Chapter 191: 104. Heartbeat
The District Attorney’s Office.
The typical composition of a District Attorney’s office is as follows: besides administrative personnel like secretaries and assistants, the prosecutors are divided into two types:
Prosecutors and Assistant Prosecutors.
The Prosecutor is the leader of the entire office, responsible for all affairs, and is appointed by the mayor. However, prosecutors generally do not directly litigate in court; they mostly engage in management work.
Those who truly appear in court are the Assistant Prosecutors. They are lawyers hired by the District Attorney’s office, or what might be called "prosecuting attorneys."
An Cheng walked into Prosecutor Lewis’s office holding the file for Sean’s homicide case.
An Cheng spread the file out in front of Lewis: "I’m interested in this case."
Lewis nodded: "Let’s hear it."
An Cheng confidently said, "Although the suspect Mark gave zero statements to the police, the people and physical evidence in this case are quite sufficient, it won’t be hard to prosecute."
However, Lewis shook his head, "This case, because it occurred on a university campus, is a high-profile malicious incident and will draw significant public attention, it’s one of our key cases. But I still suggest you don’t prosecute Mark for the assault case, only focus on Sean’s murder case."
"Why?" An Cheng was also taken aback.
Prosecutors have the discretion to decide whether to prosecute certain cases, and among multiple offenses committed by a suspect, which ones to prosecute and which ones not to, and they can negotiate deals with the defense lawyer based on the case details.
Lewis pointed at the file: "The police told the truth, the victim in the assault case has a false identity. Therefore, that victim is unlikely to testify in court."
An Cheng also pushed the file away, frustrated, "Even if it’s a false identity, that person truly exists and the harm is real. Are we really just going to let the suspect roam free?"
Lewis’s face was also stern, "The recording, which is key evidence, is itself indirect evidence; moreover, the recording evidence comes from the victim, who happens to have a false identity—which undermines the credibility of the recording evidence. The chances of winning the assault case are extremely low, so it’s better to concentrate efforts on Sean’s murder case."
An Cheng gave a bitter smile, "I think that Nana, if she heard this, would be very sad. Although she risked her life to get the suspect’s confession, our judicial system cannot offer her personal protection."
Lewis’s eyes deepened, "An, in this world, there is no so-called absolute fairness, only judicial justice in human society. You’re a prosecutor, you can’t allow yourself to be so-called outraged first. That won’t help and will only make you lose composure."
An Cheng stood up after taking a deep breath, "I understand. Lewis, let me handle this case?"
.
Night fell, and the few people in Room 507 apparently didn’t feel like having dinner.
Tang Yanqing personally went to the cafeteria and brought food to each person.
Marina and Zhong Kui were a bit better, they still ate slowly.
Shi Nian and Spicy Girl, however, had no appetite and returned to their room early.
Spicy Girl sat on the bed with her laptop, leaning against the wall, browsed the internet for a while, then washed her face and went to sleep.
Because their beds are opposite each other, Spicy Girl’s position while on the internet had the monitor facing away from Shi Nian, so he didn’t know what she browsed. But fortunately, after she finished surfing the net, her mood had calmed down significantly.
Once Spicy Girl fell asleep soundly, Shi Nian got up quietly and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Room 507 had undergone too much in a short time, the once lively room suddenly quieted down. Now only she, Spicy Girl, Marina, and Zhong Kui remained.
Luckily, Tang Yanqing also came back, which brought some life back to the room.
"Splash," Shi Nian splashed cold water on her face and looked up at herself in the mirror.
Her complexion was somewhat pale.
Her eyes somewhat lifeless.
In this string of cases, her strongest suspicions were towards Sean and Mark, one dead and the other captured, she suddenly felt somewhat lost.
There were only a few people left in Room 507, if the informant was in this room, who could it possibly be?
Among these few remaining individuals, each has their doubts not so heavily laden, making the judgment much more challenging.
She now seemed to stand at a crossroads, not knowing which of the four directions to choose; the crossroads were shrouded in thick fog, making it even harder for her to see the four paths clearly.