Chapter 631: The Influence of Public Opinion
"I..." Zhang Wenhui thought for a moment, but ultimately chose not to speak. After all, the hatred for the murder of one's mother cannot be shared under the same sky. If anyone else had killed his mother, and had used such a cruel method to dispose of the body, perhaps he really would have made the same choice as Lin Chuan. In the end, Zhang Wenhui smiled and said, "Maybe you're right."
Click...
Having signed his name, Lin Chuan tossed the pen aside, then dipped his finger in the red ink pad and pressed it down forcefully.
Since he had confessed to the crime, the case would proceed according to legal procedures, with the public prosecution agencies filing a lawsuit, followed by a trial by the Intermediate Court.
Due to the gravity of the situation, the case attracted exceptional public attention. Coupled with the behind-the-scenes manipulation by characters like Bai Yifan and Liu Shaoqi, the case quickly became the focal point of public opinion. An ordinary criminal case from Jiangbei City, once broadcast by the provincial station, immediately sparked further coverage among TV stations and major media newspapers nationwide. In an instant, the case of Lin Chuan killing Song Hao surged like a storm and became the center of attention for people across the country, even reaching overseas newspapers and garnering global attention among the Chinese diaspora.
Of course, the reason for the public attention on this case was not the murder itself, but the identity of Song Hao. Song Hao was a typical second-generation official, the son of a city mayor who had been killed by someone, right in front of Song Ming. The exceptional nature of this event, coupled with the public tagging of one as a second-generation official and the other as a second-generation poor, quickly sparked explosive attention in public opinion. Eventually, the news hit Central Television.
In no time, people nationwide were spreading the word.
The focus was not the murder itself, but that a second-generation poor had killed a second-generation official. That was what really attracted attention. Naturally, this was one of the most contradictory issues of the present, the biggest conflict in today's society. The second-generation poor resent both the second-generation officials and the second-generation rich... leading to a series of conflicts.
Jiangbei City People's Daily boldly wrote in bold Song typeface on the front page of the day's edition: Such a devil, not killing him would not appease the people's anger.
Jiangbei City Television also dedicated a special segment for this matter, with experts and legal professionals sitting in front of the television set to analyze the case for the audience and to seriously discuss the legal issues involved.
Of course, all major media and newspapers almost unanimously avoided one topic: the incident of Song Hao killing Lin Chuan's mother. Nearly all media and newspapers focused on several key points: first, that Lin Chuan killed his son in front of Song Ming; second, that Lin Chuan had multiple violent confrontations with the public security authorities, even the urban management officers, and repeatedly assaulted public officials before killing Song Hao.
Upon the news release, public outrage was immediate.
Numerous people unaware of the true circumstances gathered outside the police station.
"Severely punish the murderer, severely punish the murderer."
In front of the police station, groups of burly men gathered, raising their arms, waving their fists—simply wishing to press the police station into severely punishing Lin Chuan. More than a hundred people had assembled at the entrance of the police station.
Soon, TV station reporters went for interviews.
"Dear viewers, we are now broadcasting live from the entrance of the police station," a field reporter said solemnly to the camera, holding a microphone in hand, "We are here to bring you the latest on the Lin Chuan murder case. Currently, over a hundred angry citizens are gathered at the entrance of the police station, demanding justice against the murderer. Now, let's interview one of the crowd."
It didn't take long for the female reporter to find a man in a black short-sleeve shirt.
"Sir, how do you see this case?" the female reporter quickly asked.
"Anger, nothing but anger," the man rushed to reply: "Lin Chuan deserves to die, Lin Chuan should be executed immediately."
"Why?" the female reporter inquired with curiosity.
"Because he killed someone," the man chuckled.
"Do you know who he killed?" the female reporter continued, still curious.
"This..." the man was stunned, scratching his head and laughing awkwardly: "No matter who he killed, killing is wrong, murder deserves the firing squad!"
The female reporter was speechless, not expecting to encounter such an interviewee who knew nothing but still came to the police station to protest—wasn't this a bit too staged?
In the distance, people were continuously arriving.
"Bro, how much money did you get?" the short-sleeve man leaned over to another man and asked curiously.
"Three hundred," the man in the white shirt replied, "You?"
"Damn, why did I only get two hundred?" the short-sleeved man suddenly felt displeased.
"Heh heh, you were referred by a friend, right?" the man in the white shirt smirked: "I was directly recruited by Mr. Bai. Naturally, my price is higher."
"Shit!" the short-sleeved man spat out, exclaiming: "I'm compromising my conscience for this, and it's only worth two hundred bucks?"
At the entrance of the police station, nearly all of the hundred or so people were there to cause a scene at Bai Yifan's behest, intentionally pressuring the police station and, of course, the public opinion. With the pressure of public opinion, the public prosecution agencies would naturally not dare to act carelessly. Even if Tang Yumeng was eager to protect Lin Chuan, she likely wouldn't dare to act rashly.
The situation was severe, and the pressure from public opinion was immense. To top it all off, a directive had come down from the top, calling for special handling of special cases, demanding the severe punishment of the devil, to give the public an explanation. Therefore, the case had to be heard in court immediately, with the media invited to be present and to broadcast live.
After deliberation by the public prosecution agencies of Jiangbei City, it was decided that the trial would be held three days later.
That is to say, excluding the three days Lin Chuan was detained, from his arrest to trial, there were only six days. This is perhaps the shortest trial time in Chinese history. During this period, a lawyer must be engaged, who then has to gather witness statements and physical evidence, as well as complete all sorts of preparatory work. However, there isn't much time left for the lawyer.
This time, Lin Chuan's defense lawyer was naturally Zhong Wenyi.
Three days ago, Zhong Wenyi received a call from Tang Yumeng. After receiving her call, he immediately dropped all his work and flew straight back from Beijing to Jiangbei City.
When he came out of Jiangbei City airport, Zhong Wenyi encountered something.
Several burly men in black blocked his way at the airport entrance.
"Lawyer Zhong." A bulky man gave Zhong Wenyi a look and said, "Let's not beat around the bush. We are men of Mr. Hu from the northeast. Mr. Hu has been killed, but his loyal disciples haven't scattered. We know you're here to defend Lin Chuan, but this time, Lin Chuan must die."
"And what if Lin Chuan does not die?" Zhong Wenyi sneered.
"Hmph, if Lin Chuan doesn't die, then it will be your death," the burly man glared at Lin Chuan, let out a cold huff, and continued: "We don't speak falsely. Look out for yourself."
After that, the group of burly men turned and left. They didn't make any rude gestures, nor did they assault the lawyer in a way that some lawbreakers exposed by the media did, resulting in severe injuries that prevented lawyers from appearing in court. They just made their threats and departed.
As for threats like these, Zhong Wenyi didn't take them seriously at all. As a well-known and esteemed lawyer, he faced such threats every year. So, he was not afraid in the least.
In three days, Zhong Wenyi had prepared a lot, but he still felt it was insufficient. Of course, given the current witnesses and physical evidence prepared, Lin Chuan was not likely to be sentenced to death. If needed, Zhong Wenyi could find a way to obtain a temporary mental illness certification for Lin Chuan, which could help him escape the charges to some extent.
However, Zhong Wenyi was worried about the nature of the case.
"Lawyer Zhong, you still seem very worried," Tang Yumeng said. "Is there something you haven't prepared thoroughly?"
"Not really," Zhong Wenyi shook his head and replied: "I just feel like the chances of winning this case seem slim."
"Why?" Tang Yumeng asked eagerly.
"I feel that the current media momentum is extremely detrimental to us," Zhong Wenyi sighed deeply and said: "The judge is likely to lean towards the side favored by public opinion during the trial. So, are we now able to control the direction of public opinion? Based on my understanding of the case, we are currently in quite a passive position."
"Yes!" Tang Yumeng slapped her forehead and said: "I've been so busy lately that I never thought about directing public opinion, never realized that Song Ming has taken control of it all."
"Exactly," Zhong Wenyi nodded and said: "Right now, it's quite troublesome."
"Then... setting aside the chances of victory, what if I just want Lin Chuan not to die?" Tang Yumeng hurriedly asked.
"That's relatively simple," Zhong Wenyi flipped through the files and said: "We now have a lot of evidence to prove that Lin Chuan committed manslaughter. If we can also manage to get a temporary mental illness certification, then Lin Chuan can be exempt from punishment."
"Is that easy to do?" Tang Yumeng asked.
"We can only know once we try," Zhong Wenyi smiled and said.
Beep beep beep...
Suddenly, Zhong Wenyi's phone rang.
However, after the call ended, Zhong Wenyi's face turned dark. He sat motionless in the chair, his phone dropped to the floor.
"Lawyer Zhong, what happened?" Tang Yumeng hurriedly asked.
"It's over," Zhong Wenyi revealed a bitter smile.
"What happened?" Tang Yumeng asked anxiously.
"Big trouble," Zhong Wenyi said with a smile: "I really didn't expect it, I truly didn't expect that Song Ming would have such a masterful move up his sleeve. All our preparations are in vain, this legal battle is doomed before it even begins."
"Ah?!" Tang Yumeng cried out in dismay.
If even Zhong Wenyi said so, then was this lawsuit really going to be a loss? Tang Yumeng's complexion didn't look good, her eyes were filled with immense anxiety. She looked helpless, her eyes also filled with sorrow. Tang Yumeng asked, "What... What exactly is the situation?"
With Zhong Wenyi so flustered, conceding defeat with repeated sighs, it indicated that Song Ming must have prepared a major move behind the scenes.
"Central has directly assigned a presiding judge to personally handle this case," Zhong Wenyi said helplessly: "I know this presiding judge. He was a student of the former Minister of Justice. It's said that Song Ming's teacher was also the former Minister of Justice. There seems to be a connection between the two."