Death sentence turned into acquittal? Who told him to be a detective!

Chapter 158 High Court! Second Instance! [A long chapter of 4,000 words!]

Arashiyama Provincial High Court.

Inside the waiting room.

"Why have so many things happened in the last two years?"

"I feel like there hasn't been a single day of peace since the second half of 04!"

"I just finished dealing with Zheng Mei a couple of days ago, and now I have to work on the 'Jinjiang Hotel corpse falling case.' In another two days, I reckon I'll have to work on the Wu Yong case too. Thinking about it carefully, they're all from Hanhai City!"

"Ugh"

"."

Inside the waiting room.

A group of very high-ranking judges gathered here. Although they did not feel immense pressure, they still couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement.

That's right, they are the judges from the High Court who are in charge of the second instance trial of the "Jinjiang Hotel Corpse Fall Case"!

Ishiyama served as the presiding judge.

The remaining judges serve as adjudicators and other similar positions.

If there is any difference between them and Zhao Yi and others, it is this:
Professionalism!
That's right.

Judges in high courts are generally highly specialized because there are almost no minor cases that need to be appealed to provincial courts.

It's either a very complex financial case.

Or it could be a particularly serious criminal case!
The former requires using your brain, while the latter demands even more serious preparation!

As for the current case...
To be honest, the case itself wasn't particularly complicated, but the things it involved were exceptionally serious.

School, age, homeless people, torture and murder
Let's say that.

Any one of these factors could cause the intermediate court to repeatedly adjourn its hearings!

But right now, they're all mixed together like a big pot of stew.
"The outcome of the second instance trial will largely depend on the plaintiff's performance."

Shishan took a deep breath.

He had met Xu Liang.

After the Chen Dong case, I was one of the people sent down to deal with Chen Jian.

At this moment, Shishan calmly thought:

"The defendant did not have clear evidence, but their angle was very tricky."

"If the plaintiff performs well, the second instance trial will not require a recess."

Think of this.

Everyone nodded.

"How much longer until the trial?" someone asked.

Shi Shan glanced at his watch and said in a deep voice:

"ten minutes."

"The second trial will begin in ten minutes!"

Hanhai City.

Intermediate Court, in a meeting room.

Zhao Yi sat in front of the television, extremely nervous.

He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed intently on the television that was still playing commercials.

The second trial will begin in ten minutes!

"The second instance court shouldn't overturn the first instance judgment unless Zhang Hao presents some significant evidence," someone next to him said.

Zhao Yi nodded, but his heart remained heavy.

The second instance is the superior court of the first instance.

If the first instance sentences someone to death, and the second instance overturns the verdict, then the first instance will be in serious trouble!
Not to mention, the factors involved in this case are quite sensitive. If the first-instance judgment is overturned, Zhao Yi will probably suffer a lot.

But the words have already been spoken.

This is in the case of rejection.

What if the appeal is not rejected?

If the appeal is not rejected, this will be a political achievement!
Judges also have performance targets; if their judgments are effective, they might even get a promotion.

Although Zhao Yi doesn't have much ambition, he is basically pushed along.

But if he could get away from Hanhai City and Xu Liang, he would still want to be promoted!
"Three minutes left."

Looking at the time.

Zhao Yi murmured to himself.

The judge, who was waiting for the others to arrive for the meeting, also subconsciously looked over at that moment.

Two minutes.
One minute
Thirty seconds, ten seconds, three seconds.
Court is in session!
Suddenly, a news program appeared on the television!
Everyone watched seriously.

"Squeak~"

Inside the High People's Court of Arashiyama Province.

As the bailiffs slowly pushed open the heavy door.

In an instant, countless figures appeared before him in the audience.

At a cursory glance, it's at least twice the number of intermediate courts!
"Everyone, please stand. Please invite the judge to take his seat."

The court clerk spoke, and his voice resounded throughout the room.

In an instant, everyone stood up.

Shi Shan took a deep breath, put on his long robe, and led his team toward the judge's bench.

This is a case that has garnered so much attention.
He didn't play that many times either.

However, the rocky hill has excellent resistance to pressure.

Shishan took his seat directly in the judge's seat.

Everyone present took their seats immediately.

Shi Shan glanced at the documents and said in a deep voice:

"Plaintiff and defendant, please enter the courtroom."

All of a sudden.

In two waiting rooms inside the High Court, several people stood up and were led by bailiffs toward the courtroom.

"Squeak~"

The door opened.

In an instant, the vast, empty courtroom came into Xu Liang's view.

It's far more grand than the intermediate court!
Xu Liang remained expressionless and led his men toward the plaintiff's seat.

Both parties took their seats.

Shishan nodded and continued with the process.

"This court is now hearing the 'Jinjiang Hotel Corpse Fall Case' in Hanhai City. The first instance was convened by the Hanhai City Intermediate People's Court, and the second instance was adjudicated on February 9th."

"According to the materials, the defendants Du Ze and Duan Feipeng, on December 6, 2004, in Hanhai City..."

"The first-instance judgment is as follows."

"Du Ze, the defendant, is guilty of intentional homicide and intentional injury. He is sentenced to death!"

"Duan Feipeng, the defendant, is guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced to death!"

"Due to dissatisfaction with the judgment, the defendant appealed in accordance with the law, and the Lanshan Provincial Higher People's Court is now convening a second instance hearing in accordance with the law."

"Now, I declare."

As he spoke, Shi Shan's eyes narrowed, and he brought the hammer down.

"boom!"

"Court is in session!!!"

Court is in session!!!
In an instant, everyone present was jolted awake. Before they could react, Shi Shan turned to look at the defendant's dock.

"Please make a statement regarding your claims."

Hear the words.

All eyes were on Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao forced himself to stand up.

"Your Honor, fellow journalists, I am Zhang Hao, the defense attorney for the defendant, within the scope of my authority."

"I did this for the defendants, Duan Feipeng and Du Ze."

He paused slightly before speaking:

"Defendant for sentence reduction!"

Defendant for sentence reduction?

So, what is it that you really want to say?
All of a sudden.

Xu Liang, sitting in the plaintiff's seat, narrowed his eyes but did not speak. Instead, he quietly watched the other party perform.

Zhang Hao then continued:

"In the first instance, the court ruled that the defendants, Duan Feipeng and Du Ze, caused the victim's death by intentional homicide."

"However, after further investigation, I discovered that on December 6th, at 12 PM on the night of the incident, the person under trial did not intentionally commit murder, but rather..."

Then Zhang Hao began to speak:

"Accidental death!"

Accidental death?

A sudden uproar erupted at the scene.

Although both intentional homicide and accidental death result in the death of another person, the judgments are vastly different!

Moreover.

Given the state of the scene, how could there have been an accidental death?!

Shi Shan frowned.

He had also seen the surveillance footage provided by Xu Liang, and the crime scene clearly indicated a murder with obvious intent!

Shishan immediately said in a deep voice:

"Defendant, please state your evidence."

Zhang Hao nodded, swallowed hard, and glanced at the eyes unconsciously.

To be honest, he did find a sliver of an opportunity to break through.

The problem is that once you say it out loud, you're guaranteed to be criticized!

And it's not just ordinary bad reputation!

But no way.

Since they are defense lawyers, they naturally have to adhere to professional ethics; otherwise, they should just give up, and that's what deserves the most criticism.
Thinking of this, Zhang Hao frowned, sorted out his thoughts, and then began to speak slowly.

"Your Honorable Judge."

"During the first instance trial, the evidence presented by the plaintiff showed that Jiang Hai, Du Ze, and Duan Feipeng murdered the victim on 'Guihua Street'."

"However, after reviewing the information, I discovered one thing, and that is..."

Zhang Hao gradually got into the zone, and his greatest strength was finding flaws in the details.

Although what he's saying in the current case is a bit far-fetched, it's still a breakthrough worth trying!

"The defendant's motive for murder!"

Zhang Hao frowned and said:

"From the beginning to the end of the video."

"Because of the pixel issue, it was impossible to see the lip movements of both parties. Therefore, all that could be seen was that the accused killed the person at the first murder scene and then disposed of the body."

"After the first trial, I conducted a detailed interrogation of the defendant and ultimately discovered..."

The reason the defendant assaulted him was that they believed the deceased was...

talking.

Zhang Hao paused slightly, then uttered an unexpected word.

"steal!"

To steal?

Everyone present was stunned.

Shi Shan frowned.

Xu Liang narrowed his eyes, looking at the other person with great interest.

Zhang Hao continued speaking.

"Duan Feipeng was passing through Guihua Street at 12 p.m. on the evening of December 6, 2004."

"During that time, the scene I saw was a figure, acting suspiciously at the back door of the bakery, rummaging through something."

"At the same time, the figure was also holding some expensive bread from the bakery."

"Therefore, the three of them concluded that the other was committing theft!"

The theft.
That is
"The defendant."

Shishan frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"Are you implying that the first victim appeared at the crime scene as a thief?"

Thief?

Was the victim a thief?

"No, what we mean is that, in the eyes of the defendant Duan Feipeng, the victim is a thief!"

Zhang Hao rejected it outright.

"It was precisely this perspective that led the three to be misled into believing that he was a thief."

"Then, the three men stepped forward, intending to drive the thief away and make him give up the theft!"

"However, due to a lack of information between the two sides, a conflict arose, which escalated into a physical fight!"

"This ultimately led to the accidental death of the deceased!"

From this perspective.

The general logic does work.

Can.
Holding someone down on the head and hitting them with a stick can be considered an accidental death?!

Xu Liang's eyelids drooped, but he didn't say anything and continued to listen.

Zhang Hao felt the gazes directed at him, but he still withstood the pressure and continued speaking:

"And after watching his videos repeatedly."

"Ultimately, it was discovered that the deceased had indeed committed theft!"

This constitutes theft!?
All of a sudden.

Everyone felt a sudden surge of anger for no apparent reason and glared at Zhang Hao.

Even the presiding judge, Ishiyama, stared at Zhang Hao with extremely sharp eyes.

He said in a deep voice:
"Defendant, do you have any evidence?"

"Have."

"Your Honor, please freeze the surveillance video submitted by the plaintiff during the first instance trial at 7:45:23 PM on the night of the incident!"

Zhang Hao spoke, these things were already etched in his mind.

Hear the words.

After obtaining permission from Shishan, the court clerk began to retrieve the video footage provided by the court of first instance.

Before long, the time point mentioned by the other party was retrieved!

This is the scene when the deceased was being beaten by Duan Feipeng!
The scene was marked by signs of a struggle, and trash cans were overturned.

"Could the clerk please zoom in on the overturned trash can?"

Zhang Hao spoke first.

The clerk amplified it according to his words.

The shop owner bought this trash can privately; otherwise, even garbage trucks couldn't get into that area, and there were hardly any residents. City management personnel wouldn't have put a trash can there.

They just look alike.

but.
"Attention everyone, there are warning signs on the trash cans!"

Zhang Hao suddenly pointed to one of the spots and spoke.

Everyone heard the sound and looked around.

However, a piece of paper with clear black and white lines was prominently displayed on the surface of the trash can.

Despite being soaked in dirty water and having blurry surveillance footage, the writing on it was still legible.

These words are
【Do not allow others to touch this!!!】

"Your Honorable Judge."

According to Article 207 of the Civil Code and the theory of property rights, the waiver of ownership requires both a clear subjective intention to abandon the property and an objective separation from control of the property.

"It is clear that prohibiting others from touching the contents of the bucket ensures that ownership of the contents has not been transferred."

"Furthermore, the trash can is located at the back door of the bakery's kitchen!"

"Judging from the location and the sign, the contents of the trash can still belong to the bakery!"

Zhang Hao finished speaking in one breath.

Finally, he made his conclusion.

"So, it was 7:30 pm on December 6, 2004."

“From a legal perspective, the deceased infringed upon the bakery’s interests by engaging in acts such as theft.”

"That's why the conflict between the defendant and the deceased occurred, ultimately leading to the death."

"The defendant did not have the intent to intentionally cause harm at the first crime scene; therefore, the case should be changed to accidental death."

This kind of slogan is posted on the private trash cans of bakeries and even some large restaurants.

The reason is to shirk responsibility.

Those who get food poisoning from scavenging garbage cannot claim compensation from these stores.

As long as ownership has not been transferred.

Legally, this trash is not considered trash and remains private property.

Zhang Hao wanted to use this to change the cause of death of the first victim from intentional homicide to accidental death.

It does.

In fact, if the charge of intentional homicide were cleared, Du Ze might be given a suspended death sentence!
but.
Their eating manners were rather unseemly.

All of a sudden.

The entire High Court hearing fell silent, an indescribable atmosphere filling everyone's hearts.

It was very quiet, eerily quiet.

until.

Shi Shan took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.

He turned his head and looked coldly at the plaintiff.

"Plaintiff, do you have any comments on the defendant's statements above?"

He is a judge.

Even though they are public judges, they must restrain themselves from getting angry, otherwise it would be unfair in terms of the law.

Xu Liang is not needed.

"Have."

He uttered a word lightly.

Immediately, Xu Liang stared coldly at Zhang Hao, his anger turning into a mocking laugh. He took a deep breath and demanded sharply:

“Defendant, I would like to ask you a few questions.”

Finished.

Regardless of whether the other party agreed or not, Xu Liang's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice:

"you mean."

"The deceased, satiated with clay, went out and fought with wild dogs for food, searching through garbage cans for a few pieces of moldy bread and steamed buns—in your eyes..."

"It's theft!?"

Xu Liang stared intently into Zhang Hao's eyes.

The sound was incredibly loud, exploding in everyone's ears.

Please answer me directly!!!

P.S.: Do you have tickets? Do you have tickets? awa
(End of this chapter)