Of Mice and Men Court Case Opening Statement
Good Morning ladies and gentleman,
Esteemed members of the jury, your honor, what you will hear is the story of human tragedy. This is a case about a promise broken, a dream ended, and a life shattered. Lennie Small is responsible for this, Lennie Small is responsible for the brutal death of Curley’s wife. She was a beautiful woman, in the prime of her youth, who had so many things to accomplish. None of that is possible now. She was a wonderful, vibrant flower ripped from existence. The defense will argue that Lennie has a diminished mental capacity and therefore does not know right from wrong. This however, is not true. You will hear testimony that he did indeed know the difference between right and wrong, life and death. Our two witnesses, Crooks and Candy will testify to this effect.
When Lennie entered the barn on that ranch in the Salinas River Valley that beautiful autumn afternoon, he had no intention of killing anyone. He did not plan to hurt anyone, run away from a crime, or get in any kind of trouble. He went in the barn simply to be with his new puppy. When Lennie and Curley’s wife began to talk Lennie did not have a carefully laid out plan to kill her, nor was he filled with rage. However, when he was stroking her hair harder and harder, and she began to pull away and scream because of the pain he was causing her, he saw his one dream of tending rabbits, owning his own place, and living off of the fat of the land slip away. He got caught up in the heat of the moment. He placed one hand over her mouth, and another on her shoulder and began to violently throttle her in an effort to silence her. Lennie, by this time, was quite upset with Curley’s wife. She was destroying his carefully laid out plan. As you know after being brutally shaken, Curley’s wife’s, neck snapped, and she was suddenly dead.
The defense will tell you that because Lennie may be slow, he has no idea what the magnitude of his actions is. I am asking you to
Esteemed members of the jury, your honor, what you will hear is the story of human tragedy. This is a case about a promise broken, a dream ended, and a life shattered. Lennie Small is responsible for this, Lennie Small is responsible for the brutal death of Curley’s wife. She was a beautiful woman, in the prime of her youth, who had so many things to accomplish. None of that is possible now. She was a wonderful, vibrant flower ripped from existence. The defense will argue that Lennie has a diminished mental capacity and therefore does not know right from wrong. This however, is not true. You will hear testimony that he did indeed know the difference between right and wrong, life and death. Our two witnesses, Crooks and Candy will testify to this effect.
When Lennie entered the barn on that ranch in the Salinas River Valley that beautiful autumn afternoon, he had no intention of killing anyone. He did not plan to hurt anyone, run away from a crime, or get in any kind of trouble. He went in the barn simply to be with his new puppy. When Lennie and Curley’s wife began to talk Lennie did not have a carefully laid out plan to kill her, nor was he filled with rage. However, when he was stroking her hair harder and harder, and she began to pull away and scream because of the pain he was causing her, he saw his one dream of tending rabbits, owning his own place, and living off of the fat of the land slip away. He got caught up in the heat of the moment. He placed one hand over her mouth, and another on her shoulder and began to violently throttle her in an effort to silence her. Lennie, by this time, was quite upset with Curley’s wife. She was destroying his carefully laid out plan. As you know after being brutally shaken, Curley’s wife’s, neck snapped, and she was suddenly dead.
The defense will tell you that because Lennie may be slow, he has no idea what the magnitude of his actions is. I am asking you to