I then watched as a slim blond haired woman stood up; she quickly introduced herself as Michelle Smith, who was acting on behalf of Bobby. I then listened to how she described Ben's kidnap for the room, but from Bobby's side of things. She claimed that Bobby was driven by two things - his newly diagnosed Schizophrenia and his love for me. She stressed that Bobby's diagnosis was only done over the last month, and apparently his body hadn't gotten used to his medication - which was the sole reason for his outburst. I really couldn't believe that she would use his mental health as an excuse. Yes I understood that he had mental health problems; but this shouldn't excuse what he had done. And in my opinion Bobby knew what he was doing - I knew him better than his lawyer to know this.
Bobby's lawyer then moved on to say that she has come to believe that my actions towards Bobby hadn't helped. She told the jury that I had used manipulation and even brute force and torture against Bobby which caused me to angrily shake my head. Yes I held my hands up and said that I did that; but I couldn't believe that she would have the nerve to try and push the cause of this venture off Bobby and onto me. But this didn't prepare me for what she 'claimed' next.
She then told the jury that given Bobby's vulnerable mental state the last thing he needed was to be 'goaded' by me and Ben. She stressed that apparently we both knew how Bobby felt about Mal so apparently we should have acted accordingly when Bobby tried to get in contact with me. Of course I knew that Bobby's lawyer was going to try and find a way to defend Bobby's actions; but anyone could see that this didn't excuse his actions. Me and Ben could have had sex in front of him and this still wouldn't excuse the fact that he kidnapped Ben, nearly killed him and attempted to rape me. He knew what he was doing - mental health problems or no mental health problems.
When Bobby's lawyer sat down I watched as an old, plump man wearing a dark smart suit with black square glasses stood up and I realised that I recognised him. It took me a few seconds to remember where - he was the Charming's lawyer. He was called Brandon Brice, and the reason why I recognised him is that I had seen him attempt to get Chad out of any trouble that he had found himself in - however this time I think he was going to have a fight on his hands.
Brandon began by highlighting that Chad's involvement down to two elements - a lapse in judgement and bullying and humiliating behaviour by the rest of the accused party. Apparently as both of these elements were in place Brandon was putting on the display that there was a point in which Chad wanted to back out but he was made to believe that he couldn't - he was even beat up and humiliated into continuing. In my opinion, even if this was the case (and there was part of me which doubted Chad's story - given the lies he has told in the past to get out of trouble) Chad had decided to be involved without any bullying and humiliation tactiques. No matter whether the jury believed him or not - I knew what Chad was really like, so I had my own opinion on whether I believe him or not.
I then watched as a tall, skinny, ginger haired man stood up wearing a light green suit. He quickly introduced himself as Malcolm Montgomery, Kendal's lawyer. He quickly advised that his client had become involved in this scheme when approached by Mr Bobby Bailey. He then quickly asserted that even though his client was involved in the plot making he wasn't however involved in very much of the actual plot. He then claimed that even though he had provided the rest of the accused party with photos, maps and watching over the CCTV this had been a lapse in judgement. He then stressed that his client was very remorseful for what he had done; especially within connection to the situation that had happened between the three of us - which he would discuss later on in the trial, with his client's permission.
I then watched as Samuel, Paul and Stephen's lawyers all took their turns in giving their own defence opening statements. They were all very similar; they detailed how the three of them were tracked down by Bobby Bailey and when they were all told the same thing upon first meeting:
"We need to meet in private, I have something that might be of interest to you"
Each of their lawyers then described how they all met up in a backroom of a pub in Auradon City called The Three Horseshoes. The court then heard how Bobby then told the group of people that he had assembled that he wanted to teach me and Ben a lesson and that he wanted them to join him. Each of the lawyers then told us all how Bobby had told their three clients that he wanted to kidnap Ben with only one goal in mind - to get me away from Ben. The three lawyers then advised that the violence that has been inflicted on Ben was never part of the initial plan; it was actually added when Ben was in captivity. We were then told in the three different accounts that it was Bobby who wanted to hurt Ben, but as they had already gone past the point of no return they felt like they couldn't stop Bobby. I heard Ben take a deep breath and when I looked up at him I noticed that he was in deep thought. Something must have happened in APL for him to be thinking about whether this was the case. In my eyes they still let the abuse and torture happen to Ben - something of which I could never forgive them for.
