Chapter 85 - 71: Intense

If that were the case, then it wouldn’t constitute intentional homicide.

But if she were an adult, a charge of intentional homicide would be almost unavoidable!

Xu De spoke again:

"According to Article 11, ’Assessing the Limits of Defense,’ of the ’Guiding Opinions on the Lawful Application of the Self-Defense System,’ the original text explicitly states."

"The original text reads: ’Based on the specific circumstances of the defensive act, the cognitive and physical abilities of minors, the elderly, and the disabled... must be taken into account. They cannot be held to the same strict standards as an ordinary adult!’"

"Counsel for the defense, you just stated..."

"...that the deceased, Yang Jiale, acted with the subjective intent to kill, far exceeding the threat posed by the defendant and endangering the lives of Liu Jingqi and the other two."

"However..."

"According to the Guiding Opinions, Yang Jiale’s actions were clearly a defensive reaction typical for her age group, not a deliberate assault."

"And yet the defendant is the one who indisputably caused her death!"

His words hung in the air.

The prosecutors paused briefly.

This angle of rebuttal was common, but they had their reasons for not using it.

Zhang Wei had anticipated this as well.

The defense lawyers were seen conferring, whispering amongst themselves. After a moment, one of them spoke:

"Counsel, according to Article 20, Section 3 of the Criminal Law, combined with Article 7 of the Guiding Opinions."

"One’s age does not diminish an objective threat to life!"

If you are the one whose personal safety is being threatened,

the age of your assailant does not change the level of threat they pose to you.

It is only during the subsequent trial of that person, after the fact, that a judge would take their age into discretionary consideration.

But...

"Note, the focus of our argument is that the deceased acted in self-defense!"

Xu De reiterated his point.

"At the time of the incident, all the deceased’s actions were, for a seventeen-year-old, normal and lawful acts of self-preservation. There was no pursuit, and she did not overstep any boundaries."

"At any point, if the defendant had ceased her assault, this death would have been completely avoided!"

"Instead, the defendant clearly continued to escalate the situation and intensify the conflict. This obviously exceeds the scope of self-defense. This is clearly..."

Xu De suddenly drove his point home, springing the trap he had laid in his argument.

"Intentional homicide!!!"

He was using her age to frame her actions—which the defense called a lethal threat—as mere self-defense.

And if Yang Jiale’s actions qualified as self-defense, it indirectly proved that if the defendant, Liu Jingqi, had simply stopped, the fatal outcome would have been avoided.

From this perspective... Liu Jingqi’s so-called "self-defense" was nothing but an escalation of the conflict—an ’active’ and intentional act of homicide!

At the prosecution’s table.

Huang Shi’s eyes suddenly lit up, his gaze on Xu De filled with astonishment.

’This kind of thinking... Is this something a young lawyer can really argue successfully!?’

But Xu De’s counterattack was not over.

"Furthermore... the so-called evidence from the notebook is completely baseless!"

"Those notes were merely an emotional outlet, a way to vent her feelings after being bullied countless times. They have no bearing on her subjective intent at the time of the incident!"

Xu De spoke gravely. With just a few words, he began to dismantle the defense’s evidence.

"Unless you can prove that these emotions were ’proactively generated’ by Yang Jiale herself!"

In other words, venting due to a clear cause is different from true, subjective malice. To label her actions as ’intentional,’ the defense would have to prove that Yang Jiale hated Liu Jingqi without any prior conflict or provocation, and that her actions stemmed from that baseless hatred.

But in this case, it was clear that Yang Jiale had been actively bullied by the defendant on more than one occasion...

And yet...

Just then, a voice cut through from the defense table.

"We can prove that Yang Jiale’s subjective malice was not caused by the defendant’s actions."

Zhang Wei rose to his feet and spoke slowly.

The courtroom fell silent for a moment.

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin’s brow furrowed. He stared at Zhang Wei for a long moment before finally speaking:

"And how will you prove that?"

"We have a witness, Lv Guangjun, who can corroborate our claim," Zhang Wei stated.

They had long since prepared his testimony and aligned all the information.

This... was the perfect moment for Lv Guangjun to take the stand!

However...

What he failed to see was that the moment the word "witness" was uttered,

over at the plaintiff’s counsel’s table, Xu De broke into a knowing smile.

Zhang Bingxin demanded, "Where is the witness!?"

"He has already arrived at the courthouse and is currently in the witness waiting room!" Zhang Wei replied.

As soon as the words were out,

Without hesitation, Zhang Bingxin struck his gavel.

BANG!

"Call the witness to the court!"