My friend Aimee was my lawyer. She was confident that there was no way we would lose the case. There was video evidence showing that my actions were done in order to defend someone else.
I was so happy. What I saw at that time was a triumph in the making. All my co-workers rallied behind me and there were even hashtags on social media about me. I felt like this trial would show that there was hope for people who had been hurt by others. That the law would protect those who needed it. My happiness lasted until the first hearing.
It was abysmal. The judge was obviously in the pocket of Kings and Sons. So much so that Aimee was frequently charged with contempt of court for speaking out of turn.
The case had very little media coverage and not much information came to light because King and Sons denied to let the court see the footage of the incident. It left everyone but the plaintiff and their team, understandably frustrated.
The next hearing wasn't any better. The only good thing that happened this time was that, my sister managed to sneak a camera into the court room and posted the video online.
It went viral and more and more people started advocating for me to be released.
In the third hearing, things started to look up. The plaintiff was forced to show the video of Amber being harassed, the hall was silent after it was shown. Not even the plaintiff lawyers spoke.
It was as if, even though they would sell their morals to the highest bidder, they still understood when to lament the poor treatment of other people.
The fourth and final hearing had several different news outlets present. Their presence didn't deter the actions of the plaintiff lawyers or the judge. He continually tried to invalidate all the statements and claims made by my lawyers. It was a whole three hours of a judge and lawyers telling me that it does not matter that I was helping someone else, it does not take away from the fact that I assaulted someone else.
By the end of the hearing, it was as if there was no hope. It was as if all the hard work of my co-workers and my sister did nothing. We waited patiently for judge's verdict and well... you know what happened.
YOU ARE READING
Adjoa's Trial
Short StoryA short story about a young lady who was wrongfully persecuted by the justice system because she assaulted a rich shareholder in a company, even though she was defending a woman who was being sexually harassed.
