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

The gavel fell.

boom!

The entire courtroom was brought back to its original position by this sound.

In the dock, Ni Dayong lowered his head, facing the defendant with a calm and composed demeanor.

Five days passed quickly. He was unaware of what was happening outside, nor of the truth about his wife from back then, which was being peeled away layer by layer.

Wu Liang sat upright in the defense seat as usual, his gaze meeting Zhang Jian's directly across from him.

Guo Yong opened the file, his voice steady.

"The Criminal Court of the Chuanhe District People's Court of Tongcheng City is now in session."

"In the case of Ni Dayong's intentional homicide, because the defense counsel raised the issue of the possibility of expectation during the last court hearing, the collegial panel adjourned the court for deliberation in accordance with the law, and studied the relevant legal principles, evidentiary basis, and impact on sentencing."

"After deliberation by the collegial panel, the court debate will resume. The prosecutor, defense counsel, and agents for the incidental civil litigation will offer supplementary opinions on the applicable boundaries of the expectation of possibility in this case, as well as the nature of the defendant's conduct, subjective malice, personal dangerousness, and the assumption of incidental civil liability."

His gaze lingered on Zhang Jian.

"The prosecutor will speak first."

Zhang Jian stood up.

He had clearly been busy these past five days. Three files were spread out on the table, with a printed supplementary opinion on top and a sticky note at the bottom.

"Your Honor, the prosecutor has the following supplementary comments."

Zhang Jian glanced at Wu Liang across from him, then faced the judge's bench and began to speak in a deep voice.

"First, the prosecution respects the defense's arguments regarding the defendant's long-term extortion and abnormal mental state. These facts are supported by audio recordings, witness testimonies, medical records, and expert opinions, which the prosecution will not evade."

Wu Liang leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed intently on Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian continued.

"Second, while the theory of expected possibility can serve as a tool for interpreting the principle of restraint in criminal law, it cannot be evaluated independently of my country's current criminal law system. The defendant, Ni Dayong, entered the residence of the victim, Ding Hu, and stabbed him sixteen times, causing the victim's death. This act was clearly aggressive, continuous, and lethal."

"Third, the victim, Ding Hu, did indeed bear serious fault, and the prosecution acknowledges that this fault affected the sentencing. However, fault does not equate to condoning murder. Long-term harm does not equate to on-site harm. The defendant could have called the police, sought help from grassroots organizations, filed a lawsuit in court, applied for personal safety protection, and so on—"

Zhang Jian paused for a moment, seemingly knowing that these words would have no effect on Ni Dayong, but he still continued speaking.

"This can be resolved through legal channels."

Wu Liang sat up straighter and gently twisted his wrist.

Zhang Jian closed the draft opinion in his hand, and his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Ni Dayong, who was sitting upright with his head down in the defendant's seat.

"The prosecution argues that the defendant, Ni Dayong, lacks the capacity to completely absolve himself of responsibility. This case should be classified as intentional homicide, and the defendant's significant fault, mental disorder, surrender to the police, and remorse should be taken into full consideration, and he should be given a lenient sentence in accordance with the law."

After speaking, he sat down and looked down at the file in front of him.

Liang Jincheng did not stand up immediately in the seats of the people's representatives.

He tapped the paper with his pen, as if considering where the debate could go from here.

There's not much left to say about the civil part. According to inside information he's received, the panel of judges has guidance from the provincial high court, and Ding Hu is dead. The extortion and insults in the recordings make it even harder to get support for the civil claims.

As for how Ni Dayong's crime will ultimately be sentenced...

Liang Jincheng stood up.

"Your Honor, the supplementary opinion from the civil litigation representative is quite simple. Regardless of whether the victim, Ding Hu, was at fault before his death, his right to life is still protected by law. After committing the murder, the defendant, Ni Dayong, should bear corresponding civil liability for compensation according to law."

Wu Liang looked up.

Liang Jincheng avoided his gaze and continued, "As for the amount of compensation, please have the collegial panel determine it according to law, taking into account the faults of both parties and the defendant's ability to pay."

Wu Liang was somewhat surprised; as expected of an old fox.

If they still try to use Wang Li's outrageous tactics at this point, they'll only end up burying themselves in the process.

Finally, Guo Yong turned to look at Wu Liang.

"Please allow the defense attorney to give their opinion."

Wu Liang nodded in acknowledgment, stood up, and bowed slightly toward the judge's bench.

"Presiding Judge, Judges, People's Assessors, I'd like to begin by responding to the prosecutor's statement."

He turned to Zhang Jian.

"Prosecutor Zhang just said that the defendant, Ni Dayong, can call the police, seek help from grassroots organizations, file a lawsuit, or apply for protection."

The chair was pushed back half an inch, making a short, sharp sound.

"But I would like to ask the prosecutor, for Ni Dayong to achieve all of the above, what can he say when the court asks him where the evidence is?"

Wu Liang stopped and turned to look at Ni Dayong.

Ni Dayong lowered his head, his eyes already red.

"Is it his wife, seriously ill, sobbing in the middle of the night?"

"Is it still fear of strangers, especially with my young daughter?"

"Or is it that after enduring more than a decade of oppression, I can only control my mental illness with medication???"

"Which of these pieces of evidence should be included in the case file, instead of being dismissed as mere hearsay?"

In the dock, a juror turned his face to the side and raised his hand to press down on the corner of his eye.

Guo Yong did not stop it.

Two colleagues from the Criminal Division of the Provincial High Court sat in the first row of the audience.

Since the trial began, they have barely moved. When Wu Liang got to this point, the younger of them finally lowered his head and wrote the first line in his notebook.

Wu Liang continued narrating.

"My theory of anticipated possibilities is not intended to gain the court's sympathy for Ni Dayong."

"Sympathy is cheap. Today you sympathize with him, tomorrow you can sympathize with another person with a knife. If the law only relies on sympathy, then we don't need to debate at all. Everyone can go home, watch a short video, and have a good cry, and we can even save on issuing a judgment."

Wu Liang took a step forward and stood on the outside of the defense table.

"The question to ask when anticipating possibilities is never whether a person is pitiful."

"What it tells us is, in that specific person, in that specific situation, and in that specific state of mind, can the law still rightfully demand that he make a choice that only an ordinary person could make?"

"Ordinary people can call the police, but Ni Dayong is not an ordinary person."

Guo Yong's eyes flickered.

Wu Liang's voice became low.

"He is a person who has been overlooked by the law."

These words resonated deeply, and the entire room fell silent.

Liang Jincheng looked at Wu Liang.

This statement is dangerous. If it is interpreted as an attack on the prosecution, it would be tantamount to gambling with one's own future.

But Guo Yong did not stop him.

Wu Liang's story is not over.

"The prosecutor said that long-term harm is not the same as on-site harm."

"Therefore, I did not assert self-defense today."

"The prosecutor also said that wrongdoing does not equate to condoning murder."

"Therefore, I did not request that Ni Dayong be declared innocent."

Zhang Jian finally looked up.

Wu Liang's voice began to rise, gradually becoming more impassioned within the limits permitted by the court.

"But the prosecutor cannot acknowledge Ni Dayong's mental disorder while simultaneously judging him by the standards of an ordinary person!"

"We cannot acknowledge Ding Hu's fifteen years of extortion and threats while simultaneously demanding that Ni Dayong, upon seeing Ding Hu's face, act as calmly, restrainedly, and thoroughly as a case study participant in law school, searching for all possible remedies!"

"Furthermore, we cannot acknowledge that Jiang Cuilan and Ni Xiang are the most vulnerable people in this case, while simultaneously demanding that Ni Dayong return them to the world he has never truly believed in!"

The air in the courtroom seemed to have been sucked out, and many people clenched their fists slightly.

Ni Xiang and Zhang Jiajing sat in the last row of the audience seats, their hands clasped tightly together, their large eyes brimming with tears for the first time.

Guo Yong's hand, which was holding the pen, stopped on the paper.

Wu Liang exhaled and stopped talking.

"Your Honor, our opinion is as follows."

"Ni Dayong's actions constitute a crime, but his subjective malice should not be evaluated as in an ordinary intentional homicide case, and the sentencing logic for premeditated and retaliatory homicides should not be mechanically applied."

"The victim, Ding Hu, had been engaging in long-term extortion and making continuous threats against the defendant's wife and daughters, which was the direct cause of this case."

"At the time of the crime, the defendant Ni Dayong was diagnosed with a mental disorder, and his ability to recognize and control his actions was limited. Considering the long-term trauma, the specific triggering of the crime, his truthful confession after being apprehended, his willingness to take responsibility, and his efforts to protect his family members from being implicated, the defense requests the collegial panel to impose the maximum possible leniency on him within the statutory range."

A slight pause.

"If this case is seen by more courts in the future, I hope it will be seen not because of how many nice words a lawyer said in court."

"But this court is telling future generations that the law doesn't pretend no one has been forced into a corner!"

The last word fell.

Ni Xiang's tears finally slid down her face.

She stared straight at the defendant's dock, at the man who had repaired her bicycle, roasted sweet potatoes, and carried her across muddy roads in the rain since she was a child.

The image of the last candied hawthorn stick she handed to her father after Wu Liang and the other two left flashed through her mind, along with the seemingly inexplicable question her father asked her at the time.

"My child, I so want to watch you grow up."

Guo Yong waited a full ten seconds before speaking in a deep voice.

"Does the prosecutor have any further arguments?"

Zhang Jian stood up, trying his best to maintain impartiality in his statement.

"The prosecution maintains its charges. Regarding the defense's arguments for leniency, please have the panel of judges review them in accordance with the law."

Guo Yong looked at Liang Jincheng.

Liang Jincheng looked up.

"Regarding the civil case, please adjudicate according to the law."

Finally, I looked at Wu Liang.

"The defense arguments have been presented."

Guo Yong lowered his head and wrote a few lines on the court transcript.

It made a rustling sound.

In the audience, the elderly man from the Criminal Division of the Provincial High Court closed his notebook, turned his head and whispered something to his companion.

Wu Liang didn't hear clearly, but he saw the other person's gaze fall on Ni Dayong again.

Guo Yong raised his head.

"Court debate is adjourned."

"According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, the defendant has the right to make a final statement."

Ni Dayong slowly raised his head.

"Defendant Ni Dayong, it is now your turn to make your final statement."