CASE NUMBER 456 Lennie Small’s murder

Introduction ( narrator) : George, after killing Lennie, was taken into custody by the Salinas Sheriff’s Department. He was questioned and he eventually confessed to the murder, but denied that the act was premeditated and ill-natured. However, after reviewing the evidence, the state of California charged George Milton with the first-degree murder of Lennie Small.

CASE NUMBER 456  Lennie Small’s murder  

Judge

Lawyer 1 (Mrs Watson) represents the accused: Maita

Accused (George Milton): Morgan

Lawyer 2 (Mrs Aziz) represents the victim Lennie Small and the witness: Imaan

Witness 1 (Curley): Theo

Judge: Good morning, everyone. We are now assessing case number 456, the State of California vs George Milton, charged with the first-degree murder of Lennie Small. Mrs Watson as the defence attorney ,you represent Mister George Milton ?

Mrs.Watson: Yes, that is correct your honour.

Judge: And Mr. Aziz, as the plaintiff, you represent the victim ?

Mrs.Aziz: Yes, your honour.

Judge: Very well, plaintiff are you ready to begin ? You may state your case.

Mrs.Aziz: Thank you your honour. Good morning, ladies and gentleman of the jury. My name is Mrs. Aziz and I am representing the deceased, Lennie Small .We are here today to decide if the defendant, George Milton is responsible for the murder of Mr Small who was shot to the head. We will provide medical reports that show that Mr Small was shot from behind the head and that there were no traces of a fight. In addition, we will provide the compelling eyewitness testimony of Mrs.Curley. It is my hope that in the interest of justice, you will find that Mr Milton is guilty. Thank you.  

Judge: Defence, present your opening statement.  

Mrs.Watson:  Thank you. Your Honour and members of the jury. It is my pleasure to represent George Milton on this important case.The defendant stands here falsely accused of first-degree murder, which is a very serious crime. He has confessed to murdering his best friend, Lennie Small. However, contrary to what the plaintiff said, my client didn’t act in malice or premeditation. Indeed, you will find out during the testimony that my client, by killing Lennie Small, acted in self-defence as Lennie was in possession of a weapon at the time . Moreover, he was also protecting his best friend from the angry mob that was after him.

Mrs.Aziz: Now your honour, the prosecution wishes to call the accused George Milton to the stand.  

Judge: Sustained. Mrs.Aziz, you may call the plaintiff to the stand.  

Mrs.Aziz: I call Mister George Milton to the stand.  

( George walks to the witness box)  

Judge: George Milton , please place your left hand on the bible. Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth , and nothing but the truth ?  

George : I do.  

Judge: Mrs.Aziz , you may continue and perform the direct-examination.  

( Mrs.Aziz to George Milton )

Mrs. Aziz: Mister Milton, could you introduce yourself to the court.  

George: My name is George Milton, I was Lennie’s best friend.  

Mrs.Aziz: You claim that you shot Lennie in self-defence, can you tell us exactly where that happened exactly?

George: When he attacked me, he was sitting in a bush near the pond.

Mrs.Aziz: It’s you who approached him first, isn’t that correct?

George: Yes

Mrs.Aziz: Why did you go and see him?

George: The whole  ranch was looking for him. I told Lennie, you know, if he just happened to get in trouble like he had always done before, to go and hide there.  

Mrs Aziz: So you were the only person who knew where he was?

George:Well, yes.  

Mrs.Aziz: It was Lennie who had stole Curley’s gun right?

George: Yes, he had it on him where I met him.

Mrs.Aziz: Lennie was described as having an exceptional amount of strength. So strong that he could accidentally kill someone. You are a normal man, how could you possibly  take the gun away from him?

George: Lennie… He wasn’t the brightest guy you know , he wasn’t paying attention  so I went for it and quickly took the gun away from him.  

Mrs.Aziz: So while he was attacking you, he wasn’t concentrated and you had time to get behind him and shoot  him in the back of the head.?  

George: Lennie was strong as an ox but  god help me was he dumb..

Judge: Mrs Aziz, your time is over. Mrs.Watson please proceed to the cross-examination.  

Mrs. Watson: Thank you your honour. Mr.Milton, Lennie Small was your best friend isn’t it ?  

George : Yes.  

Mrs. Watson:  Isn’t it true that you practically adopted Lennie after his aunt died ?  

George: Yes. You know, guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. We have got no family, we don’ belong. We haven’t got nothing to look ahead to. But not Lennie and I, I took care of Lennie for years… When his aunt died, he just came along with me working so we got used to each other after a while. He wasn’t so bright, but he wasn’t mean.. We had a dream , Lennie and I, to have our own land with loads of animals.Lennie just needed someone to take care of him and I decided to be that someone. We had each other...  

Mrs.Watson: Lennie killed Mr Curley’s wife, what happened exactly ?  

Mrs.Aziz : Objection, your Honour ! This is a leading question.

Judge: Sustained. Mrs.Watson, please rephrase your question.  

Mrs.Watson: Yes, your Honour. The crime happened after Lennie killed Mr.Curley’s wife isn’t it?  

George : Yes, Lennie killed Mr Curley’s wife. Poor Lennie was so  scared, he ran away and stole Carlson’s gun. He didn’t do it in meanness, Lennie wasn’t mean ,he was just dumb.  

Mrs.Watson: When you found Lennie, was he in possession of a gun?

George : Yes.  

Mrs.Watson : Did you consider talking to him, trying to calm him down ?

Mrs.Aziz : Objection your honor!

Judge: Overruled. Mrs. Watson, please continue.  

Mrs.Watson: Thank you. Mr.Milton, you may answer my previous question.  

George : Lennie , he was… He was strong  but he had a child’s mindset. He got kicked in the head and has been a scared little kid ever since. When I found him, he was shaking and talking to himself , he saw me and said: “ I did another bad thing.” The poor boy didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t listen to me.  

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