It was lawyer Wilfrid's turn to ask questions. He did not speak immediately. Instead, he walked to the witness stand and stared at Officer Lowry with a sharp look, which made Lowry feel a little numb.
Finally, Wilfrid asked: "Officer Lowry, according to your description, you heard the gunshot when you were helping the injured person and walking back, right?"
"Yes." Lori nodded.
"Then did you see the gunman shoot you?" Wilfrid asked next.
"No," Lori replied.
"Then were you shot?" Wilfrid asked again.
"No." Lori continued to answer.
"When you heard the gunshot, did you see where the bullet landed?" Wilfrid asked again.
"No," Lori replied.
"Excuse me, you didn't see the gunman shoot, you weren't hit by a bullet, and you didn't know where the bullet landed. How did you determine that the gunman was targeting you just from the sound of a gunshot?" Wilfrid asked. A stern tone of voice.
Officer Lowry thought for a moment and then said: "The area was very empty at the time and there was no one else, so we were the only targets."
"Then have you ever thought about the possibility that the shooter was just shooting at a certain object, and his target was not you?" Wilfrid then asked.
"Objection! The opposing defense lawyer raised a hypothetical question. The witness does not need to answer this question." Reese stood up immediately.
Wilfrid smiled slightly: "Your Honor, according to the evidence at the scene, the shot fired by my client did not hit anyone, but hit the tire of the police car. He was indeed shooting at an object. Shots fired, that’s a fact, not a hypothetical question.”
The judge nodded: "The objection is invalid. Please ask the witness to answer the defense lawyer's questions."
Officer Lowry thought for another ten seconds before replying: "I didn't expect the situation you mentioned. We were the only ones there at the time. Based on my experience, the gunman's target would be the people present. Rather than a single item.”
"In other words, you just relied on your own inference to determine that you were attacked?" Wilfrid's tone was still stern.
Lowry immediately said: "Under the circumstances at that time, someone had been shot and fell to the ground. Normal people would think of..."
"You just need to answer yes or no, did you determine that you were shot by just inference." Wilfrid interrupted Lowry.
"Yes." Lori had no choice but to answer.
Wilfrid nodded with satisfaction. He got the answer he wanted, and then he asked: "When did you discover that the shot didn't hit anyone, but yours?" Tires?”
"I pulled the injured person and hid behind the car, and my partner told me that the tire was punctured," Lowry said.
"So how far were you from your car when the gunfire rang out and he lay down?" Wilfrid then asked.
Lori thought for a while and replied: "About ten meters!"
Wilfrid smiled sarcastically, and then asked: "Is it only ten meters? You must have brought law enforcement video equipment with you at the time, right? It should be able to clearly reflect how far you are from your police car. "
"I can't remember clearly. The situation was very confusing. It might have been more than ten meters." Lowry immediately changed his mind.
Wilfrid took a piece of paper from his assistant, which was a screenshot of the law enforcement video equipment. He pointed at the screenshot and said: "This is the screenshot of the law enforcement recorder when Officer Lowry lay down. From the screenshot We can clearly see that Officer Lowry was about 35 to 40 meters away from the police car at that time. This also shows that the target of the shot fired by my client was not Officer Lowry. and the injured, but the police car 40 meters away.”
"Obviously, there is a distance of forty meters, which shows that my client did not intend to harm Officer Lowry. He placed the target on the police car just to attract the attention of the police. He was using this method to call the police. ." Wilfrid said, taking a photo from his assistant. The photo showed a police car, and you could see several bullet holes on it.
"The bullet holes in this police car were caused by my client, and also by the new gunshots heard by Lowry after reinforcements arrived. After my client opened fire, not a single police officer The police officer was injured, and this photo also proves that the target of my client's attack was also the police car, not the police officer at the scene. His purpose was also to call the police, not to attack the police. Therefore, the prosecutor's "assault" The police officer's accusation is completely unfounded. The so-called assault on the police officer is just the personal feelings of the police officer who was on duty at the time, but it is not factual."
Wilfrid said, looking at Nick Reese with a provocative look, obviously saying, you have already lost this lawsuit.
The judge also looked at Reese with a strange look. In his opinion, Reese's accusation of assaulting the police indeed lacked sufficient evidence.
Prosecutor Reese appeared very calm, as if he had not suffered the slightest frustration.
…
As the victim in this case, Sam Gardner took the witness stand.
"Mr. Gardner, please describe in detail what happened on the day of the incident." Nick Reese still started with the same sentence.
Gardner is already familiar with this aspect. He has been interviewed by many reporters these days. Every reporter will ask him to describe the situation on the day of the incident, so Gardner has already memorized that set of words. The melon is overripe.
"I was on my way home at the time, and I planned to take a shortcut, so I passed the scene of the crime. Then I heard gunshots. I felt some pain in my leg. When I looked down, I realized that my leg had been shot. . Then I fell to the ground and called the police. Not long after, a police car arrived at the scene. Two police officers got out of the car. One of them helped me to hide behind the police car. Then they called for backup, and soon an ambulance arrived. and police support arrived, and then I was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital." Gardner described the situation that day.
"Mr. Gardner, did you feel scared after you realized you had been shot?" Reese asked.
"Yes, I was really scared at the time." Gardner replied.
"Have you ever considered that the shooter continued to shoot at you?" Reese asked.
"I have thought about it," Gardner replied honestly.
"Did you ever think at that time that the gunman would kill you?" Reese then asked.
"I have thought about it." Gardner nodded.
"When you were injured and fell to the ground, was the place where you were shot in your leg still bleeding?" Reese asked again.
"Yes, the wound is bleeding," Gardner continued.
"Then were you worried that you were hit in a relatively important blood vessel and might bleed to death?" Reese asked again.
Gardner took a deep breath and answered: "I have had such worries."
"Your Honor, I'm done asking." After finishing speaking, Reese returned to his seat.
Wilfrid was already ready. After Reese finished asking questions, he immediately came to the witness box.
"Mr. Gardner, according to the hospital's diagnosis, is your gunshot wound a fatal injury?"
"It's not a fatal injury." Gardner shook his head: "The doctor said it was just a skin injury, and it will be fine after stitches and a period of recovery."
"Then how much did you spend on medical expenses when you were shot this time?" Wilfrid asked.
Reese guessed what Wilfrid wanted to say and immediately raised his hand: "Objection! Object to the defense lawyer raising questions that have nothing to do with this case."
"Your Honor, not many of you here are doctors. I think through the medical expenses spent, we can have a rough assessment of Mr. Gardner's injuries. This will be helpful in clarifying this case." Wei Wei. Alfred argued.
The judge hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "The basis for the defense lawyer's question is reasonable, and the objection is invalid. However, the cost of treatment is a personal privacy issue, and the witness can choose not to answer."
"I answered." Gardner said immediately: "I didn't spend a penny. Mr. Li paid all the medical expenses for me."
"What about the subsequent recovery? The cost during the recovery period should be very expensive, right?" Wilfrid then asked.
"I didn't spend any money. Mr. Li also paid for my recovery expenses, and Mr. Li also gave me $200,000 in compensation. This directly lifted me out of a life of poverty," Gardner said.
"So, is the Mr. Li you are talking about in this room?" Wilfrid then asked.
"He is, he's sitting in the dock," Gardner replied.
Wilfrid showed a satisfied smile: "I think the truth of the facts is very clear. First of all, although my client fired a shot at Mr. Gardner, he did not aim at his vital parts. This shows that My client’s original intention was not to kill Mr. Gardner, he had no intention of murdering Mr. Gardner, he just wanted Mr. Gardner to call the police for him.”
"Furthermore, my client is very sorry for causing harm to Mr. Gardner. Not only did he pay all the treatment and rehabilitation fees for him, but he also gave him a large amount of financial compensation, which can be seen from this. My defendant is a very kind man, and he was only forced to shoot Mr. Gardner. Therefore, the charge of first-degree murder against the defendant is completely untenable."
After Wilfrid finished speaking, he bowed to the judge: "Your Honor, I have finished asking my questions."
"Prosecutor, do you have any questions for the defendant, or anything to add?" the judge asked Reese.
"No, I have no questions and nothing to add." Reese shook his head without hesitation, his expression remained very calm.
Reese's performance made Wilfrid frown. Nick Reese's performance was too calm.
…
Edward Snow also appeared on the witness stand.
"Mr. Snow, you were also a hostage kidnapped by the robbers, and you were also trapped in that room. You witnessed the shooting at the time of the incident. Please describe the process at that time." Nick Reese was still This is the opening line.
"We were trapped in that room, and there were all kidnappers outside. Mr. Li locked the door so that the robbers outside could not enter, so we were temporarily safe. The room we were trapped in had no windows, so we couldn't escape. , we wanted to call the police, but there was no signal on the mobile phone. Later, we opened the exhaust duct, hoping to call for help through the exhaust vent, but it did not work. The people passing by were too far away from us and they could not hear us. Our cry for help.”
"Later, Mr. Li came up with a method. He proposed to shoot at passers-by. As long as the passers-by were injured, the passers-by would definitely call the police, and the police would arrive at that time. I thought this method was feasible, so Mr. Li stood there He waited in front of the exhaust vent, and when a pedestrian appeared, he shot at the pedestrian and wounded the pedestrian."
"The pedestrian called the police as we expected. Soon after, I heard the sirens, and then Mr. Li fired at the police car again. The police called in more reinforcements. Mr. Li fired a third time. He hoped to inform the police of our location, and the police discovered us, exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers, and rescued us."
Reese thought for a few seconds, and then asked: "Mr. Snow, according to what you just said, it was the defendant Mr. Li who took the initiative to shoot the passers-by with a gun, right?"
"This is indeed the method he came up with." Snow added: "And I agreed with it at the time. I felt that in that case, that was the only way to call the police."
Reese ignored Snow's addition and continued, "According to this, the defendant's act of shooting and injuring passers-by was carried out after planning and premeditation."
Just as Snow was about to defend Dai Li, Reese asked again: "Mr. Snow, was it Mr. Li's impromptu decision to shoot at the police, or was it planned before it was realized?"
"This is also part of the plan. We need to attract the attention of the police in this way." Snow said.
"Does this mean that the attack on the police was also a deliberate act by the defendant?" Reese asked immediately.
Wilfrid stood up immediately: "I object! My client has not been convicted yet, and the prosecutor's use of the word 'assaulting the police' is pointed."
"The objection is valid, prosecutor, please pay attention to your words." The judge reminded.
"Okay, I take back what I just said and ask again. Mr. Snow, is this act of attacking the police with a gun also a deliberate act by the defendant?"
"Uh, yes." Although Snow felt that this answer would have a negative impact on Dai Li, he still gave an affirmative answer. This is a court and he cannot commit perjury.
"Okay, I'm done asking." Snow returned to his seat.
What Snow said did not exceed Wilfrid's expectations. He had already guessed before the trial that Snow would use "deliberate behavior" to make an issue. In this case, Li Dai's actions of injuring Gardner with a gun and shooting at the police car were indeed planned and carried out, and were indeed considered deliberate actions.
However, Wilfrid already had a way to deal with it. Although he could not deny Dai Li's deliberate behavior, he could defend Dai Li from another angle, which was Dai Li's "motive."
In criminal cases, sometimes the motive of the crime is more important than the criminal behavior. For example, if a terrorist wants to carry out a terrorist attack in a public place, even if the terrorist fails in the end and causes no casualties, his motive for committing the crime is enough to keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
What lawyer Wilfrid has to do is to make everyone feel that Dai Li has no motive to harm them, so even if he commits a crime, he may be acquitted.
Wilfrid came to the witness box and asked: "Mr. Snow, you are trapped in that room. If you fail to call for help, will your lives be in danger?"
"If we fail to call for help, we will definitely die. The iron door can only temporarily prevent the robbers from sneaking in. They can use explosives to blow up the iron door or use a cutting machine to cut it open. And there is no food in the room. With water, we can't survive." Snow replied.
"Then what state were you in at that time?" Wilfrid asked next.
"My situation is very bad. After I was kidnapped, I haven't drank water or eaten for two days and two nights. Moreover, I was tortured by the kidnappers. There were wounds all over my body. I lost too much blood and was still Fever. Under the circumstances at that time, without food and water, a normal person could survive for about three days, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to survive even 24 hours," Snow replied.
"That is to say, if you are not rescued within a short period of time, you will face life danger. And in comparison, the defendant's physical condition is better. The defendant can wait for two or three days, but your situation is different. You are already in danger, and if you don't get treatment, you will die. Is my understanding correct?" Wilfrid asked again.
"Yes." Snow nodded.
"So in this case, my client had to take an extreme step to seek help. He shot Mr. Gardner with a gun and fired at the police car. His motive for doing so was that he had already Mr. Edward Snow, who is on the verge of death, needs to be treated as soon as possible, and at the same time, he can be rescued." Wilfrid paused, and then continued in a rather affectionate tone:
"It is true that my client's actions were carried out after planning, but my client had no criminal motive. He did all this just to save a stranger he had just met at the time. In my opinion, He is a selfless hero, but now, this hero who saves people is sitting here and being judged!"
Wilfrid's expressive voice moved many people. Even Li Dai felt that he was so great after hearing it.
As a powerful lawyer, acting skills are a must.