Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Williams invites Berendt over prior to meeting with his legal team. Seiler is having difficulty dealing with the gunshot residue evidence. There is no way to explain the lack of gunshot residue on Hansford’s hands if Hansford actually tried to shoot at Williams. Williams tells Berendt that he is finally going to tell the truth of what happened that night. Williams says that everything he told about that night is the truth except that when Hansford raised the gun to shoot, nothing happened because the safety was on. Williams immediately shot three times at Hansford and then panicked, so he shot the remaining shots to make it look like Hansford had shot them. He says that explains why there was no gunshot residue.

Berendt expresses skepticism that this revelation will persuade a jury. Berendt tells Williams that the court will find him guilty of perjury, but Williams “did not want to be dissuaded” (345). When Seiler arrives, Williams is eager to disclose his new testimony, but Seiler first reveals a big breakthrough in the case: The police lied about bagging Hansford’s hands at the crime scene, and the lack of residue could have been rubbed off in transit to the hospital.