Trials and Tribulation

Do any of you watch Court TV? I love watching court stuff and law shows. Sometimes they have some pretty compelling trials on Court TV, shown live. I've been watching one coming out of Detroit that is pretty incredible. An 18 year old kid is accused of killing a 26 year old guy by slitting his throat, stabbing him, beheading the corpse, and then finally taking it to a field and lighting it on fire. I know, pretty revolting, huh. So while I'm watching it I'm thinking this guy is SO guilty. Then today he takes the stand in his own defense, and suddenly I'm not so sure he's guilty of cold-blooded murder. Now it kind of feels like his assertion that he killed him in self-defense may actually be true. It's one of those cases that you just can't make up your mind about, you know? On one hand, he's got to be guilty of premeditated murder; on the other, he must have done it in self-defense. Do you know what that amounts to? Reasonable doubt. Therefore, he must be found not guilty. Right? I don't know. I'll wait until all testimony is over before deciding. Right now the kid is being cross-examined by the prosecution, and aside from becoming obviously irritated by some of the questions, he's holding his own and doing well. He seems credible and is answering questions without hesitation, which usually indicates one is telling the truth. Who knows, though, maybe he's a complete sociopath who can tell a lie as easily as the truth. That's what makes this trial stuff so fascinating.

Anyway, if you're interested, you can watch the trial live on Court TV, and then streamed live at www.cnn.com/CRIME after they end live trial broadcasting for the day, which is at 3:00PM (eastern time). But I warn you, it can be addicting. ;)

CNN, Law, Trials, Crime