God's imitator

Chapter 184 Death Sentence (Thanks to cRa2yH for the generous Golden Alliance donation!)
Upon arriving at the first courtroom, the group looked around; the furnishings appeared quite simple.

A female player was locked in the wall, looking at the four people with a terrified expression.

Her mouth was also sealed shut by a device, preventing her from making any sound.

Opposite the female player was a judgment bench.

There is a small round platform in the upper right corner of the judge's bench, which looks like it is used to strike the gavel.

In the center of the judge's bench, a sharp dagger was stuck, its blade gleaming coldly.

The dagger looked a bit out of place and disrupted the setup of the trial bench, but no one paid much attention to it. After all, many sets in the game are meaningless and may simply be due to the copycat's peculiar fetishes.

The crowd arrived at the judge's bench, and the screen beside them began to read out the sinner's specific crimes.

[While joking with a drunk male friend, he pushed him into the river and left alone, causing the victim to drown.]

[Verdict: Sentenced to two years in prison for negligent homicide, ordered to pay 4 million yuan in compensation to the victim's family, and has completed serving his sentence.]

The four looked at each other.

Li Jiang said almost without thinking: "The death penalty, what's there to say?"

According to the game rules, players can choose from three different post-trial sentences: acquittal, punishment, and death penalty.

Literally, "not guilty" means direct release.

As for punishment, there should be some specific penalties, not as easy as being acquitted, but no one will die.

Jiang He disagreed with Li Jiang's point of view: "But this is manslaughter! The law has already sentenced him to 6 years, and he has already served his sentence."

"Isn't the death penalty a bit too harsh?"

Li Jiang was somewhat speechless: "I don't understand the law, but I don't quite understand, what's the difference between this and intentional homicide?"

“The victim was drunk. Even if he could swim, could he swim out of the river? Besides, after pushing the victim in, he didn’t even look at him before leaving. If she had tried to save him, I would believe it was manslaughter.”

Jiang He still insisted on her opinion: "But this is not the whole case file, is it? When the law was trying her, it should have conducted a more detailed investigation, which is why it concluded that she committed manslaughter."

“She has already served her sentence. It would be unfair to sentence her to death again. If you think the previous sentence was too lenient, then giving her a ‘punishment’ now would be just right.”

"Don't forget, the audience's advice to us was also 'save as many as possible'."

Li Jiang was somewhat discouraged: "You're the presiding judge, you can sentence me however you want. If you already have an unquestionable idea, then don't pretend to ask for my opinion."

Jiang He frowned: "What do you mean by 'pretending to ask for opinions'? Aren't I discussing this with you?"

Li Jiang shrugged, giving off an "whatever" attitude.

Jiang He then looked at Yang Yuting and Chen Yumei: "What do you think?"

"It's all right."

These two people clearly didn't have any particularly strong opinions.

Jiang He struck the gavel directly on the judge's bench: "Punishment."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mechanism sealing the woman's mouth unlocked automatically.

At the same time, many sharp spikes extended from the mechanism that locked her body, piercing non-vital parts of her body. She struggled desperately, but the more she struggled, the deeper the wounds became.

The woman who was locked up let out a shrill scream.

Fortunately, the punishment didn't last very long. After about ten seconds, the spikes on the mechanism retracted, and the mechanism unlocked automatically.

The woman fell to the ground with a thud.

Jiang He stepped forward and asked, "Are you alright?"

The woman gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face, and said, "It's nothing."

"What's your name? Which neighborhood are you from?"

"Community 5, Bai Yanyan."

Jiang He gave her a quick check of the wounds, mainly on her back and legs. Although no vital organs were injured, and she could walk with a limp, the injuries were indeed quite serious. [Remaining Fertility Fund: 119000]

Choosing punishment will deduct 1000 points from the fertility fund, which is relatively acceptable compared to the 1 points deducted for choosing innocence.

"Let's go."

The four of them continued walking forward with Bai Yanyan, but after pushing open the door, they did not immediately arrive at the second trial room.

This is still the first courtroom, only it's divided in two by a door.

The setup was exactly the same, with a trial bench and a dagger stuck in it.

The only difference is that the person locked to the wall is a man.

[While swimming with friends in a reservoir, a man saw a strange woman and, wanting to play a joke, jumped into the reservoir from behind, causing her death.]

[Verdict: Sentenced to two years in prison for negligent homicide, ordered to pay 4 million yuan in compensation to the victim's family, and has completed serving his sentence.]

Yang Yuting suggested, "Should we test him with that breastfeeding question from before? If he can answer it, we can consider..."

Li Jiang cautioned, "I'm afraid that won't work. These criminals are all gagged by the authorities and can't answer any questions."

"The mechanism in their mouths will only be unlocked after a verdict is reached."

Jiang He frowned and said, "That won't do! This person must be executed."

Li Jiang found it somewhat amusing: "Hey, hey, hey, isn't that a bit odd? Didn't these two commit the exact same crime?"
"Both cases involve pushing the other person into the water and causing their death, so why is this punishable by death?"

"I'm not trying to argue with you, but if you want the death penalty, then everyone should be sentenced to death; if you want punishment, then everyone should be punished. Isn't it inappropriate to apply double standards?"

Jiang He frowned: "This is different."

“Previous cases involved manslaughter caused by playful fighting between friends. We have no way of knowing the specific relationship between the friends or the details of the fight. Perhaps the friends often played pranks on each other before?”

"This case involves a stranger."

"It makes no sense that someone would deliberately hug a stranger and jump into the water."

"Moreover, this person was only sentenced to two years, which is much lighter than Bai Yanyan's case!"

Bai Yanyan lowered her head, not daring to speak.

Li Jiang countered, "Then why is there such a difference in sentencing? Because one paid 80 yuan in compensation, while the other paid 400 million yuan."

Jiang He clearly disagreed with this argument: "How can a human life be measured in money? Can paying compensation reduce the sentence? I would say that this crime is aggravated!"

After saying that, she slammed the gavel down on the judge's bench.

"death penalty!"

Yang Yuting instinctively wanted to stop it, but she didn't have time in time. Moreover, she thought about it and realized that she could also get 1 points of fertility fund after being sentenced to death, which meant that killing or saving would have different ways to pass the level.

Even if the game does have a hidden fairness trial, considering the severity of this male criminal's manslaughter, the fairness rating shouldn't drop too much.

Everyone looked at the data display board in each room, but the amount of the maternity fund did not change immediately; it remained at 119000.

Jiang He originally thought that the criminal would suffer an immediate death penalty, be injected with a lethal toxin by the bracelet, or be killed by a trap.

But nothing happened.

Jiang He was stunned: "What does this mean? Is the game malfunctioning?"

Everyone fell into silence.

Li Jiang glanced at the dagger stuck in the judge's bench and realized the only possibility: "Perhaps this means... we have to carry out the execution ourselves."

He gestured "please" towards the dagger: "Please carry out the verdict, Your Honor."

　Thank you again for the generous donation! I will try my best to update! I recommend a friend's book, "The Great Literary Masters of the Song Dynasty," a very traditional historical novel about the imperial examination system. It's by an experienced author and guarantees quality.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)