A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

After Zheng Meiling left the courtroom, the entire room remained silent.

Something inedible was choking everyone.

Wu Liang pulled out a bound document from the bottom of the case file, with the logo of the Mental Health Center affixed to the cover.

"Your Honor, the defense requests to call a third witness, Dr. Ma Bo'an, Chief Physician of the Mental Health Center of the Third People's Hospital of Tongcheng City. We also request that a video recording of four minutes and twelve seconds be played in court, which was filmed on the evening of August 27, 2018, in the ward of Ni Dayong at the Mental Health Center of the Third People's Hospital."

Guo Yong: "What is the content of the video?"

"The defendant Ni Dayong experienced a typical episode of post-traumatic stress disorder after hearing Ding Hu's recording."

"Relevance?"

"This proves two things," Wu Liang said, holding up two fingers. "First, Ding Hu's words constituted a specific psychological trigger for Ni Dayong. Second, Ni Dayong's behavior pattern in the triggered state corresponds to the characteristics of the crime scene."

Zhang Jian stood up: "Your Honor, the prosecution does not object to calling witness Ma Bo'an. However, the defense is attempting to use a video recording taken after the fact to deduce his mental state at the time of the incident. This kind of backward reasoning has no basis in evidence law. A person's behavior in a hospital ward cannot be equated with his state at the scene of the crime."

"What if the triggering mechanism is the same?"

Wu Liang turned around and stared intently at Zhang Jian.

"Prosecutor Zhang, if Ding Hu's recordings show completely consistent physiological responses before and after the incident, then this video recording is not a retrospective analysis, but an objective record of the defendant's stress response pattern to a specific trigger."

Guo Yong's gaze finally fell on the materials in Wu Liang's hand.

"The panel of judges may allow the video recording. However, the defense attorney must first establish a framework connecting the video recording to the events of the incident within the context of the witness testimony. The video recording will be played after the witness has finished testifying."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

Wu Liang turned around.

"Please have Ma Bo'an appear in court."

The side door opened, and Director Ma, who had changed from his white coat to a dark suit, was carrying an old briefcase.

He stood in the witness stand, and after stating his identity information, the court clerk handed him the oath.

Wu Liang waited until he finished reading before speaking: "Director Ma, please introduce your professional background."

"Clinical psychiatry, 24 years of practice. Standing Director of the Provincial Mental Health Association, Specially Appointed Forensic Psychiatric Appraisal Expert of the Provincial Department, with 16 years of experience in forensic psychiatric appraisal."

Director Ma kept his eyes straight ahead, speaking in a firm and powerful tone.

"Is Ni Dayong your patient?"

"Yes. He was admitted to the hospital on the evening of August 21st, and I was in direct charge."

"Admission diagnosis?"

"Paranoiac delusional disorder, accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Upon admission, the patient was extremely agitated, exhibited clear paranoia, and showed significant aggressive tendencies. Symptoms were partially relieved after medication intervention, but certain triggers could induce acute attacks again within a very short time."

Guo Yong listened quietly. Director Ma was an old acquaintance of his, having dealt with him in many previous court hearings, and his testimony was highly credible.

After explaining the events of the day, Wu Liang handed the video recording to the clerk.

"Your Honor. This is a complete copy of the ward surveillance footage from that day. Please allow it to be played."

At the same time, they went to the defendant's seat and requested that Ni Dayong be blindfolded and have his ears plugged.

Guo Yong raised his hand in greeting.

Then everyone witnessed Ni Dayong's reaction in his hospital bed that day.

Many people pursed their lips.

In the last row of the audience section, Ni Xiang buried her face in her clasped hands.

Zhang Jian stood up, his lips moved slightly, as if he was organizing his thoughts, but then he gave up and started over.

"Director Ma." The voice was much softer.

"What is your hospital's assessment regarding the connection between Ni Dayong's medical condition and this crime?"

"Limited criminal responsibility."

Director Ma answered very quickly.

"Why not 'lacking criminal responsibility'?"

Zhang Jian was puzzled.

"Because he retained basic cognitive abilities at the time of the incident. He knew he had killed Ding Hu, and he knew that a knife could cause death. His actions were also purposeful, whether it was arriving at Ding Hu's residence or the subsequent conflict. All of this requires a certain degree of cognition and decision-making. Not being able to fully recognize something does not mean being completely unable to recognize it."

"So, according to your judgment, he knew he was committing a crime at the time?"

Ma Bo'an glanced at Zhang Jian.

"Prosecutor, this is outside the scope of my assessment. I can only tell you that he is in a state of consciousness severely impaired by a psychopathological condition. As for how the law should evaluate him under such conditions—"

He paused slightly.

"That's your specialty."

Zhang Jian did not pursue the matter further, but turned to the judge's bench: "The prosecution does not dispute Ma Bo'an's qualifications or the objectivity of his expert opinion. However, the core issue in this case is not whether the defendant has a mental illness, but whether such an illness is sufficient to serve as grounds for exemption from or significant reduction of criminal liability."

The prosecutors are trying to bring everything back on track.

"Mental illness is not a license to commit murder. If every person with a mental illness can have their culpability reduced based on this, where is the bottom line of the law?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the defense table.

That's exactly what Wu Liang was waiting for.

He stood up and walked to the center of the courtroom.

"Prosecutor Zhang just asked, where is the bottom line of the law?"

He didn't look at Zhang Jian, but faced the judge's bench.

"This question was asked 123 years ago."

He pulled a yellowed photocopy from the file. The paper was thin, and the edges were curled up, clearly a direct copy from an old book.

"In 1897, at the German Imperial Court. A horse, a coachman, and a murder."

In the audience, the white-haired old man unconsciously leaned forward.

"That horse has a problem. Every time it gets tired, it uses its tail to wrap the reins around its rear end and then kicks up its heels. The driver has reported this to the employer several times. Can we get a different horse? The employer says no. If you don't drive it away, I'll get you instead."

The driver had no choice but to keep going. One day, the horse relapsed into its old ways. The reins got tangled. The horse went out of control and killed a pedestrian.

Wu Liang placed the photocopy on the display stand in front of the jury box.

"The prosecutor is charging the driver with negligent homicide. How could you not pull the horse back? How could you knowingly drive a horse that was in danger? Why did you fail to meet the requirements of the law?"

"However, the court acquitted him."

A low hum filled the courtroom.

"This is the famous horse-obsessed case in the history of criminal law. It established a principle that when the law cannot expect a person to act lawfully in a particular situation, that person should not bear criminal responsibility."

Zhang Jian stood up.

"Your Honor. In German criminal law, the case of the horse addiction is discussed as a ground for exemption from liability beyond the scope of the law, which is not explicitly stipulated in our criminal law. The foreign precedent cited by the defense has neither legal binding force nor is compatible with our current criminal law system."

Wu Liang turned around, looked directly at Zhang Jian, and suddenly raised his voice, revealing his domineering and oppressive tone.

"What about Article 16 of our country's Criminal Law?"

"Even if an act objectively causes harm, if it is not intentional or negligent, but rather due to irresistible or unforeseen reasons, it is not a crime. Isn't this based on the same principle?"

"The law can never demand that a person do something they cannot do."

He strode back to the defense table and picked up the psychiatric evaluation report.

"Director Ma just stated it very clearly. Ni Dayong was under diminished criminal responsibility at the time of the incident. He had not completely lost his ability to recognize his actions. He knew he had stabbed Ding Hu. He knew a knife could kill. But!"

The certificate of authenticity was put down.

"What does he know? What doesn't he know?"

"He didn't know that his fear of Ding Hu's threats had become ingrained in his nervous system, nor did he know the extent to which fifteen years of mental torture would tear him apart. He also didn't know that Ding Hu's coercion of his daughter would be the final straw that broke his spirit!"

"Defense attorney!" Zhang Jian began, his voice heavy with emphasis.

"What you just mentioned, including the threats from the victim and the psychological trauma to the defendant, I acknowledge all of that. While reviewing the case file, I thought more than once about what I could have done in that situation."

"But criminal law isn't for answering these kinds of questions. Ni Dayong walked into the Green Garden residential area that afternoon, pushed open Ding Hu's door, and took a knife from the kitchen. Between these three actions, there's always the possibility of a shift in direction. He could have stopped at the door, or he could have cursed at Ding Hu after seeing him and then slammed the door and left."

"But he didn't."

Zhang Jian turned to the judge's bench, his tone stern.

"Your Honor. The prosecution does not deny the defendant's mental health issues, nor does it deny that he suffered long-term and egregious abuse. But all of this is insufficient to justify his taking another person's life. If this court today accepts the defense's logic regarding the possibility of the defense's expectations—"

"Then tomorrow, everyone standing in the dock will be able to tell a story of having no other choice!"

The court fell silent.

The heaviness left by Zheng Meiling still lingered in the air, but now Zhang Jian's words pressed it down, making it an immeasurable weight.

Wu Liang turned around again.

"Prosecutor Zhang, you're right. From the perspective of a normal person, it's possible to do these things."

He took a step forward, his tone intense.

"But what are these 'possibilities' based on? They are based on an ordinary person, an ordinary mind, and ordinary experiences."

"But Ni Dayong is not an ordinary person."

"When he walked into the Green Garden residential area with a mind gnawed by mental illness for fifteen years, the vicious threats from Ding Hu still lingered in his ears. The instant he saw Ding Hu, he saw not just a person, but the humiliation of being extorted every time for fifteen years, and the invisible, sinister hand reaching out to his daughter!"

After saying this, Wu Liang took a deep breath, and his voice suddenly became low.

"Prosecutor Zhang, the reason I cited the case of the horse-obsessed man is not because the Germans were so great at having judged such a case. Rather, it is because there is a principle in that judgment from 123 years ago that still holds true today: the essence of expecting possibilities is not to exonerate the defendant, but to uphold the last vestige of humility for the law."

"The law has teeth, but it also needs eyes. It needs to see that some people's choices are not made between good and evil. They are made between two kinds of suffering. They are made between one fear and another. They are made when there is no other choice."

He turned to the jury box.

“Ni Dayong wouldn’t say these things, nor would he understand them. His first words after being arrested were, ‘I killed someone, I confess.’ Just like the man you saw in the video, curled up on the bed convulsing, he only uttered one sentence from beginning to end—”

"Don't touch them."

"For every citizen with a basic sense of justice, the phrase 'a life for a life' is etched in their mind. But as legal professionals, as legal professionals nurtured by modern justice, shouldn't we consider more and distinguish between criminal motives and social harm?"

"The significance of law lies not only in its ability to maintain social order, but also in its capacity to protect rights and achieve justice!"

"The law needs to be seen!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft sob was heard in the courtroom.

A woman in the gallery quickly covered her mouth, her eyelashes wet with glistening tears.

Zhang Jian did not stand up again.

The assistant prosecutor leaned over to say something, but he raised his hand and pressed it down.

Guo Yong remained silent for as long as the second hand ticked in the courtroom.

The court clerk stopped typing, and some people in the audience began to shift their positions nervously.

The creaking sounds rose and fell, as if the entire courtroom was readjusting its center of gravity.

Guo Yong took off his glasses. The temples rested on the draft judgment, making a very soft sound.

"This court finds that the defense raised the following issue—"

He stopped and considered his words.

"It involves the boundaries of basic criminal law theory, and the collegial panel needs time to deliberate on it."

The gavel fell.

"The court is now adjourned. The hearing will be held on a later date within seven days."

Guo Yong stood up and made an unusual movement.

He looked down toward the defense table, at Wu Liang's arrogant gaze, then turned and walked toward the deliberation room.

The gray-haired observer from the Criminal Division of the Provincial High Court also stood up, patted his companion on the shoulder, and the two left side by side.

In the dock, Ni Dayong was still wearing earplugs and an eye mask.

He knows nothing.

He had no idea that every word of that debate was dissecting his fifteen years of life, nor that someone was using the language of law to voice things he himself couldn't say.

He simply sat quietly in the defendant's dock.

He was waiting for someone to tell him where to go next.