After the temporary recess, several tainted witnesses testified one after another. Although their testimonies were different from what James said, basically, the general idea was that when Renault Jr. was involved in the crime, his behavior was different from usual.
Some said that little Renault was crazy, some said that he was in a daze, and some said that he was shouting and yelling.
Lu Ming also asked questions about these tainted witnesses, but did not achieve good results.
"Your Highness, I request that my expert witness, Walker Barber, of the Institute of Mental Illness at the Imperial Academy of Sciences, be called."
After the last tainted witness left the scene, Richard bowed slightly.
Walker seemed like a graceful gentleman, and he gave off a very convincing vibe as he sat in the witness stand.
"Mr. Walker, you issued a severe mental disorder report for Jeff Renault, also known as Mr. Renault Jr., correct?"
Walker nodded slightly: "Yes."
"According to your diagnosis, Mr. Renault, what mental problems exist?"
"I lived with him for half a month, observing and testing him every day. He is a very smart person and has been hiding his serious mental problems. But in fact, under certain environmental stimulation, he will have serious hallucinations. After in-depth communication between me and his father, I have accurately determined the cause of his symptoms."
"Oh? Then, please tell us why he got sick?"
Walker sighed. "Although it involves the patient's privacy, Mr. Reno Jr. also firmly disagrees with me disclosing his condition, but in view of his lack of self-judgment and cognition, I am willing to testify in court with the consent of his father."
"Before Mr. Leno invested in the film industry, the Leno family lived on a farm in the countryside. When Jeff Leno was four years old, a horrific incident happened on that farm. Several farm workers, all from Central China, killed Jeff Leno's uncle. At the time, Jeff Leno was playing hide-and-seek in the stable. He hid in the straw and witnessed the whole incident."
"He didn't show anything at the time, but in fact, that bloody massacre was already deeply engraved in his mind."
"'Shepherd's Song' was the music being played in the stable at the time. In addition, when Mr. Renault was in an environment with a lot of straw, he would also be greatly stimulated. In his imaginary world, he had to protect himself, and the image of the people in Middle-earth would become a devil, and he would kill those devils."
"I ran a number of tests and had conversations with him during his breakdown, and it was also videotaped and we can watch some of the footage."
Richard bowed slightly to the bench: "I request to play a clip from it."
Judge Demps nodded.
Jordan looked at Lu Ming. It seemed that Commissioner Lu's most famous case, Kato Ichikan, used movie clips. He didn't expect that the other party would follow suit.
Lu Ming had a blank expression on his face, thinking about something.
The heavy curtains were drawn and someone brought in the projector and screen.
Soon, an image appeared on the screen.
Moreover, there are recording devices playing simultaneously.
Little Renault was sitting elegantly on the sofa, chatting with Walker. Beside him, there were several large posters with characters from various ethnic groups.
The topics all involve national economy and people's livelihood. Little Renault's insights are very unique and he cares a lot about the middle class.
The jurors listened attentively.
In the film, a piece of shepherd's music sounded, and little Renault suddenly trembled and his eyes became dull.
He suddenly stood up and walked towards the posters. He picked up a knife from the ground and stabbed hard at one of the posters of the Central Plains people.
Walker walked over, stopped him, and shouted, "What are you doing?!"
Little Renault was dumbfounded. "God is talking to me. He told me to kill all the devils, all the devils!"
Then, someone quickly moved all the props away. Little Renault walked back to the sofa and sat down in a daze. After a long time, he suddenly came to his senses: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Walker asked him, "Don't you remember what happened just now?"
Little Renault shook his head in confusion.
Then, Walker changed the subject, and he started chatting with Walker as if nothing had happened.
Jordan frowned and whispered, "The family that makes the movie is so hypocritical!"
After the film clip was finished, the curtains were drawn and the courtroom became extremely bright.
Walker continued, "We can see that Jeff Raynor has suffered a great deal of mental trauma. The cause is that his beloved uncle was killed by several people from Middle-earth. This has cast an indelible darkness into his little soul. But in fact, if he is not provoked, he is polite and has unique insights into various matters. He is a gentleman with compassion for the world."
"He is a very pitiful person. I hope that I can continue to treat him and save him from this dark world."
Most of the jurors had sympathetic looks in their eyes, and some were even wiping their eyes.
After all, many middle-class Westerners still miss the good old days. In fact, in the East China Sea, the competitiveness of the Central Plains is very strong. Although their political status has always been low, there is no doubt that there are more and more successful Central Plains people in all walks of life, which has brought unprecedented pressure to many Western civilians.
Little Renault can undoubtedly be regarded as a representative of young Western gentlemen, but at a very young age, he experienced the brutal incident of his relatives being killed by Central Asian thugs. As a result, he was stimulated and went crazy. Otherwise, he would have been a very good young man.
His future was destroyed by the thugs in Middle-earth.
"Your Honor, I have no questions!" Richard bowed slightly.
Lu Ming walked up to Walker and said, "Actually, Mr. Walker, there is one thing you didn't mention. This murder happened 20 years ago, on May 13, 930 in the Empire. The cause was that Jim Raynor, the uncle of the deceased, Mr. Raynor Jr., was extremely cruel and often tortured his employees with cruel means..."
Jordan was stunned. Commissioner Lu had already noticed this case
This is the first time I've heard of it.
This Commissioner Lu is really meticulous in preparing the case.
"Objection!" Richard raised his hand. "We are not debating a case from 20 years ago. From my information, Jim Renaud is a very friendly neighbor. If we continue to debate like this, there will be no result. The key question is what kind of person Jim Renaud is. It has nothing to do with this case!"
Judge Demps nodded: "The objection is valid!"
Lu Ming looked at Walker, "Anyway, if you find the newspapers from that year, there are a lot of reports about what kind of person Jim Reynolds was, and there are a lot of negative factors."
"Prosecution, please pay attention to the instructions given to you by this court! Do not dwell on the character of a dead person from twenty years ago." Judge Demps frowned.
Lu Ming nodded: "Mr. Walker, do you think that Mr. Renault and his companions were hallucinating when they brutally killed people?"
Walker looked at Lu Ming calmly, "First of all, I want to correct you. Those people are not Jeff Reno's companions, but thugs who lured Jeff Reno into committing crimes. They are the real criminals."
"Secondly, yes, Jeff Renault made all these mistakes because he was in a hallucination."
Lu Ming nodded: "The mistakes you mentioned are the deaths of living people. Some were even brutally tortured and killed!"
Walker sighed, "But I have to say that, in fact, with Jeff Raynor around, the victims may have alleviated a lot of pain and reduced the time they were tortured. Although Jeff Raynor did make mistakes in his hallucinations, or even committed crimes, he was unable to recognize or control his own behavior at the time, so he is not criminally responsible."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Mr. Walker, are you a legal expert now?"
"Prosecution, watch your words!" Judge Demps frowned again.
"Mr. Walker, if that's the case, do you think that little Renault could not be the organizer of the White Rose Organization and the mastermind behind these murders?"
"Yes, mentally ill patients, when they are hallucinating, do not have the ability to organize and plan carefully."
Lu Ming nodded: "Okay, thank you, Mr. Walker!" He looked towards the judge's seat, "Your Excellency, I have no more questions."
Richard stood up and said, "Your Honor, in light of Mr. Walker's testimony, I request that the second defendant in this case be summoned again."
Booker, once again took the witness stand.
"Mr. Booker, you suddenly overturned the confession you gave at the police station, claiming that you were bribed by a staff member of Reno Pictures, so you took on the charge of being the organizer and planner of these murders, is that right?"
Booker nodded, "Yes."
"But after your lawyer formally filed a complaint, the police just reported that the staff you mentioned did not exist at Reynolds Pictures."
Booker tilted his head. "Maybe, it's an alias. Anyway, I know him. Jeff Renault often uses him to contact me."
"Well, the person may be a pseudonym, and may not even be from Reynolds Pictures, because according to your description, Reynolds Pictures does not have this person."
"And the money?"
Booker was stunned: "What?"
"I mean, the bribe money! To ask you to take responsibility for a crime that could result in the death penalty, it must be a large sum of money, right? Where is that money? Where is it now?"
Booker gritted his teeth and said, "I have an illegitimate child. I gave the money to him. Besides, I will not tell who he is or where he is, because the money will be confiscated."
Richard immediately shouted, "You are talking nonsense! Because you were shot in your childhood, you can't have children at all! This is also the reason why you have become so violent and fierce!"
Booker's face immediately turned pale.
Lu Ming nodded. The money should really exist and might be in the hands of someone very important to Booker, but he had never found it. However, that was not the point.
However, the direction of this reversal scene was very brilliant.
In front of the witness stand, Richard said sternly: "In fact, you are the mastermind of these murders, and you also lured Jeff Renault into your organization, making him participate in the murders without realizing it."
"How do you know that Jeff Renault will lose control under certain circumstances?!"
"I, I don't know!" Booker retorted loudly, but his look was very flustered.
"You know, and you planned it carefully to control Jeff Raynor in your hands, because, you know, the inheritance left by your father can't support you to continue your illegal activities, so you started looking for new sources of funds, and you accidentally discovered Jeff Raynor's secret, and you took Jeff Raynor as your new target. You deliberately lured him to kill in an unconscious state in order to blackmail him in the future to provide you with funds for activities, right?"
"I didn't, what evidence do you have?!" Booker was a little exasperated.
"Objection! I object to the first defendant's lawyer's malicious speculation about my client!" Hancock stood up abruptly.
Judge Demps waved at him and Hancock could only sit down awkwardly.
Richard stared at Booker, "Then why did you find Jeff Raynor's murder photos in your house?"
Booker's face turned pale.
Richard said calmly, "This is for you to use to blackmail Jeff Renault when your funds run dry, right?"
Bowing slightly to the judge's bench, "I have no more questions!"
Jordan has been studying Booker's confession and other matters, while Chief Prosecutor Lu Ming has been dealing with Renault Jr.
Looking at this scene now, Jordan felt a chill in his heart.
He had nothing to ask because Richard was helping him prove Booker was the main culprit.
But, all of this is just acting.
I am not a juror, and I have various sources of information, so I look at the issue from a different perspective.
Think about what happened just now when Hancock came to discuss the plea bargain.
I still think it is a good deal. It's just that Booker cannot be sent to the gallows, but life imprisonment can be exchanged for strong witnesses to accuse Little Renault. I can only say that apart from a small regret, this deal is completely worth making.
But now it seems that Lawyer Lu was right to ignore Hancock.
If his plea agreement had just been accepted, not only would Booker have escaped the death penalty.
Booker, who became a tainted witness for the prosecution, was exposed by Richard's questioning.
This further proves that the prosecutors deliberately targeted Little Renault, and even went so far as to let go of a brutal, cunning, and lying murderer in order to testify against Little Renault.
As a result, the prosecution's case against Renault Jr. no longer has any credibility.
Fortunately, he escaped, although the situation regarding the lawsuit involving Renault Jr. is still very bad.
But at least, there is no sudden death. Maybe, there is still hope
Jordan turned his head and glanced at Lu Ming. If there was a second prosecutor, he might have to suggest amending the charges against Renault.
In this case, if it's a good outcome, little Renault might be imprisoned for a few years. If it's a bad outcome, little Renault will have to receive psychiatric treatment at home. It will take at least three or two years before he can be declared cured, right
But in the current situation, he will most likely be directly declared not guilty, because the charge against him is being the organizer and planner of a terrorist organization, which is also a very old charge, first-degree crime endangering public safety, a charge that was formed in the late feudal empire. It was used to prosecute some bandits and pirate leaders at that time. It was a serious crime among first-degree felonies. If convicted, the person would definitely be sent to the guillotine. But now, this charge is so old that no one has proposed to abolish it.
In short, these charges are a bit unreliable.
However, he is the chief prosecutor.
Jordan had the suggestion on his lips but couldn't say it out loud. He always felt that the young-looking man sitting next to him was so confusing that he couldn't figure it out. He didn't dare to make any suggestions easily.