THE PEOPLE VERSUS JANET THORNE .

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This story was first inspired from a task given by @michelle.gent in the story mentor-ship group. Turns out I really like the concept and plan to see it through. To participate click here
PART ONE

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TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE TRAIL.....

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Janet stared absentmindedly into space regardless of the two gentle men dressed in well tailored suits sitting in front of her.
She had said she would exercise her right to remain silent and that was exactly what she was going to do until they let her get a lawyer. Not that anyone in their right mind would believe that she was innocent of the charges alleged against her, she herself had no idea if she was.
" Miss Thorne, I'm Davis Standor I would be representing you based on the murder charges alleged against you."
She glared at him and slowly turned her gaze to the other man " and you are ?"
"Michael Stevenson"
" He's my associate "Davis said and then opened up files and pushed them over to her.
Jane stared at the photos of the victim and nearly gagged. She couldn't remember doing any of this, she knew the men quite all right. One had been her husband for a short period of time and the other had almost been her husband to.
" Based on the allegations Miss Thorne, we are definitely going to proceed to trail considering the fact that we are dealing with a hardcore judge and a prosecutor well known for never letting her opponents of the hook, you would be facing a maximum of twenty to twenty- five years jail time"
" but I didn't do this" she cried out
" No one believes me..not even my attorneys" she said closing the folder and pushing back to him.
" The issue here is not whether I believe you or not, it's whether the judge would believe you enough to find you not guilty or minimize your sentence, we are talking about a first degree murder here"
" and what if I can't prove my innocence"
" then I suggest you do exactly as I say"
She eyed him closely, was she certain she could trust this man, he's associate regarded at her closely and quietly enough to notice the twitching movement she made with her finger nails. She was nervous and fidgeting he thought to himself.
"There's a dairy, in the cops possession, it belonged to my mother, she died when I was eighteen and I've had it ever since... It's the only thing they could recover from the fire that killed her" she said quietly
" When I was fifteen I was admitted in a mental institution and ever since I was let out....."
" go on... Miss Thorne we are going to need all the assistance we can get from you if there is a slight chance that we are going to win this case"
" I've been losing time"
" I'm afraid I don't follow"
" I don't remember a lot..... I don't know where I've been and can't recall what I've been up to... there are these holes in my memory...and it happens regularly"
"That dairy proves it.... I don't remember what happened that day" she said as tears polled in her eyes.
" I just wake up to hear the police breaking in and arresting me, I was wearing clothes and I had this injury" she said raising the sleeves of her prison wear to show him the scratch mark on her arm.
David took her arm and examined the wound closely.
" It's deep enough to extract DNA samples if these were caused by the finger nails of the deceased" Michael said to Davis.
" I'll set a meeting with the prosecutor in charge, try to get her to settle without a trail but I can't guarantee that she'll agree" Davis said standing up as one of the security guards entered the room.
" Time is up"
" I'll get back to you" he said again as they dragged her from the room.
" Do you believe her ?" Michael asked when as they walked out of the prison center towards their car.
David buttoned his suit " I mean her story of loosing time makes a compelling argument, if she is mentally ill then she can't be charged for these crimes" he said again
" Run a background check on her, everything you can find from when she was born till when she left that mental home she claimed to have been in and what her there in the first place... if we are going to win this case then we have to do a damn good job of convincing the judge that she's crazy"
" where are you of to ?" Michael asked as David flagged down a cab.
" To meet with Fletcher "

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"I must confess, you are becoming more and more predictable Standor" Juliet Fletcher said as she saw Davis Standor walk into her office.
" What can I say ?" he asked with a smug smile and arms spread wide open.
" You can start by telling me what you are doing here ?" she asked not complimenting his grin or presence with much ardor.
" You haven't checked.... you have a case against me"
If she didn't know he was her opposing counsel on the Thorne case, then she hid her surprise much well and had a very well expected come back.
" Last I checked you were a cooperate lawyer"
" I worked in the DA's office for seven years, and I'm a pretty good lawyer taking probono is a quality I very much admire in myself "
"We both know probono is not your style Standor, so why don't you cut the crap and tell me why you are here because it certainly isn't to announce that you are my opposing counsel on this one "
" What of if it is ...... I mean we both know you have more pressing cases to squash here than to waste your time on this "
" You are here to settle aren't you ?" she asked
" Well, I suggest you cut the crap and name your price"
Juliet gave a loud sarcastic laugh " You really have some nerve Standor... last I checked your client is guilty on all accounts... you are in no position to be offering me any kind of deal" she said
"There is no convicting evidence and you know it"
"Autopsy results are not yet out" she countered
"When they are it would say the same thing....no evidence aside from the bloody clothes" he said
" That bloody cloth led to the arrest in the first place, the blood on the victim's body matched with the one's on the clothes, not to talk of the witnesses "
"You have no witness Fletcher, no prove.. you are building a case based on nothing and trust me I would have the judge throw this out before you even begin" he said
The office phone rang and Juliet picked.." Juliet Fletcher " she said
she listened to what the person at the other end said for a minute and with a smile ended the call before facing him again.
" well Standor...that was the detective on the case and he just confirmed the lab results, they match.....there would be no committal hearing and we would have a jury trail so I suggest you prepare because your client is guilty and I would make sure she never leaves that cell for the next twenty five to thirty years".