if you can not afford an attorney- '' chapter 9 `` ladies and gentlemen of the jury , you 've heard the shocking testimony and seen the incontrovertible proof ... '' alton peterson , the prosecuting attorney , stood perfectly still , his piercing gaze moving slowly over the faces of the twelve dallas county jurors who were about to decide the outcome of a trial that had generated a holocaust of public attention with its scandalous revelations of adultery and murder among hollywood 's superstars .