M. Gessen

The jury has already heard the prosecution's case, and they're thinking there's at least a good chance that the defendant is lying.

Most people, even when they're telling the truth, struggle to sound consistent, convincing, and sympathetic.

And it's hard to keep your wits about you under cross-examination.

So most defense attorneys advise most of their clients to leave the talking to the professionals.

The public defender, Candace Mitchell, had decades of experience in public service.

Mitchell was also a black woman like Priscilla.

Lucky Alan to have her addressing the jury on his behalf.

But this was Alan, the guy who was fired from his one and only law firm job for, basically, acting like he knew better than everyone else.

The guy who wrote a two-page email to a police detective trying to convince him that taking O to Canada in violation of a court order was innocuous behavior.

the guy who had never been in a room he didn't expect to win over.

Of course Alan took the stand and stayed on it for a day and a half.

To be sure, this was a very different Alan than I'd seen before.

This was thin Alan, old Alan, stooped Alan with a long beard.

The Alan I knew was the biggest presence at any family gathering and were not exactly a group of wallflowers.

This Alan spoke so softly that even with amplification, everyone strained to hear him.

Within a couple of minutes of taking the stand, Alan was crying.

He was recalling the first months of O's life.

O was born in Zimbabwe at 26 weeks.

No one knew if he could survive.

O spent 78 days in the NICU.