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Mr. Keating discussed some of the problems arising during the trial of this case. Not the least of which was Appleby himself. Mr. Keating indicated that the trial was proceeding pretty much as expected until Appleby took the stand. After careful preparation of the Defendant, Mr. Keating asked Mr. Appleby if he had an opinion as the character of the victim. Appleby replied, "..yes, in my opinion he was an 18 karat asshole." So much for preparation. On cross, Appleby took particular pleasure in challenging the prosecutor at every opportunity. At one point, Appleby responded to a question by the prosecutor, saying that if he (the prosecutor), were judge, jury, and executioner, he (Appleby) would already be dead. Then Appleby looked at the jury and indicated that he was pleased that these 12 intelligent people would decide his fate.
Appleby expressed no fear during the entire trial, and the prosecutor was unable to shake his testimony. Appleby indicated to Mr. Keating on numerous occasions - he lives with death every day.
It remains a mystery to this writer how Mr. Keating was able to save the life of Nathaniel Appleby. It appears that there were only two things Mr. Keating had to work with, besides his exquisite talent: the first being that the prosecutor agreed that Appleby had been beaten, and the other was that during the altercation, resulting in the death of the guard, Appleby was rendered unconscious. When Appleby regained consciousness his first words, recorded by the attending physician, were, "...how is the correctional guard?".
Justice means many things to different people. Some would argue that justice has not been served in this case, but all of us recognize Mr. Keating did a fantastic job for Appleby. Doing the best for your client successfully is a justice we all understand.