American Justice - Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual individuals or events is purely coincidental.

“This is undoubtedly a premeditated murder.”

Coulson started by setting the tone and then proceeded to calmly tell the story, presenting evidence one by one to support his claims.

“On June 17th, Ms. Selena posted a tweet on Twitter.”

He showed a screenshot of Selena’s tweet and read it out loud:

“Tomorrow afternoon at 2 o’clock, I will reveal a little secret of Judge Brooklyn Lee that nobody knows. I believe the public will be interested in this rising star’s little quirks in the judicial field. Welcome to come and listen.”

“Brooklyn Lee saw this tweet and went to see Ms. Selena the next day to prevent her from exposing his little secret.”

Coulson showed everyone a surveillance video that clearly recorded Brooklyn driving to Selena’s house.

“Brooklyn Lee has excellent conversational skills, and he quickly made Ms. Selena very happy.”

“But Selena insisted on revealing Brooklyn Lee’s little secret. Enraged, Brooklyn Lee used a dining knife to kill Selena.”

The high-footed glass on the table, the half-bottle of red wine, the umbrella in the trash can, the traces on the sofa, and the bodily fluids on the floor were all exposed in front of the public, causing a stir.

Coulson’s speech was excellent and very persuasive, and he was very satisfied with himself. He even looked towards Brooklyn’s side.

Brooklyn stopped staring at him halfway through and focused all his attention on the jury box.

The 11 jurors had different expressions. Jurors 1 and 5 were already staring at him with ill intentions, while 14 and 39 looked hesitant, looking at Brooklyn and Coulson alternately. The rest listened seriously without expression.

Obviously, jurors 1 and 5 would be his main targets in the future.

Jurors like 14 and 39 were indecisive and could be ignored.

The remaining jurors were experienced and had clear minds. They were not easily convinced by Coulson’s claims.

Brooklyn was quite satisfied with the current composition of the jury.

“I did go to Selena’s house. We talked a lot about the past, present, and future.”

Brooklyn admitted that he went to Selena’s house but denied that they had a conflict.

“As for the conflict, I don’t know.”

“I don’t think anyone would play cards with someone after shouting and yelling at them.”

Brooklyn carefully studied Selena, . Combining the memories in his mind with the tweets he read last night, he was almost sure that Selena wasn’t in a good state of mind.

This kind of bad state had been going on for almost a year.

“In fact, we not only didn’t argue, but we also talked very well – at least that was the case in the beginning.”

“This made me think that Selena was doing better.”

“Unfortunately, her condition got worse.”

“After playing cards, she quickly turned hostile, rushing out of the bathroom with a knife in her hand, and angrily charging towards me.”

“I was frightened at that moment and very scared. I tried to calm her down, but it didn’t work.”

“She yelled at me, saying she would destroy me, and then she plunged the knife into her own stomach.”

At this point, Brooklyn paused briefly. He frowned, his mouth drooped, and he covered his face with both hands, tilting his head slightly upward, accurately portraying a state of “looking back on the past with regret.”

“I was terrified. I sat dumbly on the sofa. When I came to my senses, she was already lying on the ground. I rushed to pull out the knife to try to save her. But she was already dead.”

Brooklyn’s voice was muffled, sounding low and despondent.

He stopped talking, his shoulders drooping, and he walked back to the defendant’s table, dragging his feet.

Of course, he was performing, performing for the jury, as well as for the media and every viewer watching the live broadcast.

Statistical data shows that juries are more likely to favor emotionally rich defendants, even if they ultimately find the defendant guilty, they will recommend leniency in sentencing.

Coulson stood up slowly and looked at Brooklyn, who was “immersed in sorrow.”

Brooklyn’s opening statement was nothing like what he had anticipated.

As a qualified lawyer, after obtaining certain evidence, he would have a basic judgment on the direction of the case. Based on this judgment, he would preset several rebuttal ideas in his mind.

The opening statement often reveals the focus of the two sides’ arguments.

To Coulson, Brooklyn’s statement seemed to avoid the main conflict and instead seemed to focus on Selena’s mental state.

This was something he hadn’t anticipated before.

The case had been handled too hastily, and he had only finished reading the materials in the early hours of the morning. He had not discovered any information regarding Selena’s mental state, which made him feel uneasy.

Coulson thought for a moment, and instead of requesting evidence in order, he directly applied for Exhibit 17, the autopsy report.

He planned to test the waters first.

In more complex cases, the autopsy report is usually used in conjunction with testimony from the medical examiner.

“From the autopsy report, we can see that the killer was decisive, swift, accurate in angle, and killed with a single blow without hesitation.”

Coulson pointed to the autopsy report and spoke confidently.

“We are afraid of pain and will subconsciously react when the pain exceeds our tolerance, in order to avoid further increasing the sensation of pain.”

“Data statistics show that in cases of wrist-cutting suicide, the wound is often not made in one go. The wounds of suicide victims are usually messy with multiple, repeated cutting marks.”

“A non-professional person would suffer even more. Non-professionals do not understand the structure of the human body well enough, and even with determination, they often need to try multiple times to cut in the correct position.”

“The decision to commit suicide is often impulsive. In this painful process of repeated attempts, the courage to commit suicide is often exhausted.”

“To make suicide easier, most people who commit suicide will choose faster, more direct, irreversible methods of death, such as jumping off buildings or taking medication. Very few people choose to cut their own bodies with a knife. That kind of pain often completely destroys a person’s courage to commit suicide.”

“This is completely contradictory to the state presented in this case.”

“Ms. Selena does not have relevant anatomical knowledge and is not equipped to quickly and accurately find the correct position for a one-time success.”

Brooklyn watched Coulson’s performance quietly, and his first piece of evidence and statement did not surprise him.

Both sides understood that if Brooklyn continued to question the nature of the case, the situation would be unfavorable for the prosecution.

The nature of the case is the foundation of the trial, and Brooklyn came up and waved his pickaxe at the other side’s foundation. How could they not fight back?

Coulson finished speaking, and it was Brooklyn’s turn to cross-examine.

“I would like everyone to hold up their thumb and index finger.”

Brooklyn walked to the judge’s bench, turned around to face everyone, and raised his right hand to make an “8” gesture.

“Try to pinch your thigh with them and apply continuous pressure.”

The jury and media reporters were preparing to do so.

“Objection! This is not relevant to the case!”

As expected, Coulson objected, and Judge Anna also agreed.

“Your Honor, if you allow me to continue, you will soon know the part that is related to this case.”

Brooklyn said calmly.

Soon, most of the people who were afraid of pain let go.

After another minute, more and more people let go.

At the end of the minute, no one was holding on.