"Mr. Carlos, can you tell me if you remember seeing the defendant?" Anna questioned.
"Yes" He said, he was one of the men of the so called crew of the show.
"And can you tell me where you saw her and what she was doing?" Anna questioned
"I met her on the road, my car broke down so I was trying to fix it and then she suddenly appeared, she walked up to me and asked me for a ride, I told her that my car didn't work but she stayed there and started flirting with me, seriously, the girl literally showed me her breasts and tried to convince me to go with her but I'm married so I rejected her, she got angry, called me a faggot and left" The man said and Jade stared at her father completely shocked.
"Was that all?" Anna asked.
"No, she waited across the road for about twenty minutes and then a car finally stopped, a tall black man walked out of it and they chatted for a while, I saw her kiss him and they started making out, it was pretty intense, for a moment I thought they were gonna have sex right there but she said something to him and then they got in the car, he drove away and that was it but about three hours later, I was still there and she came back, she was a little further this time but I clearly saw her making out with a different man and getting in his car, then a few days ago I saw the news and I decided to contact the police to tell them what I had seen in case it was helpful" The man explained.
"Thank you, Mr. Carlos" Anna said and Jade's dad stood up.
"Mr. Carlos, you spent the afternoon on the road, alone, tired and yet, when a beautiful young woman offered to have sex with you, you rejected her?" Mr. West asked. "God, Mr. Carlos, you're worthy of admiration because let's be real, getting a proposal of that nature from a beautiful young woman like my client is one in a lifetime opportunity so I'm sure your wife is really lucky"
"I love my wife" Carlos commented.
"I'm sure you do but where is she? I mean being the perfect husband you are, I'm sure you told her about this, didn't you?" Mr. West asked.
"No, I didn't want to mortify her" Carlos answered.
"So it's your word against my client's, nobody can prove that what you say is true" Mr. West affirmed, after that he called Jade up to question her again.
"Miss West, do you know Mr. Carlos? Have you ever seen him before today?" He questioned.
"Yes but I didn't meet him like he said, I didn't do any of those things" Jade affirmed.
"Jade West is an eighteen year old accused of murdering nine grown men who were much stronger than her, here are their pictures, analyze them and think logically, could a woman with her complexion control any of those men and tie them?" Mr. West asked. "Even if she had seduced them, they would have reacted as soon as they realized what her plans were and they would have won because again, she is not capable of controlling a much heavier and stronger person than her, it's ridiculous"
"Now, can you tell me how your finger prints ended up on all the weapons?" Mr. West asked.
"Well, a month ago my friends and I were offered a job as actors in a show, they made us go to that forest and then attempted to kill us, that man, Mr. Carlos was one of them, that's how I really met him, we spent days in the forest being hunted like animals by him and his friends" Jade began "They caught us one by one until I was the only one left, I went back to try to rescue my friends but they found me and tried to make me murder them"
"Objection, what kind of fantasy story is this?" Anna asked annoyed.
"It's my client's version of what happened, she has witnesses that back up her story unlike Mr. Carlos" Mr. West responded.
"Denied, go on, Miss West" The judge ordered.
"I refused to kill my friends so those men tortured me for hours, they whipped me, choked me and burnt me, I have the scars to prove it and there are videos of it because they filmed it all" Jade affirmed. "Those files must be somewhere"
"Could you show the scars to us?" Mr. West asked and she nodded, Jade stood up slowly and pulled her shirt up to show them the hexagon and some of her scars from the whips. "Thank you, please continue"
"After that, they tried to make me kill my friends again but when I had to do it I couldn't and I killed one of them with the ax instead, I grabbed his gun and threatened the other two, I left them handcuffed to each other and my friends and I escaped, that's what really happened" Jade confessed.
"And why didn't you denounce the crime before?" He questioned.
"Because I was afraid that they would send me to jail for killing that man, it was a mistake, I know, I should've talked before but I was in shock after what happened, you don't know what it's like to be hunted, tortured and then what it feels to kill someone, it's not nice" Jade responded.
"So you're saying you only killed ONE man and it was in self defense, right?" Mr. West asked and she nodded. "Please say yes or no"
"Yes"
"Is there anyone who can confirm your story?" He asked.
"Yes, my five classmates were there, Cat Valentine, Beck Oliver, Robbie Shapiro, Andre Harris and Tori Vega" Jade answered.
"And do you know how that one person turned into nine?" He questioned.
"I am sure that the same people who did that to us are behind this, they killed those men and since they knew my finger prints would be on the weapons, they used them to murder those people and frame me for it" Jade responded.
"Thank you, enough for the questions"
"Okay... so you're saying that you only killed one person because he and his friends tortured you, I honestly find that very hard to believe, even after seeing those scars, I mean we've established that you enjoy inflicting pain onto yourself and if you were capable of murdering nine people the way you did, I could bet everything I own that you made that hexagon on your belly yourself as some kind of proof for your sect" Anna commented.
"Then you would lose everything you own because I didn't do this to myself and I don't belong to any sect" Jade affirmed.
"Let's imagine for a moment that we all believe your story, what happened after they tortured you? Did they make you grab the ax right away?" Ana questioned curiously. "I mean, you described something terrible, any person that goes through that needs some time to rest"
"No, they left me tied to a tree all night and then handcuffed me to one of the column for another hour before telling me to do it" Jade informed.
"Okay but so you were willing to actually kill your friends" Anna said.
"No"
"Then why did you grab the ax?" Anna questioned.
"Because I needed it to kill him" Jade responded.
"Oh so you knew you were going to kill him, you planned it" Anna affirmed.
"Yes, I mean no" Jade said.
"Yes or no? You're telling us that you knew you would kill him and that's why you grabbed the ax, you planned it all night, didn't you?" Anna asked.
"Yes... no, I don't know" Jade said nervously, she didn't know what to say anymore.
"So even if that story of yours were real, you would be a murderer because you planned the crime with anticipation and executed it flawlessly" Anna affirmed.
"You don't understand, I had to do it" Jade exclaimed.
"Enough for the questions"
"No, please let me expla-" Jade started but the judge interrupted her.
"You may go back to your seat, Miss West" He said and she looked at her parents mortified.
After that the judge gave them a little break and Jade immediately started panicking. "She pulled me to pieces" Jade affirmed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they believed you" Tori said.
"No, they didn't" Jade responded.
"Listen, Jade, unfortunately, I don't think they believed your story, even with the testimony of your friends I don't think they'll find you innocent so I'll have to use another strategy, it won't get you out of this but at least you won't be in jail" Mr. West explained.
"What are you talking about, Christian?" Jade's mother asked.
"You'll see"
The break ended and everyone got back in the court ready to hear the last arguments and dictate sentence "Honorable members of the jury, you've heard two versions of what happened, one version that is based on testimonies of many people, finger prints and videos, which clearly prove that the defendant planned and executed the murder of nine innocent men who had the misfortune of finding her on the road basically offering to have sex with them and as a normal man, they of course accepted and it cost them their lives, the other version is the product of a very evil, twisted and perturbed girl's imagination, it has no fundament other than the testimonies of her friends and her boyfriend, who of course will be on her side" Anna commented. "I beg you to analyze carefully the pictures and the proofs presented to you today, Jade West is a clearly mentally unstable young woman, she shows no remorse and the nature of the crimes makes it obvious that she took her time and enjoyed killing those men, she is a psychopath, has always been, she was a time bomb and she finally exploded, she now is a serious danger to society so I beg you not to let her out, a person like her can't be part of our society, that's all"
"The defendant's lawyer has the word" The judge informed and Mr. West took a deep breath, he knew that the jury was going to find Jade guilty and probably give her a very high penalty, probably death, so he made a decision.
"I talked to my client during the break and I came to the conclusion that she is indeed not mentally stable and therefore I demand that she is put under psychiatric care immediately" Mr. West affirmed and Jade looked at him shocked.
"What?" Jade asked surprised.
"I'll accept your suggestion but we need the jury's resolution" The judge said, the jury went into a room for a very short time and then came out. "On the nine charges of murder on the first degree and hate crimes, how do you find the defendant?"
"We find the defendant guilty" One of the members of the jury informed.
"I agree with Mr. West, the defendant should be transferred to a mental institution for her own good" Anna commented.
"Jade West will be sent to a psychiatric hospital where they can determine the illness she suffers and apply the treatment immediately, she will remain in the institution until the doctors decide it's prudent and once she is capable of facing her sentence, if that ever happens, she'll be transferred to a prison to continue with it or she'll be set free under treatment" The judge informed and closed session.
"No, no, I'm not crazy, no, dad, mom, Beck!" Jade shouted as the guards handcuffed her.
"You'll be okay, honey" Her father said but she was so scared.
"Guards, please get the defendant under control" The judge ordered.
"NO, STAY AWAY FROM ME, NO, I'M NOT CRAZY, NO" Jade screamed as they took her away and Jade's mother immediately slapped Mr. West.
"How could you do that to her?" She questioned madly.
"Jade is not crazy" Beck affirmed.
"I know but would you rather that she died, you heard them, she was found guilty and the crimes were horrible, I'm sure they would have sentenced her to death, at least in the hospital she'll be treated better" Mr. West commented.
"You don't know that, I've heard some hospitals treat their patients with so much cruelty and also, they'll apply her treatment that she doesn't need, what if it affects her?" Beck asked worriedly.
"I'm sorry but I wasn't going to let Jade go back to that jail and die, she wouldn't have been able to handle it, at least in the hospital they'll keep her under control and she won't be able to do anything" Mr. West responded and they thought about it, he was right, Jade wasn't going to last much longer being locked up in that jail with the prisoners harassing her all day so in a way it was better that she was going to be in a hospital but it also worried them that being there ended up being worse.
So...yeah, things keep getting worse.
I hope you liked it, please review! :)