Free Web NovelChapter 879: Chapter 335: Shocking Juvenile Crime
"Lawyer Liu, say something."
Le Jian, standing by, urged anxiously upon seeing the situation.
In his eyes.
The prosecutor spoke a whole lot, launching successive accusations against his daughter.
But on their side, the lawyer...
Suddenly became mute, saying nothing.
Which made him very dissatisfied.
He spent money.
To win the case, not to be here like a wooden dummy getting scolded.
"This point... is unwinnable now."
The lawyer turned back, glancing at the innocent-looking Le Yirou and others in the defendant’s seat.
He shook his head hopelessly.
Originally.
His arguments and evidence were quite sufficient, with legal bases for support.
However...
No one expected the arrogant behavior of Le Yirou and the others in the law enforcement recordings.
It must be known.
The final result of any trial comes from the tribunal.
And their judgment...
Naturally will be influenced by various aspects, such as the defendant’s habitual behavior, attitude, etc.
Even after bullying Sun Luoling, the five remained so arrogant.
Undoubtedly.
In determining motives, their behavior of forwarding to other chat groups will likely be deemed intentional.
The legal term "intentional," is never defined by individual descriptions.
But deduced through logical reasoning, facts, and habitual behavior assumption.
"Then... my daughter..."
Le Jian and several other middle-aged people heard this and became nervous.
Staring intently at the lawyer.
"Look at the next session."
The lawyer sighed lightly, shook his head and said.
The debate on motives is basically a lost cause.
The evidence presented by the opposite side completely defeated the claims he put forward.
To strive for the maximum benefit for the client and seek leniency, they can only rely on the next free debate session.
"Thud—"
Meanwhile.
In the courtroom.
The Judgment Chief struck the gavel, solemnly asking both sides, "Do you have any new evidence to submit?"
Upon confirming that neither side had new evidence.
The trial entered the most intense and engaging stage.
The prosecutor then stepped forward.
Begin refuting the defendant’s plea for Juvenile Detention Center punishment, rebuking, "In our opinion, although Le Yirou, Ji Chunchun, and the five are relatively young, their actions and cognitive attitude utterly disregard the law and show no reverence for it."
"During their time at school, they repeatedly teamed up to exploit and bully other classmates in terms of money, body, and dignity, showing no signs of reform, acting with abandon."
"This time, they caused both physical and mental harm to the victim Sun Luoling, with extremely poor social impact, and numerous parents of students have sent our court a joint application requesting severe punishment."
In fact.
The case has garnered significant public attention.
Especially the parents from that middle school.
Upon learning of Sun Luoling’s situation, they fear that the same might happen to their children.
Therefore.
They initiated a joint application sent to their prosecutors.
Requesting focused punishment for Le Yirou and the others.
"Additionally, according to criminal law, the Juvenile Detention Center targets minors aged fourteen and above."
The prosecutor paused for a moment and continued, "This provision was established with consideration that those under fourteen are not held criminally responsible, but the case’s social impact is significant, the crime circumstances are egregious, leading to others’ mental instability."
"We believe an exception should be made, imposing appropriate penalties, highlighting the sanctity and majesty of the law!"
In the defendant seat.
Le Yirou and the five kept their heads down, biting their lips tightly.
Appearing very aggrieved and innocent.
As if...
They were the victims instead.
"I disagree!"
And after the prosecutor finished speaking, before the lawyer could speak, Le Jian couldn’t hold back.
Staring at the prosecutor, he argued, "The law states those under fourteen should not bear criminal responsibility, so why does it apply to our daughter?"
"Isn’t the law supposed to be about fairness and justice?"
"My daughter did wrong, but she already knows her mistake, we also compensated the victim, if needed, we are willing to provide further compensation."
"They are still children, can’t we show more leniency?"
His emotions were highly agitated.
Even droplets of saliva were about to spray.
The voice uncontrollable, becoming louder and louder.
Before he finished speaking.
Sun Hai beside the prosecutor, with reddened eyes, glared at him angrily, "Children? Is my daughter not a child?"
"She’s only thirteen, what’s her fault? Why should she be bullied at school?"
"Do you know how many scars are on her body?"
"She went to study, not to fight!"
"At this age, she should be holding textbooks, studying diligently at school, striving for her future!"
"But now she..."
Here, his voice choked a little, "She doesn’t even recognize her parents, injures herself frequently, and without someone watching, I’m worried she might commit suicide..."
Thinking of his daughter.
He couldn’t suppress his fury, pointing at the five in the defendant’s seat.
It was these seemingly gentle-looking young girls who caused his daughter to end up like this.
As for the compensation mentioned by Le Jian and others...
It’s nothing but an insult to him as a father!
"Please, could the victim’s guardian control his emotions?"
The Judgment Chief saw Sun Hai’s demeanor, coughed lightly a few times and reminded him.
At the same time, they looked at the opposing lawyer.
The opposing lawyer, seeing this, stood up.
Putting forward his side’s viewpoint: "Esteemed Judgment Chief, members of the jury, and the victim’s family, we still believe that the sentencing in this case is too heavy, too harsh for five immature juvenile students."
"The initial purpose of establishing the Juvenile Detention Center was to accommodate these juvenile offenders."
"To give them a chance for rehabilitation, allowing them to realize their mistakes, and to reform, so they can positively contribute to society in the future and serve the country..."
"From a legal perspective, I believe they should receive punishment at the Juvenile Detention Center rather than being imprisoned like adults."
In the courtroom.
The Judgment Chief and several other jurors listened to the lawyer’s words and couldn’t help but frown.
However, it is undeniable.
This argument is quite legitimate; always, juvenile crimes have mostly been disciplined at the Juvenile Detention Center.
What they are now reviewing...
Is a very few juvenile criminal trials, these young offenders are not yet fourteen years old!
At the prosecution table.
The two prosecutors, after listening to the defense lawyer’s argument, countered again: "Although the law provides for the protection of minors, it does not mean that committing a crime does not require punishment."
"This case has been approved by the Supreme Court, conforms to the trial process, and should result in appropriate sentencing for the actions of Le Yirou and the five others to demonstrate the legislative principle of equality before the law!"
"We still firmly believe..."
For a moment.
Both sides started to debate again over the severity of the sentencing.
During this time.
Le Jian and others gradually joined the fray, attempting to exonerate their daughters.
Sun Hai was unyielding, firmly insisting that they go to prison.
As for Le Yirou, Ji Chunchun, and the other five...
They were caught in between, trembling in fear.
Because of their age, this trial did not require them to speak much.
The Judgment Chief only asked them a few targeted questions.
The rest was left to the lawyers and guardians.
But the five felt...
This trial, seemed to last for years.
A few short hours felt like a lifetime.
Finally.
Three hours later.
With the sound of a gavel, the Judgment Chief solemnly announced: "The court is adjourned for an hour. After an hour, the judgment on this case will be pronounced."
After speaking.
The members of the jury left the courtroom.
Le Yirou, Ji Chunchun, and others felt completely powerless and sank into their chairs.
Endurance...
Finally ended.
The expression on their faces was quite complicated.
There was fear, anxiety, dread, confusion, and... a bit of regret.
...
Court.
Conference room of the tribunal.
The Judgment Chief and the other six jurors began their meeting as usual.
Everyone’s expression was extremely grave.
Obviously.
This case wasn’t an ordinary one.
If not handled properly, public opinion would spread nationwide; they must be extremely cautious.
"Let’s talk."
The Judgment Chief glanced at the others and urged them.
"I think maybe the case should follow conventions, at least... it won’t make any principled mistakes by sentencing them to the Juvenile Detention Center with a criminal record."
One juror looked at the others and expressed his thoughts.
His idea...
It is actually the safest decision.
Although this type of crime has been approved for trial, imposing a sentence beyond legal punishment must be reported to the Supreme Court for execution.
Considering their ages...
They are indeed too young.
If they were fourteen years old, they could be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment.
At their current age, sentencing them to fixed-term imprisonment seems too severe.
"But Sun Luoling’s situation, as you have seen, she is so innocent, why should she suffer such unwarranted bullying?"
Suddenly.
Another juror said sternly: "I say our court should show some determination, sentence as necessary, and give the victim justice!"
"But by sentencing so heavily, it’s against the purpose of the Juvenile Protection Law; it’s better to focus on education, supplemented by punishment."
"Undergoing focused education at the Juvenile Detention Center is indeed a good form of punishment, but I see the attitudes of Le Yirou, Ji Chunchun, and the others, defiant, without a proper sense of guilt, the Juvenile Detention Center might not be able to correct them."
"These individuals’ behavior while being criminally detained did indeed show disregard for the law, but they may not yet realize the seriousness of the issue. We shouldn’t be overly demanding."
"Not realizing the seriousness? I actually think they are very aware of the seriousness precisely because they think they won’t be punished to be so brazen!"
"..."
The seven people expressed their views, discussing intensely.
Everyone’s perspective was different.
But overall there were two factions, one thought fixed-term imprisonment was too severe, and the other thought sentencing to the Juvenile Detention Center for reform was too lenient.
The two sides couldn’t reach a consensus.
Twenty minutes later.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
The Judgment Chief looked at the crowd and said seriously: "This judgment isn’t just about this case; it represents numerous incidents of campus violence."
"I used to specialize in studying juvenile delinquency, very aware of how frightening the proportion of juvenile crime is nationwide now."
He raised his head.
Paused for a moment, then spoke a series of statistical data.
"In the past three years, the prosecution has handled 249,000 juvenile crime cases during the review for prosecution, increasing by 8.3% annually; this year, they accepted 56,000 cases, up 6.4% over the previous year."
"The number of minor victims who suffered from criminal offenses increased from 46,000 to 52,000, with an annual increase of 6.3%, and among them, minors under 14 years old account for 56.5%."
The other jurors, hearing these numbers.
Their expressions became uniformly somber.
Most of these incidents happen in schools, at the junior high school level.
