| Terri's Fire E-mail Excerpts |  |
| Terri's Fire E-mail Excerpts | |
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"The moral is: GET PUSHY" (November 24, 1997 - January 5, 1998) Jerry Hurst and Terri Hinson Strickland continue their collaboration amid setbacks and personal crises. From: Terri Hinson
Well, its confirmed.
Due date is July 6, 1998. Good time to have a baby as long as I'm not in
prison. The judge didn't get upset, I didn't think he would. Wright didn't
like it at all. He says we were irresponsible given the circumstances.
He is probably right. I guess I made the mistake of getting excited again
when they confirmed it. Wright had to bring me down. Oh well, he'll get
over it. If anyone has reason to worry, its me. And if anyone knows what
could happen, its me. And I am well aware that if I am found guilty and
go to prison, I will not be allowed to even hold the baby. That is what
will haunt me now. Wright doesn't have to tell me what I already know.
* * * *
From: Gerald L.
Hurst
Don't let the bastards get to you. They are always around in these situations. You are not irresponsible. This is your personal life and you have an undeniable right to live it without having to meet anyone else's arbitrary standards. I'm sorry Wright
is opposed to publicity. He just doesn't know how to use the other edge
of the sword.
* * * *
Jerry From: Gerald L.
Hurst
At 08:48 AM 12/2/97 -0500, you wrote: > I know that the light in the living room was on when I went to sleep simply because when Rodney wasn't there, I was scared and would leave a light on. Of course, proving that is a different matter. There were a couple of statements I believe where they stated there were lights on downstairs and one that said there wasn't(J Watts, I think). As far as the clock goes, I think it will be difficult to tell why it stopped when it did. The arrival of the firemen were quick, but the call to 911 was at 3:57 if I remember correctly. That is one minute after the clock stopped. If the missing wire went to the clock, either way, it could have went off-before or during the fire. I don't see how we can prove which way it went.That's right. But the prosecution may have fewer doubts about what they can "prove" using time evidence. Prosecution experts can convict the unwarry with overstatement of their ability to deduct accurately a sequence of events based on augury masquerading as science. They often read unreadable patterns like Sherlock. This is why you are where you are now. They will be no more logical or accurate in whatever they bring up in court because they will be the same people with the same overestimation of their own skills. I am far more interested in being able to disprove the validity of their science than in specifically proving any of my own origin theories. In order to disprove anything, I have to anticipate not only what is logical but also what fantasies the establishable facts might lead to in the minds of "experts" who do not know their own limitations. The stopped clock is a classic in murder mysteries and is probably a flame for the forensic moths in this case. So, we look at the time factor and consider the potential arguments. This is where the knowledge of what fuse goes to what is important. Also, we want to know where the shorts occurred that fried the other two fuses and how the two then newly-installed heaters relate to the fuses. If the heater downstairs was cold, it went off way before the clock did. It follows that we need to know what shut the heater down, i.e., which section of wiring. If the heater really failed an hour or more before the fire, your origin could well be somewhere in the circuit feeding that heater. This is the sort of logical connection that makes sense to a jury, especially if the clock and heater were on different circuits. > I agree we need the other fuses traced. And if the guys you have can't do it, we will somehow get Sox back in.Oh, if Sox wants to come back for free, more power to him. Any of us can trace circuits given a little time. An ordinary electrician or knowledgable handyman can also do it, so if you have a friend and access to the building you can get a head start. If not, I can do it with the help of someone a little more agile and youthful than myself, maybe Rodney or even a teenager who likes to scramble in dirty attics :) I'll see if I can't find a signal generator and receiver to help read wires behind walls. A person can do a lot with just a continuity tester and a hundred feet of wire. > I think the majority of what the prosecution is going on is that I was downstairs. Now, it may be odd to some, but for me to go to sleep on the couch was normal. My mother was forever on to me when I was at home not to sleep on the couch or in my clothes. I think I was so active that when I got still, I'd just fall asleep. This night however was deliberate because of the heater cord and outlet being hot.Lots of people spend the night on couches by falling asleep - my wife, for instance, who dozes off on three floors randomly. Your sleeping downstairs needs only a bit of testimony that it was not uncommon. This doesn't appear to be much of a problem. > I wish to God that I had know how wires act and that this could happen. I know that when it was over, I felt really dumb. Josh had an overhead light in his room, not far from where the leak was at and it never occured to me that wires had to be running across his ceiling. Now that is dumb.No, it was not dumb. The hot wires on the heater have nothing to do with the fire - they are incidental. The house wiring would be rated far above the current draw of the heaters. Do you happen to know where the closet outlet wire was joined to the larger circuit? Did it run to the junction box in Rodney's drawing? > I wrote a brief summary to Ken Gibson last night. I feel he will contact you before writing to me. Let me know if you hear from him. I'll talk to you soon. Thanks--Excellent. You are correct that Ken will probably contact me first. This is what I have anticipated. Ken and I work very well together because we really like each other. I have very few friends, being a loner; he is one of the few. I will be surprised if you two don't hit it off very well. Jerry From: Terri Strickland
It's great she is wanting to talk to you. I went to the hospital today. We won't know for sure until next Monday, but they think I may be in the middle of miscarrying. The blood test showed the pregnancy hormone is still present but the bleeding isn't normal looking. I have to go back next Monday and let them do the test again to compare the numbers and see if they are going up as they should. In the meantime, I am on limited movement. Bedrest for the most part. I asked them to do an ultra-sound to see the heartbeat, and the guy said they only did it if I were in pain. I told him if I were in pain, we wouldn't need the ultrasound. It seemed logical to me to do it to find out what was happening. I am calling Wilmington tomorrow to see if they can do anything. I have about had it with this nonsense of not being able to see the doctors I need to be seeing. If I am miscarrying or do, someone is going to pay dearly. I have not gotten mad yet, I have managed to stay in control with all of this. But this is a baby and it just isn't fair. It will be one more life they have ruined. Enough is enough. If you talk to Tally, please tell her what Wright said to me about nothing being planned and if she will, ask her to call me. I honestly don't know if I can go through much more. This baby meant alot to me and Rodney. I lost Josh. And now this. Everyone has been really supportive, helping me out so I don't have to get up much. It just isn't working. I don't know if the doctors in Wilmington could have kept this from happening or not, but I should have been allowed to go there in the first place. I will go for now. Kinda hard to write at the moment. Talk to you soon. We will check the messages in a little while. Terri From: Gerald L.
Hurst
I have written to Ms Tally and suggested to her that she dump professional etiquette and contact you. We will just have to wait to see if she will do so. In any event, I am pretty sure we will get some communication going in the near future. I do not believe she will let the local attorneys blow your case. You have to be pushy with doctors too. Three years ago they sent me home from the hospital because I was certain to die and was just taking up space. They told my wife to call hospice because there was no chance I could live for more than a few weeks. I went home after firing my doctors. My son lobbied me into the Baylor transplant facility with the help of a doctor I had never met until he made a house call. Baylor gave me a new liver. The moral is: GET PUSHY. Jerry From: Terri Strickland
Well, it has been a tough day. I will try to keep this from being too confusing. I talked to guardian ad litem at 9 am and was told to immediately tell Social Services the circumstances and that I had arranged for family placement for Brittany. Well, I did that, and was told they would call me back. At 1:30, they called and informed me they had an emergency order done to remove Brittany and place her in foster care. She said she was following the law. I told her the law is that if family is available, they have to place her there. She said that there was no family available and that is when I blew up. I said that I had told her the names and numbers and that either sister could be here tonight. She said they had not talked to the judge about it. I told her that no, she did exactly what they did a year ago, and didn't tell the judge the other options available. I also told her that she better have her case together on the 16th because it was all coming out on that day. It is not just a placement hearing, it is a review of the case. So I should be allowed to discuss the allegations and hopefully end this part of it for good. The 16th is the day they have given us for the hearing. Wright finally called. He said he had just heard the situation about Brittany and that he was going to do what he could about getting me an attorney. He called back and told me that he had talked to the judge who will hear the case and that she agreed to appoint one and it is a pretty good attorney from what I hear. I have to go in the morning to sign the paperwork to have him officially appointed. Wright asked me if Mr. Small went into the house and I told him yes. I don't know why he did not know this since he is the one who arranged the whole thing. That is all he discussed about my case. I contacted the bar and the package is on the way for me to file a complaint. They too think there is a problem. For the first time, I think I am finally losing control. I cannot stop shaking, my head is killing me, I can't eat without getting sick and crying. The doctor has called something in to help calm me down. I have always been able to deal with it all, but I think it is too much this time. I can't help but worry about Brittany. She is my life. And I know she is scared and worried. She should not have to be going through this. I will go for now. Talk to you soon. Thanks for everything. Terri From: Gerald L.
Hurst
It sounds to me more like you're taking control rather than losing it. When we first met you were pretty much intimidated by Wright's threats about what he would do if you communicated with anybody, especially the press. Now that he knows your sister is going to storm into town and try to hold a press conference, where is his resignation? Now that you are playing the squeaky wheel you're starting to get the oil. A new lawyer to handle the Brittany problem is one heck of an improvement. Laurie is going to try to see if she can get Tally to commit to taking your case if Wright is dumped. Let's hope she succeeds. Laurie believes Tally wants the case because it is a winner. This is a point I constantly try to stress indirectly in all my communications with Tally. I spoke to Dr. Bill Hamilton today. He is an expert electrical engineer and fire guy. He will testify that it is impossible to determine that an electric wire is merely a victim of a fire and not the cause. I know it and he knows it but his credentials in electrical phenomena a better than mine because he also taught electrical engineering at the U. of Texas and has the appropriate degree. Bill will work for transportation and lodging with an eye to getting paid for his time if you ever turn this thing into a civil lawsuit. I will give Bill some freebee time this week on a case he has involving the malfunction of a wall receptacle - sort of a barter system. I'm glad to hear the bar responded favorably. Dawdle a little with the paperwork until we have a chance to see if Laurie's push gets results. Jerry |
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