1. - – Kabrina
CHAPTER ONE
-
KAbrINA
Eight Years Prior
Growing up with two parents who are successful lawyers made me want to follow in their footsteps.
I don't know if it's because I want to be like them or for some other reason.
I have this passion for helping others get justice for the crimes that are committed against them, so I ultimately went with the prosecutor route.
Sometimes, I have this fear that the cases I represent will ultimately bite me in the ass down the road, but as of right now, that hasn't happened. Let me cross my fingers that it stays that way.
This upcoming month, I have my first case for a second-degree murder charge.
Typically, I am hit with less severe cases, so when I saw this one pop up on my caseload, I was nervous about what had happened.
As I review the case, I see that the defendant, Amari Jones, was reportedly at a local pub when he encountered another male, Liam Walker.
It appears that Amari picked a fight with Liam that caused him to repeatedly slam his head into the ground.
Upon the arrival of emergency medical services, Liam was found deceased from the impact of his head being slammed.
The photos of the crime in the case file are horrible.
Amari did a lot of damage to Liam, to the point that you can see brain matter on the ground of the pub.
Due to the incident stemming from sudden rage, the court has decided to charge the defendant with second-degree murder instead of a harsher sentence.
Here in Virginia, for this type of charge, someone can serve anywhere between 5 and 40 years.
I continue to sift through the evidence of this case, and there were plenty of witnesses in the pub at the time of the incident who were able to give their statements of what happened.
This helps with my side of the case because everything is laid out and self-explanatory to present my case.
I just hope the defense attorney doesn’t try to plead insanity.
As I work on my opening statement for the trial that starts tomorrow, I receive a phone call from Lincoln. He’s representing Amari’s case.
“Good morning, Kabrina. How are you?” He asks when I answer the phone.
“Can we cut to the chase, Lincoln? What do you want? You know we have a case to prepare for.”
“That’s actually why I’m calling. Is it possible for you to meet in an hour to discuss the case? I would like to enter into a plea agreement for my client.”
Oh boy. What could this agreement be? It better be worth my time.
“Fine. Meet me at my office at 12:00 P.M., and I will hear you out. No funny business,” I say as I hang up the phone before he can respond.
A few hours later, Lincoln arrives at my office with a cheery face to him.
“Why do you look so happy today? Your client is literally on trial for second-degree murder.” I question when he sits down in the chair across from me.
"Yeah, well, I'm hoping you will say yes to the deal I'm about to propose."
I doubt it’s going to be a good deal, but I’ll hear him out.
“Alright, hit me with it.”
He leans forward in his chair while saying, "My client will plead guilty to a five-year sentence with probation once released."
I think about this for a second because five years doesn’t seem like enough for what he did to this poor man. He’s the one who provoked the fight in the first place.
“How about ten years with probation?” I counter.
“Can we do seven?”
Hmm, is seven really worth it, for what he did?
“Eight years with probation. I'm sure if we move forward with this case in court, he will get a lot longer than that. Take it or leave it because I'm not budging at this point.” I say, staring into his eyes.
“Fine. Eight years with probation works for me. I’ll see you tomorrow in court.”