Today we the prosecution, wish to present a case of a cruel murder. We wish to prove and present the defendant as being a cold-blooded killer. We charge George Milton with the crime of murder in the killing of Lennie Small. George Milton killed Lennie because he did not want to take care of him any longer.George killed a mentally challenged man that was completely innocent of any crimes due to the fact that he is not capable of doing wrong. You cannot punish a man for being completely incompetent.
Therefore Lennie should not have been punished for the murder of Curley’s wife, especially by his best friend George, he of all people should know that he is not capable of deliberately trying to kill anyone, and yet George still sentences Lennie to his death. There were many signs of George wanting to get Lennie off of his shoulders one of them is shown here in George’s statement when he is speaking with Slim, “…Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time… And …he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so God damn dumb.”(41) This shows how George is fed up with having to deal with Lennie and how he wants to be free from the troubles Lennie brings. Another example is a statement from George when he says, “…If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.
No mess at all…” (11) He speaks of how better his life could be without Lennie and maybe this is why George shot Lennie right in the back of the head. When Lennie accidentally kills his puppy and then Curley’s wife, his only thought is to think about George’s anger because he is frightened of what George will do, which is shown when Lennie says “George gonna give me hell,”… “George gonna wish he was alone an’ not have me botherin’ him.”(100) these are the feelings that Lennie frequently gets from George, George often frightens him. After killing the puppy Lennie worries about what he has done and is scared of what George will do and say. Lennie says, “But he’ll know. George always knows.
He’ll say, “You done it. Don’t try to put anything over on me… As Lennie … rocks himself back and forth in his sorrow.”(85) Lennie is just a mentally challenged boy in a man’s body.
He is always frightened of what George will do or say. Do these reactions sound like ones of a competent adult? The answer is No. But after killing Curly’s wife, because he was frightened Lennie is treated as an adult. All of these quotations demonstrate how Lennie is always in fear of what George is going to say or do. They show just how scared George makes Lennie feel and how threatening George is.
Even if George Killed Lennie “in everyone’s best interest” Murder is never justified. Lennie should have been brought to the proper authorities or somewhere where he could be safe. Lennie shouldn’t have been killed. A best friend does not kill another friend. George had the chance to take Lennie, run away, move on and save Lennie’s life. Yes Lennie has done things in the past, but there is no reason they wouldn’t be able to run away and at least give Lennie the chance of living, but for not doing so George should receive the consequences.
The defense will state that Lennie has killed others before and each time something has become worse and they will ask, “What will he do next time?”, but does that mean that George has the right to choose the fate of another man by taking his life? No, no man has any right no matter what the circumstance to decide the fait of another man’s life. So I will ask the jury and the court, does a man have the right to take another man’s life because he feels that the man is a nuisance, and it would be for his own good? Obviously the defendant thought so. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, this was not a mercy killing, this was a cold- blooded murder. Josh Yeung 4th hour English March 24, 2004
