Chapter 43 Section 18

In fact, Nathan and Richard had just heard that morning that their lawyer wanted them to change their plea.The two elder brothers, Mike Leop and Aaron Lowe, told them a few hours before the trial that the lawyer had given a detailed explanation to the two families beforehand. After discussion, they all agreed to admit "guilty" to the The best choice for the two defendants, without which it is almost impossible to escape the death penalty. "Prosecutor Koro charges you both with kidnapping and murder," Claren Darrow later explained to his two clients. "If you still insist on the 'not guilty' plea, he will have Divisional trial, let's say murder first. If the verdict is lower than the death sentence, he will go back and try kidnapping. There is only one way to avoid this situation - before he proposes divisional trial and is allowed , we pleaded 'guilty' to both charges. Therefore, secrecy is absolutely necessary."

In fact, Kraren's move has another purpose.According to Illinois law, if they admit "guilty", Nathan and Richard may avoid the jury trial, and only the judge will decide.This, Krazhin believed, was the most effective way to dampen the influence of public sentiment on the outcome of the trial.And because there is already a "rule" of "guilty", what the judge has to do is actually to sentence the two defendants.The so-called "trial" has also become a "hearing" that is completely different from people's expectations. In this way, Chief Prosecutor Robert Coro spent two months meticulously preparing the evidence to be submitted to the court. In theory, it has nothing to do with this court debate, because all the witnesses and physical evidence to prove are two What the defendant has admitted - "guilty".The defendant's Claren Darrow can take advantage of this opportunity to give full play to his talents in court and criticize the death penalty, so as to win his two underage clients a chance to survive.

On the other hand, if the defense pleaded "not guilty" on the grounds of the mental state of Nathan and Richard, and let 12 jurors decide their fate, the demand for the death penalty for the second criminal is so loud among the people At that time, it is conceivable that none of the jurors dared to spare the two criminals. Otherwise, after the trial, how would they face their acquaintances, friends, and neighbors?Even if a juror is originally opposed to the death penalty, he will console himself because he is only a member of the jury and bears at most one-twelfth of the responsibility.

However, it is different when only the judge decides the sentence, and he must take full responsibility for his own decision.Claren Darrow reasoned that it might have been easy for Nathan and Richard to orchestrate a murder, but for Judge John Gavelli to take two lives after much deliberation. It may not be an easy decision.Crazhin was convinced that he knew Judge Gavelli and that five of the cases he had presided over before had gone to the jury and ended in the death penalty.Claren understood that he persuaded Nathan and Richard to change "not guilty" to "guilty", which was actually a gamble, and he could not guarantee 100% that he could rescue the two clients from the gallows.But at least, John Gavelli is a well-trained old judge. He can try his best to think independently when deciding a case, try his best to keep his mind clear, and avoid the influence and interference from the people and the press as much as possible. "If it's Robert Corot sitting on the bench now," Krazhin said to Benjamin Bachlage, "I'm afraid I'll have to think otherwise."

Because there is no need to select a jury, the judge announced that the trial in the case will officially begin on Wednesday, two days later, instead of the originally scheduled date of August 4. During the adjournment that day, Judge John Gavelly looked grave.Now, Kraren thrust the "Hot Potato" into his hands, forcing him to make a life-or-death decision on the two young men in the dock alone in this lawsuit.Judge Gavelli shook his head. He didn't like the situation he was in. There are 300 seats in John Gavelli's criminal court, the front 30 on the right are reserved for the families of victims and defendants, and there are 200 "red ticket seats" (Pink-TicketSeats) for the press. ), that is, only 70 of the "pay and go" seats issued to journalists according to the application of various media outlets are open to the public.However, it is impossible for these 70 seats to be completely owned by the citizens, because many journalists who did not receive the "red tickets" also rushed to the court building before dawn and were mixed in the queue. 1924 is the statutory presidential election year in the United States. At the Democratic National Convention held in New York not long ago, more than 600 reporters participated in the interviews and reports.Some local newspapers joked that almost all of those 600 people have now driven into Chicago.

Wednesday, July 23.Before the trial, Nathan and Richard smoked cigarette after cigarette, lightheartedly joking with the reporters who gathered around them. "I heard in the report the day before yesterday that some of you guys didn't know how to describe what we were wearing. I don't want you to make the same mistake again, because today is an extraordinary day, right? Now, please see Look at me," Nathan stood up, and lifted the skirt of his suit with both hands, "what am I wearing? If I were to leave the courtroom at this moment, I bet none of you would be able to speak clearly. So listen carefully .Richard wears a fedora hat, dark gray. Mine is called blue gray.” Nathan sucked his mouth and puffed out a series of smoke rings, “Have you got it all? Okay… "

"Oh, Nathan, shut up, you." Richard interrupted Nathan, and the two good friends were overjoyed. According to the usual practice, Attorney General Robert Corot of the public prosecution made the opening remarks first.Although the defendant withdrew its "not guilty" plea, the prosecution is still preparing to present the evidence collected by the police to the court as originally planned. "We will prove to the court that Nathan Leop, now 19, and Richard Lowe, now 19, came from wealthy and respectable local families. They were doted on by their parents from an early age, From an early age, they enjoyed all kinds of privileges that money gave them. They attended the best private schools in the local area, and their families hired private teachers for them. Like all young people in the upper class, they treated people very well and behaved very well. Status. But there is one exception, they like to gamble, gamble and gamble, and the stakes get higher and higher, so high that even their wealthy families cannot pay.