Medill Innocence Project Investigation

able to accurately wield a shotgun in his left hand, given the gun's significant recoil when fired.

If he held the shotgun in his right hand, then the recoil wouldnʼt have been an issue, he said.

According to Ronald Scott, a firearms expert who has testified as an expert witness in numerous state and federal cases, a shotgun has significant recoil and firing a sawed-off shotgun is an even more difficult task. Since the stock—the part of the gun that is held against your shoulder—is one part that is typically cut off, the sawed-off shotgun cannot be braced against the shoulder to absorb the recoil. Because of that, the gunman must use his other hand to grasp the gun underneath the barrel or barrels to control it, Scott said in an interview for this article.

“The way you normally shoot a gun like that is you really have to hold it two-handed,” Scott said. “So my right hand is going to be holding the gun like a pistol or revolver, and my other hand is going to be holding just underneath the barrels and that gives it a little bit of control over the recoil.”

Scott said that to use the sawed-off shotgun with one hand, the shooter would have to be strong to control the gun, which would pitch backwards and tip upwards after firing.

“You've got to have good hand grip, a pretty strong forearm, wrist area and fingers to control the gun,” he said. “Once you shot it, it's almost going to go flying out of your hand.”

According to police records, the sawed-off shotgun was a 12-gauge, which police determined from the size of the shot cup that held the shot pellets; the shot cup was recovered at the apartment. The 12-gauge shotgun is one of the most powerful gauges of shotgun, Scott said, and would have been “almost uncontrollable.” Scott added that depending on a person's strength and other attributes, it could be possible to wield the sawed-off shotgun with one hand, “but it would be extremely difficult.”

“I can't say it's impossible,” Scott said, but “… even if it were me or someone who was very strong, to shoot a shotgun like that is difficult.”

Bryan S. Williams, a firearms trainer, said that it is possible to fire a shotgun with one hand. However, given Watkins' injury, “I would suspect that he would need two hands to wield it,” he said. “His ability to drag somebody around while holding it, Iʼm having a bit of hesitation with that.”

Watkins praised his public defenders for representing him well but said that he wished they had brought up his arm injury during the trial. He recalled telling one of his public defenders, “A one-armed man can't use a shotgun, miss.”

Sabow, the neurologist, said, “It would have been easy to obtain an expert to testify to