Shortly after Michael Scott was sentenced to life in prison his lawyers, Carlos Garcia, Dexter Gilford and Tony Diaz, agreed to an interview about their experience. They were limited by Judge Mike Lynch’s gag order by commenting on evidence in the case.
Q: Is this a bittersweet victory?
Garcia: A lot of satisfaction. We think it was the appropriate verdict, given the facts that were presented in the punishment phase of the trial, given the little evidence the government had, future dangerousness, I think the jury reached the only decision they could reach given what they heard.
Q: What caused the emotion in your final argument?
Gilford: When I talked about the courage, I couldn't help but think about how scared I had been in that courtroom many a days, as the evidence unfolded and as freighted I was of what might happen to our client. And just that fact that I had gotten this far is what caused the emotional outpouring in me.
Q: How has the case affected your faith?
Garcia: The only way you can do this kind of case is to have some sort of faith that the right decision is reached. … My faith was shaken to some extent on Sunday, that's what I want to say there. But nonetheless, I've come to realize that things happen for a reason. But for our faith, I don’t think we could have produce the kind of commentary in closing arguments we produced today. All of that material is not ours. At least I don't think it is. It comes from inspiration from God.
Diaz: I prayed for Dexter. And I prayed for Mike. And I prayed for Carlos.
Q: What did you learn from this case?
Garcia: You can’t do it alone. There’s no way that any of us individually could have done this job alone.
Gilford: I drew a lot of my will to kind of show up everyday from Mr. Ayers, of all people, and his wife. All of the families, but particularly those two because they sat right there in the front row. … More than anything a sense of grace. A sense of grace that I kind of drew on from him. I know that might sound odd but I really did because I thought that he was a very, very gracious man. But if he showed up every day, I figured I certainly could.
Q: Who is Michael Scott the person?
Garcia: He is goofy. He is patient. He is kind. I mean we didn’t find one person, one person … you know, to say one bad thing about this kid, with the exception of this allegation.
Q: What did you tell Scott’s wife?
Gilford: Mainly along the lines of not being shaking to the point that she lost all of her hope.
Q: What’s next for Scott?
Garcia: Legally we file a notice of appeal and a motion for a new trial, certain things that you just do as a matter of course and it goes form there. He’s got three cases pending all arising out of the same incident. We don’t know what that district attorney is gonna’ do.
Q: What do you say to your critics?
Garcia: I got on this case a year ago this week and our job is real simple. Our job is to defend our client. That is what we get court appointed to do that is what we get paid to do. And it’s to follow the law and defend him. On a personal note, I’m against the death penalty. And so no, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other what anybody else thinks. I’m gonna’ work as hard as I can to complete that job.
Q: What were the costs of the case?
Garcia: The cost is we don’t get to see our kids. We don’t get to see our families. We miss the summers and we miss family events. There is a cost that you cannot put a price on, that’s something that doesn’t show up on a voucher. It doesn’t show up on a county budget and that kind of cost you cannot account for.
Q: Compare this case to others.
Garcia: It doesn’t. That court room on a day-to-day basis, every time we went in there you could cut the tension with a knife. … That pressure and tension just permeated that courtroom. There was a clear division down that aisle of the family of the victims and the Michael Scott family and friends. There was a clear line between the prosecution and defense. It was very contentious. It was just different. It’s just different. It didn’t feel good and it takes a toll on you. But you can feel it. It’s a weight.
Gilford: There were times where it was just, you felt like it was you, Carlos, Tony and Mike at that little table and everything else (was) just closing in on you and those were the times that were … most difficult.
Q: What’s next for you?
Gilford: I gotta’ go back to my office and see what's left of my practice. I had a practice before this thing started.
Garcia: I'm gonna’ go build a tree house, go lay ceramic tile in my kitchen because it’s been without tile for 8 months. And just take some time off. And than after that I’ve got two other capital murder cases. Our practices are shot in terms of business. So we gotta’ go back and build that up again. I suspect that if we both (Gilford) continue doing death penalty work that we're going to be working together.
Q: Describe the legal system.
Garcia: We have a system, a criminal justice system, that is flawed. But in spite of its flaws, its defects, it works. It’s the best that we have. Sometimes we don't agree with its results, sometimes we do. But the point is, that it is a human system, a human artifice and with all its flaws, it’s the best we got. You know, we respect it.
Q: Describe that hug you shared with Scott before they took him away.
Gilford: He was trusting me with his life. And whether or not ... I was up for that job, realizing that at that time and also realizing that ... Mike's life had been spared, all of that kind of happened at once. I knew that he appreciated all that we had done, even if that jury would not have came back with the verdict that they came back with. He trusted me. When they came back with that verdict, he and I just shared in all of that. So, all of that kind of happened at the same time.
Q: Explain Scott’s sentence.
Gilford: Thirty-five years, including the time that he spent in jail when he was arrested on Oct. 6, 1999. Which was what? Almost three years now. So, it'll be 32 more years before the board of pardon and paroles can even consider him.
Q: Some may call you the dream team.
Garcia: (Laughter) We did the best we could with what he we had.
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Defense attorneys reaction
Michael Scott's defense attorneys talk about the case.
 
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Gilford: Often times we just kind of felt like Laurel and Hardy. … We wanted to make sure our personalities came out because thought having some credibility at punishment was going to be very important."
Q: Any parting thoughts?
Gilford: None of us are unmindful of the pain and suffering that those families have to go through all the time. None of us are unmindful of that. And like I told the jury, I probably haven't seen a more gracious set of people and that'll remain with me for the rest of my life and my career.
