At the presiding judge's seat on the bench.
Lin Youping looked at the documents before him and struck his gavel.
"Both the defense and the Prosecution have now finished presenting their arguments."
"We will now proceed to the final stage: closing statements."
Presiding Judge Lin Youping looked toward the Prosecution's table. "The Prosecution may deliver its statement."
The trial had reached its final stage.
Lü Wei also knew this was the most critical stage. Once the closing statements were over, there would be no further room for argument.
After that.
The presiding judge might announce the verdict right there in court!
Lü Wei looked at the documents on his table. It had already been determined that Qi Feng's actions did not constitute intentional injury. In a sense, he had already lost.
But-
Excessive self-defense still carried different sentences and penalties depending on its severity!
Taking a deep breath, Lü Wei looked at the case documents and slowly began. "Our closing statement is as follows."
"Qi Feng's excessive self-defense resulted in two deaths. He continued inflicting injuries after the other parties had already been incapacitated, causing their deaths. His actions far exceeded the limits of self-defense."
"The law seeks equality for all, including equal rights to life."
"The right to life takes precedence over all other rights."
"The harm Qi Feng caused is immeasurable. Not only were two lives lost, but two families also suffered incalculable harm."
"Under these circumstances, we believe the appropriateness of his sentence must be considered. He should receive a severe sentence, one that provides an acceptable punishment on behalf of the two deceased and their families."
As things stood.
Since Qi Feng could not be found guilty of intentional injury, Lü Wei had to use his closing statement to push for the heaviest possible sentence.
That was the last thing Lü Wei could do.
Lü Wei looked up at the presiding judge's seat. "Your Honor, that concludes our statement."
Bang!
Lin Youping struck his gavel.
"The Prosecution has concluded its statement. The defense may now deliver its closing statement."
A sharp intake of breath.
The most critical moment had arrived.
Su Bai had long been prepared and was waiting for this moment. He took several documents from his case materials and slowly began.
"Our closing statement is as follows."
"In Qi Feng's case, we should not look solely at the consequences of his actions. We must also comprehensively consider the nature, methods, intensity, and severity of the unlawful attack, as well as the nature, timing, methods, and intensity of his defensive actions and the circumstances surrounding them."
"In reaching a verdict, we must ensure that the judicial decision stands up to legal scrutiny and also accords with society's understanding of fairness and justice!"
"Fairness and justice are not determined by the outcome alone. They must be assessed through the entire course of the defensive action."
"Our laws are too vague about when self-defense must cease and how to determine whether an attacker remains capable of continuing an assault. This undermines public confidence in the justice of the law."
"This is precisely why Qi Feng's case has attracted public attention. It does not meet the public's expectations of legal justice!"
"Your Honor, I would like to introduce some other relevant material here."
Su Bai spoke.
Lin Youping struck his gavel. "Permission granted."
"Yes, Your Honor."
Su Bai nodded and continued.
"Short videos about Qi Feng's case have accumulated hundreds of millions of views online. Recently, one reposted video received an exceptionally high number of views. A comment beneath it, which received over a hundred thousand likes, read as follows."
"Ultimately, the reason we care so much about Qi Feng's case is that he represents how ordinary people like us feel.
Who wants to be unable to fight back when they're being bullied?
If fighting back is classified as mutual fighting or intentional injury, are we supposed to simply watch ourselves being bullied and only take up the weapon of the law afterward?
Is justice that arrives too late still the justice we want?"
"Although there are some problems with the way this comment is expressed, it represents the public's outcry! It expresses what people feel!"
"The justice of the law should not favor the aggressor!"
"Under our country's standards for determining legitimate self-defense, it is very difficult for a victim in the midst of an assault to judge whether the aggressor is still capable of continuing the attack!"
"That is an extremely difficult determination to make!"
"If an aggressor realizes, when the victim fights back, that the victim could hurt them, and deliberately stops the assault, only to attack again when the victim stops defending themselves, wouldn't that aggravate the harm done to the victim?"
"Whether an act constitutes legitimate self-defense or excessive self-defense should be considered in light of the surrounding circumstances. The circumstances Qi Feng faced at the time warranted legitimate self-defense."
"The right to life takes precedence, but it cannot and should not rest upon the infringement of another person's lawful rights and interests."
"If it rests upon another person's lawful rights and interests, how can that person's rights and interests be protected?"
"To borrow the words of an online comment, can rights built upon the violation of someone else's lawful rights truly be considered legitimate?"
"Your Honor, that concludes our statement."
Having finished, Su Bai looked up at the bench.
On the bench, Lin Youping frowned slightly after listening to Su Bai's statement. He fell silent for several seconds. "Counsel for the defense, do you have evidence supporting the video comment you mentioned?"
At the presiding judge's question, Su Bai let out a long breath. Most of his tension dissipated.
"Yes, Your Honor."
Su Bai handed the documents he had prepared to the staff member beside him, who then passed them to Presiding Judge Lin Youping.
After receiving the documents, Lin Youping passed them to Fang Mei and Zhu Xiong to examine. The three members of the Collegial Panel exchanged glances.
Bang!
Lin Youping struck his gavel.
"The court will now recess!"
"The recess will end in thirty minutes, after which the verdict will be announced!"
A second recess had been declared!
Su Bai let out a long breath.
The purpose of this recess was clear. It seemed the presiding judge had originally intended to rule that Qi Feng's actions constituted excessive self-defense.
But after hearing Su Bai's closing statement and final arguments, he appeared inclined to change that decision!
Still, it was difficult to say exactly what the ruling would be!
Su Bai's gaze fell.
On Qi Feng, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod without saying anything.
Meanwhile, Lü Wei kept his eyes on Su Bai, his thoughts unreadable.
Su Bai noticed Lü Wei watching him. He did not deliberately avoid his gaze, but neither did he hold it. He merely glanced at him casually.
At that, Lü Wei withdrew his gaze and stared at the trial documents before him.
Inside the Collegial Panel's deliberation room.
The three members of the Collegial Panel discussed the case once more. Lin Youping looked at Fang Mei and Zhu Xiong. "Let's hear your thoughts."
"I thought the arguments in this trial were excellent, especially the final defense argument and closing statement. Tell me what each of you thinks."
Zhu Xiong was silent for a moment before speaking. "Both sides' arguments have some legal basis. Based on previous rulings, this should be classified as excessive self-defense."
Fang Mei nodded solemnly. "Judging by previous trials, this case should indeed be classified as excessive self-defense. But it has attracted considerable attention, especially given the closing statement the defense attorney delivered in court..."
Zhu Xiong nodded slightly at Fang Mei's final remark.
There was considerable pressure surrounding this trial. It could already serve as a classic case, and it was a real test of the presiding judge's ability and judgment.
After hearing them both, Lin Youping nodded slightly. He had reached a decision.
Seeing this, Fang Mei and Zhu Xiong said nothing more, but something else occurred to both of them.
(End of chapter)
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