Chapter 158 - 103: Court is Adjourned

Death penalty... to be carried out immediately!

The moment those words were spoken, the entire courtroom fell into an eerie silence.

The death penalty...

The defendant, Liu Jingqi, wasn’t sentenced to the 10 years initially expected, or even 15 years. She was sentenced to death...

Death, with immediate execution!

Not a suspended death sentence!!!

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

The courtroom was so quiet that all you could hear was the sound of breathing. Huang Shi stood frozen, staring blankly at the judge’s bench. Even after snapping out of it, he still felt as if he were in a daze.

The trial fell silent.

The trial was silent, but that didn’t mean it was quiet outside the courtroom.

...

"The... the death penalty?!"

Right outside the Second Tribunal.

The massive crowd that had been blocking the entrance, ears pressed to the door to eavesdrop on the proceedings, fell still. A moment later, a murmur rippled through them.

That whisper was like a stone tossed into a still pond, instantly flipping a switch.

The next second...

"Wait, what did they just say in there? Did I just hear the two words ’death penalty’?!"

"No, no, no... that can’t be right. This is a juvenile case! Forget the death penalty, they can’t even get a life sentence for a case like this!"

"Impossible. I must have misheard. Even someone who knows nothing about the law knows a minor can’t get the death penalty..."

"But there’s no way a whole crowd of us misheard it at the same time, right?!"

"Seriously, what the hell happened in there?!"

"..."

In an instant, the entire corridor erupted.

The sea of people was collectively stunned, their faces etched with shock and their eyes wide with disbelief.

Driven by overwhelming emotion, they started talking to everyone around them, whether they were strangers or not.

It couldn’t be helped.

The two words ’death penalty’ had clearly shattered everyone’s expectations.

You have to understand, because the court had sealed the evidence from the second hearing, before this third one began...

...the ordinary citizens of Lusen City were only hoping for a ’life sentence’!

After all, the maximum sentence for a minor was life in prison, so naturally, that’s all they hoped for.

Even the reporters thought the same.

Yang Jiale had been abused before her death, murdered through indirect intent, which in turn led to the death of Zhao Li. An entire happy family was shattered in an instant, leaving only the 14-year-old boy, Yang Huan, behind.

Was it heinous?

Absolutely heinous!

Not only was it heinous, but its consequences and social impact were also incredibly severe!

So, even though the probability of a life sentence was very, very small...

Even if she was sentenced to life, Liu Jingqi wouldn’t actually spend her entire life in prison—at most, she’d serve ten or twenty years.

But...

...they still hoped for a strict trial and a sentence of ’life in prison’.

"But what the hell is this ’death penalty’ about?!"

"What do you mean, the defendant Liu Jingqi was sentenced to death? There’s no way we all misheard it, right?!"

"Who’s the presiding judge in the Second Tribunal right now? Where is he from? His accent can’t be so thick that he’d pronounce ’life sentence’ as ’death penalty’..."

"No, no, no, no, let me think. My head’s a mess..."

"..."

The crowd swarmed the entrance, the scene growing more and more chaotic.

All eyes were fixed on the heavy main doors of the Second Tribunal, their expressions a picture of existential doubt.

As their gazes remained locked on the doors, everyone grew frantic with anxiety. They unconsciously stood on their tiptoes, as if that could bring them just a little closer.

At this moment.

The door had become a Pandora’s box, hiding a mystery that captivated them all.

...

...

「Inside the Second Tribunal.」

In the judgment area.

After Zhang Bingxin finished announcing the criminal liabilities of the three defendants.

At the prosecution’s table.

Prosecutor Zhang Qing was in a daze.

When he came to his senses, his face was a mask of disbelief. He looked up at Huang Shi, stunned, and then his expression twisted into one of pure ecstasy.

"It’s the death penalty!"

"The defendant was sentenced to death!!!"

Zhang Qing was overcome with excitement. He grabbed Huang Shi and shook him forcefully.

He found it all utterly incredible.

Liu Jingqi had actually been sentenced to death, and even Jiang Yu and Qiao Wang had both been sentenced to 15 years in prison!

As a prosecutor, Zhang Qing had a firm grasp of the law.

But it was precisely because he had such a firm grasp of the law that this verdict felt surreal, like he was in a dream!

From the very beginning of the case, no one on the prosecution team had expected to win. Their goal was simply to argue for a longer sentence!

And what was considered a long sentence?

Twelve years!

That’s right, a maximum of 12 years!!!

In fact, it wasn’t just about being a minor. Even if the defendant was simply ’young’...

And what was considered young?

Eighteen, eighteen and a half—the so-called ’barely eighteen’!

This wasn’t some internet streamer meme; it was a real-world application. Most people might think that once you’re an adult, you must immediately bear the full responsibilities of an adult.

But that’s not actually the case.

In practice, even if you’re legally an adult, if you were ’barely eighteen’ when the crime was committed and there’s little difference between you and a minor...

...the judge will still show leniency at their discretion!

Only when you’re well past 18, say 21 or 25, will judges ignore this factor.

But in the current case...

"The death penalty?!"

"Yes, that’s right... it has to be the death penalty, or at the very least, a suspended sentence..."

Shaken awake by Zhang Qing, Huang Shi mumbled, his face lost in a self-directed, dreamlike monologue.

’If she were judged as an 18-year-old adult, one who was even just a few days shy of 19... given the heinous nature of Liu Jingqi’s crimes... the ’barely eighteen’ defense wouldn’t save her. Why? Let’s put it this way. ’An adult killing a minor,’ ’indirectly causing the death of Zhao Li,’ ’refusing to plead guilty with an extremely defiant attitude,’ ’an incorrigible nature with no potential for rehabilitation...’’