procured my name to make a contact nor why he thought I could help him. I noted the neatly penned, well-written letter with perfect grammar, only to let it fall from my hands as I leaned back in my chair. I have to say, my curiosity mounted as I regarded the letter. I didn’t know if it was from a friend or foe. After a few moments more, my own sense of wonder stimulated me to decide on a course of action. I carried the letter down the hall to show and ask the opinion of several of my colleagues. Each one emphatically advised me to throw it in the trash and ignore it. But, I remained curious. I kept it on my desk.

"One morning—a few days later—I decided to send Mr. Carlyle a note. I simply acknowledged his letter and stated that I was impressed with his writing style. That was it. No questions about who he was or why he was in prison. I asked only one question: Are you a writer by profession?’ I assumed this would end any further correspondence.

"However, about a week later, I was graced with another letter from John Carlyle. He expressed appreciation for my response. Carlyle stated that previously he had written a couple of stories for a magazine, but they hadn’t been accepted. He had enclosed both in this letter.

"Two weeks later, I responded by further complimenting his writing ability. Still, I asked no personal questions.

"Several days later, Carlyle wrote back. This letter explained that he was from Alabama. His parents were both killed in a car crash, and he was subsequently raised by his loving grandparents. Then, he expressed interest in writing and said he thought he might try writing a book. I decided to call a friend who was the governor’s chief of staff and ask for a favor. ‘Can you check this man out?’ I asked. He said to give him a couple of days.

"After checking on Mr. Carlyle, the chief of staff called me, ‘Wanda, John Carlyle is serving time for a serious, violent offense.’ He advised me to drop him.

"Another letter arrived from John Carlyle about a week later. He was emboldened to reveal more about himself because of my response to his previous letter, encouraging him to keep writing. John Carlyle described that he was black and was in trouble because he wanted a computer system in order to start his business. Having been broke and impatient, he admitted to doing a stupid thing. He robbed a convenience store. He was apprehended and sentenced to thirty years because he was armed. Carlyle then explained that he had read a newspaper article that featured an interview with me about relationships and decided to write to me because of one statement that caught his attention: ‘That people with self-confidence and a very positive self-image make the best partners in a relationship.’ He said this impacted him so profoundly that he was motivated to contact me. He was trying to find someone to listen to his personal story. His hope was that someone might find reason to help him work for an early release by writing to the parole board or other influential people.

"I responded by thanking him for sharing his personal information, and again, I encouraged him to keep writing. I never mentioned helping him get an early release date. A few weeks later, a packet arrived containing a hundred pages of hand-printed manuscript, all on the back of scrap paper.

"‘What a writer!’ I wrote to him in my next letter. I commended him for good work and encouraged him to continue. As before, I made no offer to intercede for an early release date.

"A couple of months later, I was consulting in the eastern part of the state, and on the way home, I passed a sign advising drivers not to pick up hitchhikers. I was near the big prison where John Carlyle was an inmate. After a brief spark of thought, I found myself driving along a barbed wire fence encircling a tall, thick brick wall. I pulled up to the gate of ‘Big Mac,’as the prison is nicknamed. The facility towered before me, and while it appeared bland and old, the years had only increased its awe-inspiring effect." Wanda paused briefly in recollection.

Naively, I parked, went inside of the visitor lobby, and told the guard I would like to see inmate John Carlyle. After a few minutes of checking, the guard stated that he had been transferred to a less-secure prison in Hominy, Oklahoma.

Wanda, in an aside to the audience, reflected, "Little did I know that years later I would be going to Big Mac to interview defendants on death row. This was years before any of my court work."

She then continued her story. "Eventually, another letter arrived from Carlyle. More manuscript was included. My response, again, was one of encouragement to continue his writing.

"In a few months, I discovered I was scheduled for a trip to Hominy to consult with a Head Start program. I decided to drive to the prison and attempt to see John Carlyle.

"The Hominy Correctional Center was a relatively new prison. However, the buildings looked cold and austere. The fences and guard towers were menacing as they towered above me. The barbed wire that encircled the facility sparkled threateningly as the sun descended in the western sky. Again, naively, I approached the window and spoke to a receptionist guard, asking for a visit with John Carlyle.

"He removed a folder and returned to tell me, ‘Ma’am, John Carlyle … he was just recently moved.’

"‘When?’ I inquired.

‘Two weeks ago,’ he said. ‘To a less secure prison at Stringtown, Oklahoma.’

I returned to my office to find an additional two hundred pages of handprinted manuscript from John Carlyle. As with my previous letters, I thanked him and encouraged him to continue writing. And like before, I made no comment about my attempted visits or his earlier request for help to get an early release.

"Some weeks later, while on another consulting trip, a bright green sign announcing Stringtown Corrections Center alerted me that here was Carlyle’s new home. I decided that this time I would finally get to meet John Carlyle. I followed the lonely drive through another menacing, barbed-wire-fenced entrance. A red-bricked, minimalistic institution loomed in front of me. While this prison didn’t seem as imposing as the others, it nonetheless appeared to be inhospitable.

"I stepped up to the receiving window and said, ‘I’m here to see one of your inmates, John Carlyle.’

‘Just a moment, please.’ The guard walked to a file cabinet across the little office to check the files. He returned to the window and said, ‘Ma’am, John Carlyle was released a week and a half ago, for good behavior.’

Wanda, after a moment, reflected, I was surprised, but very happy for John.

The audience was captivated. Polite applause followed, this time appreciating the ending to Carlyle’s story. However, Wanda recognized that a significant section of the attendees understood the picture of the inmate that she described. She also realized that they were wary about him being released. Their experience had shown them that such happy endings as Carlyle’s occur only in a fraction of cases.

What a great portrayal of John Carlyle, Ladero offered. Would you review how you determine his success?

John Carlyle is a successful person because he exemplifies the five characteristics. He had self-confidence. Wanda gestured, signifying the first with her finger. It took confidence in himself to work towards his goal of regaining his life and sharing his history. She held up the next finger. He got along with others. He was able to negotiate with other inmates and law enforcement in positive ways. She gestured with the third finger. He had a broader view of the world and a sense of wonder. He wanted to rejoin the world and write his story by using his own creative spirit. As she raised her fourth finger, she explained, John was able to focus until the task was complete—both in writing the manuscript and in achieving his goal of early release. She held up the last finger. Self-evaluation. He exhibited this when he accepted and took responsibility for his actions. He didn’t blame anyone else for his incarceration—only himself. He realized and admitted that he made the choice and would work to correct his path. She paused, panning the audience’s faces, letting her words sink in.

While we don’t know much about Carlyle’s childhood, we know that he did face sad circumstances and serious life challenges. But, he was able to overcome these obstacles and achieve success.

Ladero eagerly asked, Did you ever hear from John Carlyle after his release?

No. Perhaps there was an unexpressed sense of mutuality between us that didn’t require continuing the contact. But in my thoughts, I wish him well and great success in whatever he does.

Ladero spoke again. How do you connect the dots between your focus on child development and adult criminal behavior?

"You said the key words: ‘connect the dots.’ In all my years working with children and families before getting involved with criminal cases, I studied and researched the importance of the first few years of life and how children’s development impacts their adult behavior. Since we’ve been talking about characteristics of successful people, let me give a couple of examples of how important these years are.

"If parents want their children to succeed in academics, all they have to do is enjoy playing and interacting with them during the first three years of life. They don’t have to teach them their numbers or letters. They don’t have to use learning tools. All they have to do is develop a close and meaningful relationship by spending quality time together. We call this bonding. We also call it attachment or the parent-child connection. The kind of connections that children make with their parents will determine how their character develops over the years until adulthood. A secure attachment that builds trust and mutuality will lead to success because the child will feel self-confident. There’s no worry about ‘Who cares about me?’ or ‘Am I okay?’ The child is free to learn, explore, and enjoy life. Of course, if parents want to use learning games as a way to interact, that’s great. But, play is the child’s pathway to learning.

It is absolutely paramount that children have love and commitment from their parents during the first few years of life. In over a hundred capital murder cases I’ve worked on, about 97 percent had very poor attachments with their parents or parent figures. Most of them changed parents more than once. Many were moved numerous times and shifted from relatives to foster homes. They became confused and traumatized by fears of abandonment, rejection, and humiliation. They felt betrayed by the people they loved. They grew up without self-confidence. They never learned to get along with others because they never had good role models. They had no sense of wonder because they were stuck in their own survival traps. They could only focus on what was happening to them at the moment; many were abused or neglected. How could they focus on schoolwork when they didn’t know where their parents were or what they would do when they returned? They didn’t learn to get along with others because they so often saw their parents fighting with each other.

Dr. Draper, I want to go back to my first question. Why did you choose to become an expert witness in capital murder cases?

I didn’t choose this direction for my work. It may have been by chance or maybe by some divine alignment. Yet, from the first capital murder case I testified in, I began to connect the dots between early childhood development and adult criminal behavior.

Ladero then asked, I understand you’re writing a book about your experience as an expert witness. Can you share your reason for putting pen to paper?

Several friends and relatives continued to badger me to write until I finally decided to give it consideration. What happened was that my own sense of wonder prodded me to do it. It’s been a wonderful experience because not only did I have to relive all the cases I chose to write about, but it has also given me a deeper introspection into my own life. It has been a sobering task that has brought the realization that how our lives unfold is not merely a matter of chance but of choice, choice based on the synchronicity between ourselves and elements or events in the world we live in—and those we live with.

"What do you mean by synchronicity?" Ladero queried for the benefit of some in the audience who might not be familiar with the term.

"Carl Jung, the great psychologist, first used this term in his work with his patients. It means the coming together of events or circumstances that seem related but are not obviously caused by one another. We might think of it as the relationship between things that are happening or working together at the same time without being aware of it at the time—like sound and image in a movie that matches up with action.

My greatest interest in working with these criminal cases is studying the defendant as a whole person, not just someone caught in one slice of time. I want to learn about this person’s childhood and family and community life and about the influences that coalesce to have an impact—for good or for evil. I want to connect the dots.

PART ONE

Chapter 1

The north wind was blistering cold in late January. James Fields had been on the road for two days, without sleep, from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City, having hitchhiked several rides. When he entered the Oklahoma City area, the driver let him out in an area of highway construction, where traffic was slowed.

James was freezing, wearing only a light jacket, and had less than five dollars in his pocket. At about five o’clock, just before the sun was setting, a middle-aged man named Bostwick pulled alongside James, who eagerly accepted his offer of a ride. When Bostwick asked where he was headed, James told him he wasn’t sure, but he readily welcomed Bostwick’s invitation to be his guest at a local hamburger joint.

With a full stomach from a giant cheeseburger, salty fries, and a chocolate malt and with tired limbs and sore feet, James accepted Bostwick’s offer of a bed at his place. They reached an apartment complex on the near north side of Oklahoma City and entered a modest, clean, two-bedroom apartment with a jack-and-jill bath, a living room, and a kitchen. As they walked through the kitchen, Bostwick offered James a beer, but he declined, opting for a soda instead.

After several days of hitchhiking, James was eager to have a shower and wash his hair. Bostwick showed James where the bathroom was and offered toiletries. He pulled a towel from the cabinet and set it on a bench near the wash basin. Then he led the way to the bedroom and showed James where he could sleep.

Feeling much better after a shower but still exhausted, James padded into the living room to relax on the sofa and watch TV, but he kept dozing off. Bostwick soon approached James and tried to come on to him. When James told him he didn’t do that, Bostwick didn’t put up a fight. He simply backed off. He soon excused himself and exited to the bedroom where he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after James washed his face and combed his hair, he entered the living room, only to find Bostwick on the floor, apparently dead.

James kneeled and bent over to listen for a heartbeat. Nothing. A knock at the door suddenly sent him backpedaling on the floor, using his feet and hands until the wall prevented him from moving any farther. The wall didn’t prevent him from shaking, however. After the initial shaking subsided, he remained still for several minutes until the knocking ceased. James panicked and didn’t know what to do, so he dragged the dead Bostwick into the bedroom and stuffed him in the closet, piling some quilts on top of him.

With no more than a phone call and a letter of introduction from the defense attorney for her new case, middle-aged Wanda Draper walked