Li Rudai seemed a little confused. He didn't know how to choose.
If you choose not to plead guilty, the lawsuit will continue to be fought, but even a powerful lawyer like Wilfrid who specializes in criminal cases cannot guarantee that he will win. Dai Li didn't want to go to jail, and it might be more than ten years in prison. As Prosecutor Reese said, even if there was a 10% chance of being found guilty, Dai Li was not willing to take this risk.
Compared with ten years in prison, the penalty for pleading guilty is indeed much lighter. A few years of probation can be spent safely as long as you don't commit any more crimes, and the community service work can be regarded as physical exercise.
"If you are on probation, you have to report to the probation officer twice a week, and there may be a thousand hours of community service. If you do four hours a day, it takes 250 days. Even if you do it five times a month, that's 50 Month, it’s more than four years. But it’s still better than ten years in prison.”
"But I'm obviously not guilty, why should I plead guilty! This bullshit American law!" Thinking of this, Dai Li couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart.
"Prosecutor Nico Reese seemed to have good intentions when he came to persuade me to plead guilty, and also offered conditions for dropping the first-degree murder charge, but I never intended to murder anyone! This is taking something that does not exist. He made a deal with me and even pretended to give me a profit, why should I agree to it?"
"I shouldn't have compromised in the first place!" Dai Li had already made a decision in his heart. He knew that this decision might be an irrational one, but this time, he decided to follow his beliefs.
Dai Li took a deep breath, stood up, and walked in the direction of Wilfrid.
…
Lawyer Wilfrid sat quietly in the corner of the lounge, seriously thinking about the next countermeasures.
Wilfrid knew that in this round of confrontation, he had actually lost to Prosecutor Reese. Wilfrid had to admit that Nico Reese was a master negotiator. He deliberately set the conditions very high at the beginning, and when he lowered the conditions, it was easier for his opponent to accept them.
What's more important is that Nico Reese has clearly grasped the psychology of his opponent. He has long guessed that a rich man is not willing to use freedom as a bet. When a person is completely unwilling to lose what he currently owns, This also determines that he will choose to compromise.
This is a trick used by Nick Reese. As a prosecutor with a 100% conviction rate, Reese knows what methods he can use to get the defendant to plead guilty as soon as possible.
Faced with the conditions set by Prosecutor Reese, if Dai Li is unwilling to plead guilty, as Dai Li's defense lawyer, he needs to help Dai Li win the case; and if Dai Li agrees to plead guilty, as a lawyer, he also needs to Prosecutors negotiate for better terms, such as shorter sentences and probation, and less community service time.
Dai Li's two decisions also required two different solutions for Wilfrid.
"How will you decide?" Wilfrid glanced in the direction of Dai Li, and Dai Li stood up at this time and walked towards Wilfrid.
"It seems that Mr. Li has made a decision."
…
"Mr. Li, you should have already made a decision, should we accept the prosecutor's proposal?" Wilfrid asked.
"I don't intend to accept the prosecutor's 'kindness'. I want to continue fighting this lawsuit." Dai Li replied.
"Have you thought it through? I mean, can you really understand the consequences or risks you may bear if you continue this lawsuit?" Wilfrid asked.
Dai Li did not answer Wilfrid immediately. He asked Wilfrid another question: "Lawyer Wilfrid, do you know about the great flood?"
"Big flood? What big flood? Was there a hurricane somewhere that caused the flood?" Wilfrid asked without knowing why.
"I'm talking about the great prehistoric flood, the legendary one." Li Dai said.
"Of course." Wilfrid nodded: "It is said that the great flood submerged Atlantis, but does this have anything to do with our case?"
"Many civilizations have records about that flood, such as Mesopotamia, Greece, India, China, Maya, etc., and the causes of the flood are also different. For example, the Sumerian myth says Enir, the king of the gods, felt that humans were too noisy, so he wanted to release a flood to destroy humans; the Mayan civilization recorded that humans had forgotten the existence of the Creator, so the Creator decided to launch a flood to destroy humans; stories mentioned in the Bible That is, God saw that the earth was full of corruption, violence, and evil, so he planned to use floods to destroy all evil people.”
Lawyer Wilfrid did not answer, but listened carefully to what Dai Li said.
"In the Sumerian mythology, there is a kind-hearted water god Enki. He arranged for a man named Utana Pizim to escape from the great flood in advance. This is similar to the story of Noah's Ark in the Bible. It's similar, right?" Li Dai asked.
"Yes, God discovered that there was a good man named Noah among mankind, so he instructed Noah to build an ark and bring his wife, son, daughter-in-law, as well as pairs of livestock, birds and other animals They got into the ark together. Then the flood came, and the springs of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened. It rained heavily on the earth day and night, and the floods covered the highest mountains. All living things on the land died, except Noah. Adam's family survived in the Ark. The flood lasted for 220 days, and then Noah's Ark stopped near Mount Ararat. Forty days later, Mount Ararat revealed its top, and Noah released a raven, but The crow did not find any land to rest on. Seven days later, Noah sent out a dove again, and this time the dove brought back branches of the olive tree, indicating that the flood had finally dispersed." Wilfrid explained, as As a Westerner, he obviously knows the story of Noah's Ark recorded in the Bible better than Dai Li.
"Then do you know how the story about this great flood was recorded in the East and China?" Dai Li asked with a smile on his face.
"I would like to hear the details." Wilfrid said.
"There are also fathers and sons in this story. It is recorded in ancient Chinese books that the floods are endless and have submerged crops, mountains, and people's houses. People have been displaced. Many people have to leave their homes. Floods have brought endless harm to the people. disaster. The ruler at that time was named Yao. In this case, he decided to control the flood, so he found a man named Gun. He controlled the flood for nine years, but without any effect."
"Yao's successor was named Shun. He killed Gun and then asked Gun's son to control the floods. Gun's son was named 'Yu'. It took him thirteen years to finally control the floods, during which he never returned. Home, even after passing by the door, he did not enter the house. When he returned home thirteen years later, his son no longer recognized him."
"In the same great flood, in the West, gods came to save mankind, and mankind took refuge in boats. But in China, we have no help from gods and no boats to escape. However, we have not compromised with the floods. We have to rely on our own hands. Let’s fight, we must defeat the flood!” Li Dai’s tone was particularly calm, but his expression became more persistent. He took a deep breath and continued:
"There are many similar myths and stories in China. There is a story about a man named Jingwei. Birds hold stones in their mouths every day, trying to fill up the sea; there is also a story about a man named Yu Gong, who decided to dig out the entire mountain with a shovel because his road was blocked by a big mountain."
"Growing up, I have heard too many such stories, including glorious heroic images and some seemingly stupid behaviors. But when nature brought disaster, our ancestors did not choose to compromise or choose Escape, let alone wait for the salvation of the gods, our ancestors chose to fight and defeat! If you can't do it in one year, use ten years, use twenty years. If you can't do it in one generation, use two or three generations. Man, until you make it!”
"Many people say that we Chinese are materialists, that we do not believe in gods, and that we have no faith. That is because we know that when we face difficulties, no god will come to save us! We can only do what our ancestors did, Fight without giving in!"
"In Western mythology, God may not be perfect, but God is absolutely invincible. But in China, we say 'man can conquer nature'! If a god hinders our survival, we will also push him down from the throne!"
"So today, I will not choose to compromise or give in. I firmly believe that I am not guilty, so I will not plead guilty. Even if I am found guilty today, I will choose to continue to appeal. I will fight to the end firmly because it flows in my bones. This is the blood!"
When Wilfrid heard this, he nodded sincerely: "I understand, I can understand what you want to express. Mr. Li, let's discuss the afternoon trial! I will do everything possible. Work hard to help you win this lawsuit.”
…
Wilfrid pointed to the document about violent tendencies in his hand and said: "As for the issue of violent tendencies, we can apply for a professional psychological test to prove that you do not have violent tendencies, but this requires some time, that is, we have to apply to postpone the trial of this case on the grounds of preparing key evidence.”
"I have no problem." Dai Li thought for a few seconds, and then asked: "Since we want to apply for an extension, why don't we prepare more evidence? I have an idea, but I don't know how to implement it. I don’t know what the effect will be after implementation and whether it will help my case.”
"This is exactly why you paid to hire me, and it is also the value of my existence. If your idea is really beneficial to the case, I will use the most effective method to help you implement it." Attorney Wilfrid said said.
"I remember that during the morning trial, Prosecutor Reese listed the reasons for charging me with first-degree murder. One of them was that the shot I fired might have directly killed the injured person, so he used this to assume that I didn't care. The life and death of the injured." Li Dai said.
Wilfrid recalled the situation at that time, and then said: "Reese is attacking your motive for shooting. He intends to shape you into a murderer who randomly looks for targets."
"Then if we can prove that I have the ability to ensure that the shot only hit the passerby's leg, making him temporarily incapacitated without directly killing him. Does that mean that I don't care about the life or death of the injured person? , then the charge of first-degree murder is not valid." Li Dai said.
Wilfrid thought for more than half a minute, and then said: "This causal connection can be established. But can you really ensure that your shot will only hit the leg of a passerby? Or, you can Prove this?"
"I can prove that my marksmanship is accurate, is that enough?" Li Dai said.
"That depends on how accurate your marksmanship is." Wilfrid said.
"How about the accuracy of professional shooters? For example, Olympic-level 50-meter rifle shooters?" Dai Li asked.
Wilfrid pondered for another moment. He took out his computer and began to search for professional information. After a while, he said: "According to the information I found, from a practical perspective, shooters and professional snipers It's different, but in the perception of ordinary people, their guns are all accurate. Our jury this time is all ordinary people, so when it comes to the court, we don't need to compare the differences between shooters and professional snipers. It is enough to prove that your marksmanship is accurate."
"Then give them a shocking result!" Dai Li lowered his voice and talked about his plan.
…
Nick Reese looked at his watch. In half an hour, it would be time for the afternoon court session. He cast his gaze in the direction of Dai Li again and found that Dai Li and lawyer Wilfrid were sitting together, discussing something.
"Have they not discussed it yet? The speed is really slow." Reese sighed helplessly, and then continued to wait patiently.
After another ten minutes, when Reese could no longer wait any longer, Wilfrid finally ended his conversation with Dai Li. He stood up, straightened his clothes, and then walked in the direction of Reese. come over.
"It seems there is a result." Reese felt that Dai Li would definitely choose to plead guilty, so he was very relaxed emotionally. Then he stood up on his own initiative and walked in the direction of Wilfrid.
"Lawyer Wilfrid, do you want to tell me some good news?" Reese asked with a smile on his face.
"Prosecutor Reese, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you!" Wilfrid also smiled and continued: "My client does not accept your suggestion. He will not plead guilty and will continue the lawsuit. Go down."
"Huh?" Nick Reese showed a surprised expression. Although he had thought about this possibility, in his opinion, this possibility was very small. In the cases he had investigated, under similar circumstances, every defendant chose to plead guilty and compromise with him.
The next second, Reese couldn't help but ask: "Lawyer Wilfrid, have you really told your client all the possible consequences of pleading guilty or not pleading guilty, as well as the risks involved? "
"Prosecutor Reese, please don't doubt my professionalism." Wilfrid's face darkened, and he continued: "This is a decision made by my client after careful consideration, and as a lawyer, I will do my best to Do everything I can do well. So..."
Wilfrid deliberately made a long note, and then said: "The court will start in ten minutes, we will see you in court!"