"It appears to, yes sir."

"Now, in an enteral feeding, you would lubricate the end of the feeding tube, pass it through the nasal passages, through the esophagus, through the stomach, to the duodenum, the beginning of the small intestine, is that correct?" Brent asked, as he moved the pointer through the places in the diagram he was describing.

"Yes, sir."

"To do this, you have to pass this area, the upper esophageal sphincter, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is that what gives the un-anaesthetized patient the choking sensation?"

"Yes, sir."

"It is the sphincter that keeps food from entering the trachea, or breathing tube, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nurse Benson, do you know what aspiration is?"

Benson was building up a sweat, as if he was running a marathon. It was running from his hairline down his forehead and cheeks.

"Yes, sir."

"Have you ever seen a patient aspirate fluid during an enteral feeding procedure?"

"Yes, sir."

"Aspiration is a common complication during enteral feeding, is it not?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

"Do you have any monitoring devices in place for enteral feedings at Guantanamo Bay that show whether the feeding tube is properly positioned?"

Benson pulled at his collar, as if it was choking him. "No, sir."

"Nurse Benson, how many times had you performed the enteral feeding procedure on Mr. Khury?"

"About ten times."

"And at every feeding, Corporal Reeding was present, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Mr. Khury gagged every time the tube was inserted, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir." A drop of sweat hit Benson's eye. He blinked from the sting of it and wiped his brow.

"Isn't it also correct that you and Corporal Reeding had already seen Mr. Khury cough up his feeding tube before the last feeding?"

"Yes, sir."

"More than once?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nurse Benson, during the last feeding, when Corporal Reeding yelled at you to stop the procedure, did you worry that the feeding tube may have been malpositioned?"

"Yes, sir."

"And did you stop the procedure?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you removed the feeding tube?"

"Yes, sir."

"At that point, Mr. Khury was unconscious, wasn't he, Nurse Benson?"

Benson hesitated, and took a measured breath. "He didn't appear to be feeling well."

"Move to strike as non-responsive, Your Honor."

"Granted."

"He was unconscious, wasn't he?"

"N-no, sir," Benson stammered.

"When Sergeant Brown came in and cleared the room, you didn't see him at first, did you Nurse Benson?"

"No, sir, I was occupied with Mr. Khury."

"Trying to save his life, is that correct?"

"No, no, sir. He was alive," Benson stammered.

"You didn't give him CPR?"

"No, sir."

"You and Sergeant Brown took Mr. Khury by gurney back to his cell, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"We have to move quickly, Benson!" said Brown, as they entered Ahmed's cell and closed the door.

"Take off his jumpsuit?"

"Why?"

"Because it's a special one, Benson. God damn it, don't you squids learn how to obey orders? Just do it, man!"

Brown ran out, slamming the door behind him. He returned in a couple of minutes with another jump suit. Tying the leg into a noose, he slipped it around Ahmed's limp neck and pulled tight.

"Okay Benson, climb up on the sink. You have to tie the other end to the ceiling."

Benson got up on the steel sink/toilet combination and tied the end of the sleeve of the jumpsuit to the wire mesh ceiling as Brown held up the body. Vomit dripped out of Ahmed's mouth and onto his chest.

"Don't fuck it up! Is it done?"

"I'm trying," said Benson.

"Pull hard on it. We want to make sure it doesn't break."

Benson pulled hard on the sleeve. "It's in."

Brown gently let go of the body, which swung back and forth slightly like a pendulum, Ahmed's lifeless feet dangling about six inches above the ground.

"This never happened, Benson."

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE.

Timothy Nagel's task of rehabilitating Nurse Benson was a tough one. He couldn't make Benson to appear any less nervous, but he could emphasize the weak points in Brent's case. After all, Brent had not established that there was anything wrong with Ahmed, other than he "didn't feel well during the feeding," which would be what the jury would expect after seeing the videotape. There were no facts elicited about Ahmed's death, or the cover up, as Brent had expected there would be, at least from Reeding.

"Nurse Benson, on the last enteral feeding of Mr. Khury, you followed the enteral feeding procedures to the letter, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you had followed the same procedures with every feeding of every detainee, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"It happened many times, didn't it, that a detainee would complain about discomfort?"

"Objection, irrelevant," Brent interjected.

"Overruled. You may answer."

"Yes, almost every time."

"And it also happened that detainees coughed up their feeding tubes from time to time?"

"Objection, relevance."

"Overruled."

"Yes, sir."

"So, was there anything unusual about this feeding with Mr. Khury, other than Corporal Reeding's overreaction?"

"Objection, lack of foundation, assumes facts not in evidence, argumentative."

"Sustained. The jury will disregard the question. Counsel, please rephrase."

"What was unusual, if anything, during the last feeding of Mr. Khury?"

"The way that Corporal Reeding reacted to Mr. Khury coughing up his feeding tube."

"Other than that, the feeding procedure was normal?"

"Yes, sir."

"It was also not unusual to take Mr. Khury back to his cell by gurney, was it?"

"No, sir."

"Why not?"

"When detainees experience discomfort, we always take them back to their cells by gurney."

"Thank you, Nurse Benson, I have no further questions."

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.

Dr. Orozco waddled up to the stand, wiggled into the witness chair, faced the jury, and smiled. Despite his obesity, he had a pleasant manner about him and he made good eye contact with the members of the jury.

"Dr. Orozco, you are a medical examiner, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you please summarize for the jury, your background, education and experience?"

"Certainly. I have over 30 years' experience as a pathologist and medical examiner. I hold an MD, a PhD, and a medical license in the state of California, where I am board certified in clinical, anatomic and forensic pathology. I also have a JD from Southwestern University School of Law and am a licensed attorney in California and New York. I am a Diplomate of the American Board of Pathology. I worked as a Chief Medical Examiner for the County of Los Angeles for ten years and another 10 years for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I have testified as an expert witness in hundreds of trials."

"Could you just give us a brief description of what forensic pathology is?"