"I’m not trying to end my career like this," Lewis reportedly said in his hotel room after the fatal fight. This will be the very same room that the prosecution will attempt to show a "blood trail" leading to, with the assistance of a forensics expert no less renowned than Henry Lee of the famed O.J. Simpson defense team. So far, the state of Georgia’s case against Lewis has been rather flawed. Since the trial began, several witnesses whose testimony would supposedly demonstrate Lewis’ guilt have altered the stories initially given to investigators. Their testimonies were supposed to show that Ray Lewis hit, kicked or stabbed someone, and that he even admitted as much afterwards. Instead, the vast majority of testimony has either been inconclusive, or else supports the defense’s contention that Lewis acted solely as a peacemaker, trying in vain to prevent a tragedy that he would be tied to. It is crucial that jurors believe this if Lewis is to be acquitted, for even though no one has placed a knife in his hand or claims to have seen him stab anyone, he can still be convicted of murder if it is proven that he participated in the brawl that led to two deaths.
The lone person sticking to his assertion that Lewis acted violently has been Chester Anderson, not exactly an ideal witness. Anderson is an admitted con artist in jail on identification fraud charges. This has given the defense the opportunity to attack Anderson’s credibility, suggesting that he is falsely testifying in hopes of winning leniency in his own legal problems. It has been shown that Ray Lewis gave a false statement to the police, mentioning only two people in the limousine that fled the scene, omitting the names of his friends and now co-defendants, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting. However, Lewis has not been charged with lesser crimes such as lying to the authorities and obstruction of justice, but stands accused of murder. Unless there is a dramatic turn in the case, it appears that at most, Lewis’ guilt is strictly by association.
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