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Jake Beck

Ms. Moser

Period 2

24 April 2017

Mock Trial-Audience Member

In the classic book To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a trial to decide the fate of a mans

life. Similarly, our class participated in a similar trial about the fate of a man who is charged with

murder. The verdict of the trial in the book was guilty, and the verdict in our mock trial was not

guilty, that the killing was self-defense. The jurys verdict is valid because of the abuse from his

father which caused battered child syndrome. The verdict is also true because Dale Reynolds, the

defendant, didnt prepare at all for the killing at all, he only did things to protect himself and

family. Based on all of this, one can clearly determine that the jurys verdict is perfectly valid.

The primary reason that Dale Reynolds was convicted not guilty was because he had the

condition known as Battered Child Syndrome, which came from years of anger and abuse

from his step-father. This condition caused Dales perception to be altered in some ways, making

him believe that some things were different than they appeared. Dr. Pat Carrol, an expert on

Battered Child Syndrome, testified about Dale having this condition. She specifically stated that,

This condition causes children to strike back, even if they arent in reasonable danger. This

expert testimony shows evidence of the effects of the syndrome, and the things that it can make

children do. According to Dr. Carrol, there was no doubt that Dale Reynolds had this condition.
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This is why he was convicted in self-defense. This condition altered his view so that he believed

that his step-father was going to kill him right then and there. In fact, in Dales testimony, he

stated that his step-father said he was going to kill him the night before the killing. All of these

factors clearly show that Dale shot his father in self-defense, and that the jurys verdict is

justified.

The next reason why Dale isnt guilty is because he didnt prepare at all for the murder.

The only reason that he took the guns from the cabinet is because he was scared that his

step-father was going to kill him or beat his mom. He stated specifically that He [Dales

Step-father] said that he was going to kill me. Alongside this, he shot his step-father with a

small-caliber pistol instead of the shotgun. The logical thing to do if it was premeditated would

be to use a large shotgun. However, it wasnt planned at all, which is why he used the pistol.

According to the court testimonies, he didnt have time to do anything else, he just grabbed a gun

and fired because he truly believed that his life was in danger. Another thing that proves it was

self-defense was that he turned himself in directly after. If it was planned out, he would have

fled directly afterward to avoid getting caught. Instead, because it was self-defense, he realized

what he had done and turned himself in. These all point to the same thing; that Dale Reynolds

acted in self-defense.

Some may argue that it was murder in the 1st degree because of a few things. First of all,

because Dale wasnt actually being threatened when he shot his step-dad. Next, because he shot

him twice instead of once. Finally, because he was drunk at the time. To counter these, theres
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some evidence that specifically refutes them. The main was the expert testimony of Dr. Pat

Carrol. She stated many times after observing Dale that his condition made him fear for his life

even when it might not have been. That is why he shot his step-dad, because he truly believed

that he was going to be killed from his condition. The next item is that Dale shot him twice

instead of once. This comes from the fact that in many struggles or dangerous situations, people

fire twice because they dont know what to do. In Dales case, the same thing happened. He

wasnt sure what to do, so he panicked and fired twice. Last of all, he was slightly intoxicated at

the time, which the prosecution may have argued was to make him not as concerned about

killing someone. The truth is that actually, he only had a small amount of alcohol and already

had it before in his life, so it had little effect on him. When one considers all of this information,

they can conclude that Dale is not guilty.

Ultimately, there are lots of parts of this trial and many things to take into consideration.

However, as it can be seen in the evidence, reason, and logic in the above arguments, the jurys

verdict is true and Dale Reynolds is not guilty. Overall, this can be found in two main reasons.

The first is that Dale has the condition known as Battered Child Syndrome, which altered his

view and made him perceive things differently. The second is that Dale didnt do anything to

plan out the murder, he only acted in self-defense and took actions to keep him and his family

safe. Even with conflicting views and testimonies, the solid evidence points directly to one thing;

that Dale Reynolds is not guilty.

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