Essay/Term paper: Defense statement

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Critical Essays

Defense Statement
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we, the defense, have shown you that there is no reason that George did not do the right and humane thing by shooting Lenny and that he is innocent of all charges against him.
I agree with the prosecution however when they say that murder is unlawful, but would you say what George Milton did was murder? He was saving a life more than taking one. Lenny was already "dead" in a sense at the point that George pulled the trigger. There were a lot of men with shotguns and hunting dogs searching for Lenny, who had absolutely NO chance of escape. For the men who worked at the farm were almost on to where Lenny was hiding and there was no time for Lenny and George to run. If Lenny were to fall in the hands of the people, he would have been tortured and killed. He would have died with the worst feeling of all in his body, hatred, and the hatred of himself.
What Lenny did was wrong, but he did not understand. He was mentally handicapped. He was a very caring person, but did not realize his own strength. The men did not understand that he didn"t mean to do it and were going to make sure he had a cruel death.
George in a sense "saved" Lenny"s life by making sure he died happily and not in the face of strangers that were hitting him and torturing him.
Ladies and gentlemen, I beg you, this man is innocent. He didn"t do anything wrong unless being a humanitarian is a crime. Thank you for your time.