Chapter 48: Even a Death Sentence Could Be Waived!!! |
At the prosecutor''s table, Chen Wei gasped for breath, his expression unusually grim. His racing heart felt as if it would burst through his chest and leap out of his throat.
As those words fell.
Chen Wei stared at Li Li with a dark expression.
He knew there was such a witness, but he never expected Xu De to call her to the stand under these circumstances.
He expected even less that Li Li''s single "suspected" and "I don''t know" could so easily define the nature of the case!
With the nature of the case established, what would happen to Chen Wei?
Would he be reprimanded?
No. While he would indeed face a reprimand, he didn''t actually care.
Why?
As long as you won, even if everyone despised you, you would still have an endless stream of cases.
But what if you lost? Naturally, you would fall to rock bottom and have to rely on consultations to get by. Yet, consultations didn''t depend on ability; they relied almost entirely on reputation. If your reputation was ruined, you wouldn''t even have consultations...
"The plaintiff requests that the witness be recused from this case!"
Chen Wei was extremely anxious. He subconsciously clenched his fists, lowering his voice by half a pitch.
He was trying to salvage his career, but unfortunately...
"Objection!"
At the defense table, Xu De let out a cold scoff. His falcon-like gaze locked firmly onto Chen Wei.
He stood up and looked at the witness.
"Witness, the plaintiff accuses you of changing your story multiple times, rendering the credibility of your testimony to zero. May I ask why you changed your statement?"
When a witness changed their story, their credibility would indeed drop. However, if the reason was brought to light, it could be restored.
Chen Wei was wondering the exact same thing.
He furrowed his brow, his anger stalling for a moment as he instinctively looked at the witness, Li Li.
Chen Wei could not figure it out.
He truly could not understand why she would testify for the defendant and accuse her own relative, Li Youcai!
After all, she was still from Lijia Village. They saw each other every day.
What if Li Youcai and Liu Cui went back home and caused trouble for them after the court adjourned!?
Why... how on earth did the defense convince Li Li!?
It wasn''t just Chen Wei.
At this moment.
The three prosecutors, the hundreds of attendees in the gallery, and the three judges on the bench all cast doubtful glances at Li Li.
But could she admit that she coveted Li Youcai''s property?
Naturally not.
A second later, Li Li spoke slowly...
"They colluded in the village right from the start, telling us to lie and trick the police."
Li Li spoke casually, directly tearing off the final fig leaf from the plaintiff''s testimony.
"My conscience couldn''t take it, so I came to testify. It''s not just me; a few others were willing to testify too, but they had things to do these past two days, so I came alone."
Telling lies... conscience couldn''t take it... came to testify...
She spoke in plain, colloquial language, unlike the jargon-filled speech of the prosecutors and Xu De, but its lethality was not diminished in the slightest!
"Perjury? The plaintiff colluded with the rest of the village, and the statements were all perjury!?"
"Wait, then all that evidence in the prosecution''s hands..."
"No wonder the defense lawyer went so hard after the credibility of the statements during the first trial. He saw right through it back then!?"
"Colluding with the entire village to commit perjury? Is... is that even possible?"
"..."
Perjury... the prosecution had used evidence intentionally fabricated by the plaintiff!
Even though the prosecution had questioned the testimony during the second trial and chosen not to use it, that couldn''t change the fact that the prosecution''s case had relied on perjury!
This was an incredibly sensitive criminal case, one involving a charge of intentional homicide. For perjury to appear in such a trial...
Suddenly.
A commotion broke out in the gallery once more. This time, the unrest was nearly impossible to suppress. The courtroom gradually descended into chaos, shock written on everyone''s faces.
At the prosecution''s table.
Prosecutors Hu Guang and Wang Wei''s faces instantly turned livid. They glanced back at Li Youcai and Liu Cui, but they could only swallow their grievances.
They truly did doubt the credibility of the testimony, which was why they hadn''t used a single word of it this time.
But who would have thought they would still be screwed over by the plaintiff...
Chen Wei''s mood was no better. If anything, he was having a worse aneurysm than Hu Guang, cursing violently in his head.
''Who the fuck tells people to commit perjury straight to their faces...''
The veins on Chen Wei''s forehead bulged. He looked back at Li Youcai and Liu Cui, whose faces were full of guilty unease, and clenched his fists to stop himself from shouting obscenities.
Is this kind of thing... something you just ask out loud?
Couldn''t you hint at it, play the victim, or find a relative to lobby for you!?
But you just had to ask them yourself... Were you afraid your odds of winning were too high!?
However, he forcibly swallowed his rage, took a deep breath, and changed the subject.
"Presiding judge."
"Regarding the civil compensation portion, compared to the first trial... my client can make some concessions."
Chen Wei said, bracing himself.
A compensation of 230,000 yuan would be a massive victory, but with the prosecution completely suppressed right now, getting 230,000 was clearly impossible.
Then... 100,000!
Even if it were just 80,000 yuan, this case wouldn''t be considered a loss for him. He could completely pin the blame on the prosecutors.
After all, this was an incidental civil action to a criminal case.
If the criminal case was lost, wasn''t it perfectly normal for the civil result to be a bit lacking!?
It was all because the prosecutors were useless!
As for whether the defense was willing to negotiate... they presumably would be.
Eighty thousand for a human life, who would look at that and say it wasn''t worth it!?
Unfortunately...
Zhang Bingxin was just about to speak, but before he could...
"Objection!"
Xu De suddenly spoke up again, interrupting everyone''s train of thought. He stood back up and stated directly:
"Presiding judge, my client objects to the civil compensation portion of this case!"
Another objection?
Wait, a civil suit relied purely on objective reality, compensating according to the law with almost no room for defense. What kind of objection could there be?
At this point.
It wasn''t just the gallery that was confused.
Even the three judges on the bench were baffled. They looked at each other, clearly seeing the perplexity in each other''s eyes.
Finally, Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin could not help but ask:
"Defense, aren''t you... going to at least hear the plaintiff''s conditions first?"
They had just said they could make a concession. Shouldn''t you haggle first, and then negotiate from there?
"My client wishes to state an objection!"
Xu De repeated.
Hearing this, Zhang Bingxin remained silent for a moment before finally saying:
"The defense may proceed."
As his words fell.
Xu De did not rush to speak. He looked down, searching for something on his desk.
Everyone was puzzled, their eyes tracking his movements until finally...
He held up a piece of paper.
This was...
Chen Wei narrowed his eyes. From nearly ten meters away, he could not see it clearly, but the format of that paper gave him a very familiar feeling, until...
"Presiding judge, this is the Settlement Agreement signed by the plaintiffs after speaking with my client prior to the trial."
Xu De''s face was devoid of emotion. He looked at the presiding judge as if he were mentioning something trivial.
"The plaintiffs, Li Youcai and Liu Cui..."
"Are willing to settle with the defendant, Wang Qiang, regarding the consequences of this case. The compensation amount has already been agreed upon, so there is no need for secondary negotiation in court."
A Settlement Agreement!?
Zhang Bingxin: ?
Hu Guang, Wang Wei: ?
The gallery: ?
The moment his voice fell, the massive Courtroom One suddenly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone stood with their mouths agape, staring blankly at the raised document. Some even rubbed their ears, as if trying to confirm whether they had misheard.
You mean to say.
Li Youcai and Liu Cui, who just a moment ago had atrocious attitudes and looked ready to kill Wang Qiang... forgave the defendant?
Forgave the suspect who killed their biological son!?
Huh?
Huh??
Hu Qing, the new prosecutor who had remained silent all along to observe and learn, turned his head. He looked at the guilty-looking Li Youcai and Liu Cui, then back at the document in Xu De''s hand. His gaze darted back and forth between the two, but his mind remained filled with question marks.
His seniors had told him that the rhythm of a trial was ever-changing, and you never knew what rare occurrence might pop up next.
But right now, Hu Qing wanted to say...
Isn''t this a bit too rare!?
"A Settlement Agreement?"
Compared to the rest.
Chen Wei''s mind was completely blank. He stared at the document, his ears ringing loudly. His bewildered gaze then shifted toward Li Youcai and Liu Cui.
The two still looked too guilty to meet his eyes. It was obvious that the Settlement Agreement was real.
"You two!"
In a daze, a rush of congested blood surged into Chen Wei''s brain.
Chen Wei''s face flushed red. The veins on his forehead visibly bulged and pulsed rapidly. He gritted his teeth, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, completely oblivious to his nails digging into his flesh.
What the hell...
He was standing at the front fighting for compensation.
And the plaintiffs had surrendered and settled behind his back!?
The worst part was... if you were going to settle, you should have said so earlier! He could have just gone with the flow and claimed he had persuaded the plaintiffs to settle, earning a good reputation... but keeping it a secret all this time, what was the meaning of that!?
Waiting until they were in court to screw him over at the very last second!?
Chen Wei''s breathing grew rapid. He felt his vision blur as his blood pressure continued to spike, leaving him gasping for air.
The others all wore varying expressions.
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin opened his mouth. While Chen Wei''s ears were ringing and he couldn''t hear, Zhang Bingxin verified the matter with Li Youcai. He confirmed that they had indeed signed the Settlement Agreement, and that they had only asked for a measly 9,000 yuan.
At this, the three judges on the bench all fell silent.
A mere 9,000 yuan, and they were no longer pursuing the matter of their son''s life...
After a long while.
Zhang Bingxin finally spoke, preparing to say something else.
"Prosecution..."
But obviously, Xu De had no intention of letting anyone in the trial area off the hook right now. He spoke up again.
"Presiding judge, my client has not finished speaking."
"In addition to this, the plaintiffs have also submitted a letter of forgiveness to my client, expressing their willingness to forgive the defendant for the harm caused in this case."
He pulled out the letter of forgiveness as well.
Now.
The already silent courtroom grew even more silent. Everyone was plunged into a mental storm and prolonged shock.
Only Xu De''s modest yet exceptionally clear voice continued to echo.
"My client has finished speaking. If the prosecution and the plaintiff still have objections, you may continue to raise them. If there are no objections in this case..."
Xu De paused before uttering his next words.
"Then, I ask the presiding judge to..."
"Make a ruling!"
The words were spoken.
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin looked as though he wanted to speak but stopped, then wanted to speak again. The words caught in his throat.
With the case at this stage, the trial phase was basically over.
It was indeed time for the bench to issue a verdict.
But here was the problem...
How could he rule?
Rule not guilty?
But theoretically, the prosecutor''s office and the court almost never allowed a precedent where a clear homicide ended in a not-guilty verdict, especially when the two parties had a conflict and lost emotional control.
Out of a population of over a billion, the number of adult, clear-cut homicide cases ending this way over an entire year remained in the single digits, with publicly announced ones likely not exceeding five!
No court or judge dared to deliver a hasty verdict.
Then rule guilty?
At this thought.
He looked down at his desk, staring at the record of factors raised and verified by the defense and organized by the clerk, namely:
[''Self-surrender + legitimate self-defense + acting bravely for a just cause + Special Self-Defense + testimony + witness + letter of forgiveness + Settlement Agreement + special circumstances...'']
Up on the judge''s bench.
Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin, draped in his robes, had always been stern, rigid, and emotionless. Yet right now, looking at this long string of "factors" before him...
His rigid face actually showed slight emotion. He wanted to speak but held back, the words catching in his throat.
The corner of Zhang Bingxin''s eye twitched.
How... how was he supposed to rule on this? With a string like this stacked together...
Even a death sentence could be reduced to a waived punishment and immediate release in court!!!