As court was letting out yesterday, I stopped Paul Patrick to ask him what he thought of Samuel Dieteman’s testimony so far. Patrick, a survivor of one of the shootings Dieteman has admitted to, has been a fixture of the trial since its beginning. He has been in the gallery every day since opening arguments took place in early October.
“It was good to hear him admit it,” said Patrick, speaking in lower tones than usual, “and for the jury to hear that Dale was involved.”
Back in November, when I interviewed Patrick in depth about his experiences as a survivor, he was confident about the outcome of the trial but pragmatic, too.
“Believe me,” Patrick said, “I want the right person convicted in this. Yeah, I’m angry at Dale Hausner. Very much. Sam Dieteman also…but I want to know the right person is convicted. If not, the guy who shot me is still out there. So I want to be as objective as possible, but it’s sure looking that way.”
Dieteman is taking the stand again today to offer the details of the numerous shootings he has admitted to.
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