[Video]

[draculalite]

[Live, from SPPD's holding cells, it's Raphael Sorel! He sits on the cot, a supply of well-read books beside him, including one that he's currently flipping through. His cell looks a little more hospitable than it used to, a photograph of Amy visible on the wall behind him. Apparently he has made himself comfortable

Comments

[ voice ]

[underachieves]

They're right, though. With the considerable evidence against you, you should negotiate for a lighter sentence and plead guilty.

[draculalite]

If any of them would bother to explain the reasoning behind it, I would agree.

They only want me imprisoned because of what I am.

[underachieves]

The reasoning is this: If you plead innocent, your case will go to trial. During the trial, your various victims and witnesses will be brought in to testify against you. They'll pull out all the evidence against you, and a judge and jury will find you guilty because this is what they call an "open-and-shut case". It means there's no ambiguity regarding your guilt. Either way, you're going to be found guilty of these crimes and you're going to face punishment.

The thing is, a trial's expensive and a huge hassle for everyone involved even when they all know the outcome is clear. So if you plead guilty from the start and save them all that trouble, they're more likely to give you a lighter sentence. Say, six months instead of two years in prison. It's called a plea agreement, and you negotiate that with the prosecutor. You don't even need your own lawyer to do it, although you should probably have one just to make sure you get the best deal possible.

[draculalite]

Six months is not acceptable.

I want someone who will negotiate for me. I am not stupid-- I am merely ignorant of the way the law works in this place and time. Why should I trust that the prosecution will not simply skewer me in my ignorance and throw me away for as long as they like?

video;

[proxysearch]

Maybe if you stopped turning them away every time one of them even came up to your cell, it would be easier to find someone.

[draculalite]

I have the right to choose my defender.

[proxysearch]

Beggars can't be choosers.

[draculalite]

I want fair treatment.

[draculalite]

No. I did not.

[draculalite]

I should like to think that what I am should play no part in my trial and sentence.

But of course, as it was the motivation for my crimes, it must-- and that is something that these idiots in the police and judicial systems seem to have no concept of.

[video]

[whoisjohnsmith]

Okay, are you saying you're innocent?

[draculalite]

I committed the acts which I am now serving a sentence for.

However, there are extenuating circumstances and I am not guilty.

[whoisjohnsmith]

Right... Because you're Amy's dad, right? Yeah, she's pretty cool. I mean, I can imagine doing things to help her.

I'm not a qualified lawyer or anything, but I'd totally take the case if I were! I would anyway, but you know, maybe that's not best.

[draculalite]

[Congratulations, Haruhi, you have left him speechless for a moment. And completely distracted him from the matter at hand.]

You are Amy's... [He pauses.] ...friend?

Video

[frosty_mind]

[Emma's tone is perfectly clinical and matter-of-fact.]

You don't say what crimes you are charged with.

I understand that according to the local law, even an outright claim of self-defense is usually treated as not a claim of innocence, but as a mitigating factor of potentially unlimited strength. The same is true of the claim of necessity that I gather you wish to make.

A jury, or even a judge, will consider your statements here as a confession to assaults, an admission that you hold no regard for the well-being of the average resident of Siren's Port, and a statement that you consider not merely your daughter's well-being but her comfort sufficient cause to commit any crime. It is an outright confession to assault, significant evidence that the aggravating factor of depraved indifference exists, and extremely antagonizing to the judge or jury. It is therefore in your best interests to plead guilty to assault if that evidence can be kept out of court. Depending on the details of the plea, a claim of mitigating circumstances

[draculalite]

Thank you, madamoiselle, for the unwarranted preaching. I shall indeed take it to heart and think very hard about my behavior in the future, lest I somehow indicate I require more of your thoughts on my actions and circumstance.

[He laughs, under his breath.]

"Attempted murder." Don't be ludicrous. I at no point intended to, nor came even close to murdering anyone. In fact, I took specific pains that I would not, even on accident. Were I intending to kill, I would have done so.

I have been straightforward with both my motivations for my actions as well as my thoughts on them. I am not asking to be found innocent.

[frosty_mind]

[Sweetly:] If preaching at you will cause you to think twice about your actions and therefore be less likely to tar Newcomers with conferred guilt related to boasts of crimes, I shall indeed be certain to do more of it whenever your future actions strike me as equally foolish.

One's best interest regarding guilty pleas has little to do with what crimes one committed; it relates to how likely one is to be found guilty, a different thing entirely. This is why the near-certainty that your post would antagonize a jury is so harmful to your interests at trial.

If you are not asking to be found innocent, then the legally appropriate thing to do is to plead guilty, raise claims of mitigating circumstances at sentencing, and try to exclude the prosecutions' claims of aggravating circumstances.

[draculalite]

Thank god there is someone out there watching out for me! Whatever would I do without your well-intentioned meddling?

And who are you to tell me all this? A lawyer? Or simply a busybody who wants to stick her nose into other people's business?