0&C+arguments

Closing Argument:

Good Evening, Your Honor. .

A cemetery is a place where the dead rest peacefully. Pat and Jesse respect their ancestors and care for them. They had no bad intentions when they went to the cemetery in the afternoon. They had no motives to want to hurt the graves of their ancestors and would have no sensible reason for purposfully and willingly hurting any monuments, graves, markers, etc. It just makes sense that any damage done wasn't willingly or knowingly done because it would just be immoral to want to hurt the graves of the people you have derrived from. It is no coincidence that Jesse and Pat's stories match up perfectly while Shelby's story fits exactly with what the police and cemetery are looking for, while STILL keeping herself completely innocent. Shelby has every motive to lie. Her whole future is resting on her scholarship and she is known for being quite the kiss-up. She wouldn't want to jeapordize her scholarship even if she meant losing a few friends and lying.

Vandalism of a Cemetery, CLASS 3 FELONY states that the accused would of had to "willfully and knowingly defaced, vandalized and/or injured 5 to 10 gravestones and other memorials, momuments and markers within Mortis County Cememtery." To be guilty of Vandalism of a Cemetery, CLASS 4 FELONY the accused would of had to "knowingly commited the offense of vandalism when they willfully and knowingly defaced, vandalized, and/or injured gravestones and other memories, monuments, markers inside Mortis County Cemetery. To be guilty of this felony the accused would of had to damage 1 to 4 gravestones. Lastly, CRIMINAL DEFACEMENT OF PROPERTY CLASS 4 FELONY would mean the accused would of had to "knowingly deface property when they knowingly damaged the property of another without consent by defacing otherwise damaing property within the Mortis County Cemetery." The damages would have to exceed $300. Pat Dowling and Jesse Dubious are completely guilty of EVERY SINGLE ONE of the crimes I just named. This is because any damage that was done when they went to the cemetery that afternoon had either previously ocurred or was done accidently. The areas of damage is one of the OLDEST in the cemetery and some of the markers even date back to 1865. Metal pinning on the graves in the cemetery rust causing bending and breaking. The weight will cause the stone to naturally topple. These monuments have also been out in the elements for a long time. It is very possible that the damage done in the cemetery could have been naturally done. The fact that it was wet and rainy that day could have also had bad affects naturally to these old monuments. Any damage done that Jesse and Pat caused was purely accidental. They did nothing WILLINGLY. It was extremely dark, wet, and muddy. It was inevitable that they would slip and slide into some of the monuments. Any mud that got on the monuments defenitley isn't defacement. Mud is natural and it is a fact that mud has probably gotten on every single one of those monuments in the cemetery before. Only now, is mud on a monument a "big deal." To be found guilty of any of the previously mentioned crimes you would of had to have done it willingly. Pat and Jesse didn't willingly slip and fall.

If a person knowingly enters the premises of a public or private cemetery without authorization and did so during the hours that the cemetery was posted as closed to the public then they would be guilty of Criminal Trespass to a Cemetery, Class A Misdemeanor. Jesse and Pat were defenitley not at the cemetery during the after hours. Both Pat and Jesse said they were their during the daytime and that they were home before dark. Lee Dubois knows the kids were down in his basement all night. They ordered pizza and were having fun. Lee didn't even go to bed until 12 midnight which is the time when Tracy Ferris, cemetery watchperson, said that the three vandals entered the cemetery. Tracy Ferris admits that it was dark that night and she couldn't EVEN TELL if the people in the cemetery were boys or girls. If she can't even tell if they were boys or girls how can we automatically say Tracy saw Pat and Jesse? Lee heard the kids in the basement up until 12 which is when he went to bed. He is an extremely, extremely light sleeper and there is no possible way the kids could have left the basement. He is such a light sleeper that in fact a tiny noise awoke him. He went downstairs in the middle of the night and saw all the kids asleep on the floor. They were in the middle of deep sleeps and defenitley weren't faking. Although, hypothetically, if somebody was to break into the cemetery through the walk-in gate at night it is extremely possible that they wouldn't know that the cemetery was closed. This is because the cemetery times are posted at all OFFICIAL entrances as are the security cameras. It was stated that a security camera was NOT at the walk-in gate which shows that the walk-in gate isn't an official entrance. If you were to break in throught the walk-in gate at night, there is no way you would know that the cemetery was closed.

In conclusion, Pat and Jesse were not even in the cemetery the night of the vandalism.Everybody makes mistakes,everybody has those days. They didn't do anything willingly and Shelby Collum's story has a lot of holes and room for speculation. That alone, is enough evidence for us to say that without any reasonable doubt Pat and Jesse are completely guilty and are actually truthful children.