Lawyer's character

"This is what happened. Do you have anything to ask?" Song Hui looked at everyone. His trainee lawyer has written the main information of the case on the whiteboard for everyone to see.

"Lawyer Song, you mean that the defendant Gong Da ignited the natural gas in an attempt to commit suicide. As a result, the defendant standing at the center of the explosion did not die, but the people in the corridor outside the house were killed. Is that true?" Cao Yongzheng asked curiously.

"Yes, that's what it means. It's true." Song Hui nodded.

"Why is this happening? Is there a mistake?" Cao Yongzheng found this a bit strange.

Not only him, but other people in the room also found it incredible. From a normal person's perspective, this was unscientific. Why were the people standing at the center of the explosion alive, but the people outside the door were killed?

"Also, why did it blow through the floor of the bedroom? Shouldn't it blow through the floor of the kitchen? After all, the center of the explosion was in the kitchen, not in the bedroom. Is there something hidden in it?" Yun Qiao asked.

"Yes, Lawyer Song, this is incredible. Has anyone raised this issue during the trial?" Li Mingbak also asked. He thought this was a point where something might be dug out.

“When the trial was held on this issue, the prosecutor invited experts to appear in court to explain.

According to expert explanations, natural gas explosions do have the characteristic that damage is more serious at locations farther away from the explosion point. The explosion is often not violent at the fire point, and the shock wave can form a more violent explosion at a farther distance through conduction. It is said that this phenomenon exists in a large number of actual cases, but the specific principle of this phenomenon has yet to be studied, and experts do not understand it.

According to experts, although the explosion occurred in the kitchen, it caused more serious damage in the bedroom and outdoors, which was consistent with the characteristics of a natural gas explosion.

Based on the evidence on record and relevant arguments, it can be determined that the two explosions that occurred in Room 301 and Room 201 were caused by natural gas released by the defendant Gong Da.

I checked online, but in judicial practice, there are not many cases of crimes caused by intentional release of natural gas causing explosions, so there is not much experience to draw from. "Song Hui explained.

"This issue is indeed too professional and beyond ordinary people's cognition. So we can only listen to the experts. After all, this type of case is not common." After Meng Guangda finished speaking, he turned to look at Fang Yi: "Lawyer Fang, what do you think?"

"Well, I think we don't have to worry about this issue. After all, we are not experts in natural gas. Do you have any other questions?" Fang Yi said.

"This is what I think. It usually takes a certain amount of time from the release of natural gas to the damage to other people's personal property, including the long-term release of natural gas, the indoor natural gas reaching a certain concentration, the natural gas being ignited, the explosion during the combustion process, and the explosion causing personal injury. property losses and a series of other aspects.

Natural gas is a flammable and explosive gas used daily, and the time of explosion is when every household is preparing to cook. There may be multiple users using natural gas before the explosion.

Before determining that the natural gas that caused the first and second explosions came from natural gas intentionally released by the defendant, the possibility that other users leaked natural gas and caused the explosion should be ruled out. "A female lawyer named Ji Hongying who came over with Lee Myung-bak suddenly said.

Attorney Ji Hongying is one of the three senior lawyers mentioned by Lee Myung-bak. She has been practicing law for five or six years. She usually has a very low sense of presence and is relatively quiet. Her speech today caught Fang Yi's attention. He didn't expect Ji Hongying to think so carefully.

"I think what Lawyer Ji said makes sense. We can use the elimination method to see if we can eliminate all reasonable doubts. Although the court has already made a ruling, but if we go over it again, we might be able to find some doubts that were missed. ." Fang Yi affirmed Ji Hongying's speech. New lawyers who join the team need encouragement. No matter what they say is right or wrong, just putting forward opinions is the first step to integrate into the team. It is better than sitting still and saying nothing.

“I would like to share my thoughts on whether the small-scale explosion that occurred upstairs and the large-scale explosion in the defendant’s home were both caused by natural gas leaking from the defendant’s home. This is very important when it comes to issues of conviction and sentencing.

Is it possible that at the same time, there may be natural gas leaks in the residents upstairs or other residents? In addition, may other flammable and explosive substances explode and cause natural gas to burn. "Du Yong leaned on the sofa and touched his chin and said. After speaking, he looked at Song Hui.

Only lawyers participating in the trial have the right to speak on this kind of issue, because others have limited knowledge of the case and are not familiar with it at all.

"This possibility is unlikely. The evidence on record is sufficient to determine that both explosions were caused by natural gas leaking from defendant Gongda's home. His behavior of cutting the natural gas hose with a knife to release natural gas is causally related to the two explosions. The main evidence includes:

1. The evidence in the case shows that the first explosion that occurred in Room 301 was caused by natural gas released from Room 201 where the defendant Gong Da lived. Evidence includes:

1. The defendant Gong Da’s confession was that he cut the natural gas hose at home around 9:40 that day, and by about 11 o’clock, a large amount of natural gas leaked when 301 exploded upstairs.

According to the appraisal agency, there are large gaps between the gas pipes, water pipes and other pipes of the two-story building and the floor. The natural gas released in Room 201 can spread through the gaps to the kitchen of Room 301.

2. The testimony of the resident in Room 301 confirmed that the natural gas used in the home was normal. He was cooking when the explosion occurred. The explosion occurred one or two minutes after the ignition. No other abnormalities were found.

The technical personnel of the public security organ inspected the kitchen of Room 301 during the on-site investigation and found that the natural gas related equipment was normal.

Based on these two reasons, the possibility of natural gas leakage in the kitchen of Room 301 can be ruled out. The natural gas that permeated the kitchen of Room 301 and caused the explosion can only come from Room 201 downstairs.

The phenomenon that the kitchen stove in Room 301 exploded one or two minutes after it was ignited is also consistent with the characteristics of natural gas combustion and explosion. According to experts, the natural gas concentration around the gas stove was not high after ignition, so no explosion occurred. As the gas leaked downstairs penetrated, the natural gas concentration in the air near the flame reached a critical point and an explosion occurred.

2. The second explosion occurred in Room 201 and was caused by the defendant Gong Da turning on the light and igniting the leaking natural gas in the kitchen. Main evidence:

1. On-site inspection and inspection records confirmed that the natural gas hose in the kitchen of Room 201 was cut off and the fracture was fresh. The explanatory material issued by the gas company confirmed that the gas usage of the household increased sharply in the month of the incident, indicating that the natural gas hose of the household was artificially damaged. Cut off, causing a massive leak of natural gas. The above situation can be mutually corroborated with Gong Da's confession of cutting the natural gas hose with a knife in order to commit suicide.

2. The security door and door lock of Room 201 were bent from the inside out, and the upper and lower floors of the bedroom were blown through. The appraisal also confirmed that the residual components of natural gas explosion combustion were detected on the mirror fragments extracted from the room, indicating that something had happened in this room. A violent natural gas explosion caused a strong shock wave that spread to the surrounding area.

The security door of Room 202, where the deceased victim Deng Chunji lived, was bent from the outside in. There were many signs of displacement and damage to items caused by gas shock waves in the room, but there were no signs of burning, indicating that Room 202 was damaged by the explosion shock wave from outside and no explosion occurred inside. .

3. The physical and chemical inspection report confirmed that the same substance as the orange-yellow attachment left in the kitchen was detected from Gong Da’s body. The identification opinion confirmed that the ignition source of the explosion was the spark from the light switch in the kitchen. The above plot is consistent with Gong Da’s confession that the explosion started after entering the kitchen. The plots of the explosion when the lights were on confirmed each other.

To sum up, it can basically be ruled out that there is a natural gas leakage in the upstairs residents or other residents as mentioned by Lawyer Du, as well as the possibility of natural gas burning and explosion caused by the explosion of other flammable and explosive substances. "Lawyer Song said.

After hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought. The main reason was that no one had ever been exposed to this kind of case and didn't know where to start. It was like a tiger catching a hedgehog and wanting to have a good meal, but couldn't find a place to bite it.

"Generally, a natural gas explosion must reach a certain concentration, which is what experts call the critical point. It takes about two hours from the release of natural gas to the explosion. Can this time allow the indoor natural gas to reach the explosive concentration and produce Such destructive power?" Fang Yi picked up the teacup, looked at the heat rising in the cup, and suddenly turned to look at Song Hui.

“The experts who appeared in court at the time also explained this issue.

According to experts, an explosion will occur when the natural gas content in the air reaches a certain proportion (usually 5%-15%). However, the total amount of natural gas released after the defendant cut the hose cannot be accurately calculated now.

According to experience, two or three hours after natural gas is released, it is sufficient to reach the concentration required for an explosion. The building area of ​​Room 201 is 40 square meters (the actual usage area is unknown). Based on the usual floor height of this type of house of 2.8 meters, considering that indoor facilities, furniture, supplies, etc. still occupy a certain volume, the actual volume that can accommodate gas is significantly less than 90 cubic meters. rice.

The gas meter in the room showed a maximum release volume of 4 cubic meters per hour. According to Gongda, the interval between cutting the hose and the second explosion was about two hours, and about 8 cubic meters of natural gas could be released.

Considering that it was winter at that time, the windows were closed, and the indoor sealing was good. In theory, if there was no leakage of natural gas, the indoor concentration would be 8.9% (the total indoor volume is calculated as 90 cubic meters).

To take a step back, even if some natural gas leaks to the upper floor, considering that the actual volume of the gas contained in the room is less than 90 cubic meters, and the natural gas concentration in the kitchen may be relatively high, it is determined that the natural gas concentration when the explosion occurred in the room, at least the local concentration, was There is no obvious contradiction between the explosive critical point and scientific common sense.

In other words, without the involvement of other flammable and explosive substances, the natural gas in the room is enough to ignite and explode when encountering an electric spark.

Although the above-mentioned experts' calculations are not accurate, in the absence of contrary evidence, they are still very helpful in explaining the cause of the explosion, and their credibility is relatively high.

In addition, the on-site investigation and relevant technical appraisal submitted by the procuratorate showed that no traces of explosions of other flammable and explosive substances other than natural gas were found at the site. "Song Hui said.

After listening to Song Hui's words, everyone stopped chanting. This case must have been caused by the combustion of natural gas, which caused an explosion, resulting in one death, several minor injuries, and a large amount of property damage.

"The sentence in this case is the death penalty, and it has been submitted to the Supreme Court for approval." Seeing that everyone stopped talking, Song Hui felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. It seems the case is dead.

"Judging from the facts of the case just discussed, the defendant in this case is indeed guilty of endangering public safety by dangerous means, and there is no problem in conviction. The key now is sentencing.

I personally think there is a certain difference between this case and the kind of behavior that uses dangerous methods to endanger public safety for the sake of BF society.

In view of the fact that the defendant committed a crime for the purpose of committing suicide, which is subjectively indirect and intentional, and the social harm is less than other crimes that endanger public safety in dangerous ways, I think the court's application of the death penalty to the defendant is too harsh, and it may be more appropriate to apply a suspended death penalty. . "Fang Yi said after thinking for a moment.

"Well, I agree with lawyer Fang's opinion. For now, don't consider the issue of conviction. The main issue is sentencing and whether there is a chance." Du Yong strongly agreed with Fang Yi's opinion.

"Lawyer Song, I also think that Lawyer Fang's suggestion is feasible. At present, there is no better defense plan. I just checked on the Internet with my mobile phone. This case has also been reported on the Internet. There are many people paying attention to it. It is impossible to give a light sentence. , but the death penalty is executed immediately and the sentence is too harsh, so a reprieve may be preferable.

Of course, these are all our thoughts. When such a big thing happens, the Provincial High Court must consider not only the legal effects, but also the social effects. The final decision of the Supreme Court depends on the luck of the defendant. "Meng Guangda said.

The lawyers in the room were all insiders, so they naturally understood what Meng Guangda meant. The judges of the Supreme Court are highly professional, and their views on cases are difficult to be influenced by the opinions of lawyers. So no matter what the lawyer thinks or says, in the end it still depends on how the judge views the case.

"Well, we can only defend from this aspect." Song Hui nodded, having a direction is better than nothing.

Fang Yi looked at Song Hui and sighed in his heart: Lao Song's luck is really invincible. He can be found in such a difficult case. I don't know when Lao Song will be able to turn around. But then again, blessings are caused by misfortunes, and misfortunes are caused by blessings. Maybe bad things are also good things, who can say for sure.

…

After the regular meeting ended, everyone left the office one after another.

Li Mingbo stopped Du Yong.

"Lawyer Du, in the case I told you about Song Rongming's crime of seeking an opportunity to cause trouble, the collegial bench pronounced the verdict in court, and the verdict will be issued in a few days." Li Mingbo said.

"Is this the case where a high school student robbed a junior high school student of his money? How did the court determine it?" Du Yong was about to lift his butt and leave, then sat back on the sofa.

"The court finally found that the defendant Song Rongming was not guilty of robbery but guilty of provoking quarrels and provoking trouble, and sentenced him to one year in prison." Li Mingbo looked at Du Yong and said.