“Earlier this morning, the New York Police Department arrested former Assistant District Attorney Dana L. Goodwin for the murder of Lauren Wright, who was the Chief of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau,” Johnson says. “We are unable to release all of the evidence that brought about Ms. Goodwin’s arrest, but she and Ms. Wright were engaged in a sexual relationship that led to this horrific crime. At this time, Ms. Goodwin is in custody and will be arraigned later today. I want to thank the members of the NYPD who worked nonstop on this investigation, as it was their diligence and dedication that allowed us to make this arrest. And with that, I would like to introduce the District Attorney for New York County, Drake R. McKenney, to say a few words.”

I can almost see McKenney’s smirk. Although arresting Richard Trofino for the crime might have been marginally better for the DA’s future political career, I suspect he’s deriving immense personal satisfaction from the fact that—despite Richard’s manly swagger—the world will now know that his wife preferred the opposite sex. I bet the DA wishes he could revisit their earlier screaming match about Lauren’s candidacy, but this time with McKenney unloading on Richard about his sexual inadequacies.

“I also want to thank the men and women of law enforcement, as well as the men and women from my office, who worked with them on this investigation, for their superior work,” McKenney says. “But I also want to focus once more on the human side of this tragedy. Lauren Wright was a friend of mine, and a model of what prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office strive to be: fair, compassionate, hardworking public servants. We are thankful that, with today’s arrest, we are able to bring some measure of closure to her family.”

He doesn’t once mention Dana Goodwin. Not that I’m surprised, of course, but I do see the irony. By murdering his political rival, Dana Goodwin has done more for Drake McKenney than he ever could have hoped.

34. DANA GOODWIN

34.

DANA GOODWIN

It is an occupational hazard for prosecutors to wonder what it’s like to be a criminal defendant. To have your life stripped naked so that people you’ve never met can render a verdict about something that only you know for certain.

I have seen the process countless times from a different vantage point, and yet, from this side, it is still nothing like I imagined. The feeling of helplessness from being confined is far more overwhelming than I’d considered. I’m acutely aware that if I trip—which is a real possibility given that I am being pushed at all times from behind—I’d certainly break my nose, if not my neck. With my hands cuffed behind my back, I’d have no way of bracing myself before I hit the ground.