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 LennieSmall. George Milton killed Lennie because he did not want to take care ofhim any longer.George killed a mentally challenged man that wascompletely innocent of any crimes due to the fact that he is not capable ofdoing wrong. You cannot punish a man for being completely incompetent.
Therefore Lennie should not have been punished for the murder of Curley’swife, especially by his best friend George, he of all people should knowthat he is not capable of deliberately trying to kill anyone, and yetGeorge still sentences Lennie to his death.
There were many signs of George wanting to get Lennie off of hisshoulders one of them is shown here in George’s statement when he isspeaking 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 hewants to be free from the troubles Lennie brings. Another example is astatement from George when he says, “…If I was alone I could live soeasy. 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 maybethis is why George shot Lennie right in the back of the head. When Lennieaccidentally kills his puppy and then Curley’s wife, his only thought is tothink about George’s anger because he is frightened of what George will do,which is shown when Lennie says “George gonna give me hell,”… “Georgegonna wish he was alone an’ not have me botherin’ him.”(100) these are thefeelings that Lennie frequently gets from George, George often frightenshim.
After killing the puppy Lennie worries about what he has done and isscared of what George will do and say. Lennie says, “But he’ll know. Georgealways knows. He’ll say, “You done it. Don’t try to put anything over onme… 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 alwaysfrightened of what George will do or say. Do these reactions sound likeones of a competent adult? The answer is No. But after killing Curly’swife, because he was frightened Lennie is treated as an adult. All of thesequotations demonstrate how Lennie is always in fear of what George is goingto say or do. They show just how scared George makes Lennie feel and howthreatening George is.
Even if George Killed Lennie “in everyone’s best interest” Murder isnever justified. Lennie should have been brought to the proper authoritiesor somewhere where he could be safe. Lennie shouldn’t have been killed. Abest friend does not kill another friend. George had the chance to takeLennie, run away, move on and save Lennie’s life. Yes Lennie has donethings in the past, but there is no reason they wouldn’t be able to runaway and at least give Lennie the chance of living, but for not doing soGeorge should receive the consequences. The defense will state that Lenniehas killed others before and each time something has become worse and theywill ask, “What will he do next time?”, but does that mean that George hasthe right to choose the fate of another man by taking his life? No, no manhas any right no matter what the circumstance to decide the fait of anotherman’s life. So I will ask the jury and the court, does a man have the rightto take another man’s life because he feels that the man is a nuisance, andit would be for his own good? Obviously the defendant thought so. Ladiesand Gentlemen of the jury, this was not a mercy killing, this was a cold-blooded murder.
Josh Yeung 4th hour EnglishMarch 24, 2004
