Eddie Lee to "take the stand" ; "He has waited 41/2 years to tell you what happened and he will tell you what happened"

Mr. Stallworth started his opening remarks with, "My condolences to the family of William Reid."

"The prosecutor's opening statement was powerful. It provided you with a lot of information. What it failed to do was tell you what you are supposed to do and I will cut to the chase."

"This is not a ID case. Limmie Curry killed William Reid. Eddie Lee was present. My question to you is did Eddie Lee know? Did he aid and abet? That is your task."

"The prosecution theory is weak, it is based on circumstanstial evidence." Mr. Stallworth referred to the movie, "My Cousin Vinny" and quoted "Does the prosecutor's case hold water?"

Mr. Stallworth used the analogy of a walkthrough when he was buying his first house. He said when he was so excited to buy the house  that even as a lawyer, he ignored the hairline cracks and door that would not close. The problems worsened a few weeks after he moved into the house. "The house had the same problem the prosecutor has in this case, the house was built on poor foundation."

"Evidence comes to you through direct, physical and circumstansial evidence. There will be no direct evidence in this case that Eddie knew what Limmie planned to do. No physical evidence. Just phone conversations."

Mr. Stallworth said that the prosecutors had nothing to show that "Eddie had any knowledge; any intention of doing anything with Limmie."

"You cannot convict a man of murder based on receipts of purchases."

"Any good defense attorney can stop now and ask you to find their client not guilty based on reasonable doubt," said Mr. Stallworth. He said he was going to go further.

"Eddie was 21 years old when he was arrested and charged. He has been waiting 4 1/2 years to come and tell you what happened. He will fill in the gaps in this case; everything else is conjecture."