5 READING & LISTENING

a D o you enjoy read in g crim e novels? I f so, w h ich on es? I f n o t, why

n o t? H ave you read a crim e sto ry recen tly? W h a t w as it about?
The Case for
the Defense
b 5 41))) R ead and liste n to P a r t 1 o f a sh o rt story. U se the is a short story written
g lo ssary to help you. T h e n an sw er th e q u estio n s w ith a p artn er. by novelist Graham
Greene. The story takes
1 W here did the murder take place? place in England around
2 W h at did the prisoner look like? the time it was written,
3 How many w itnesses saw him ? in the late 1930s, when
4 W hy did M rs. Salm on go to the window? the death penalty for
murder still existed. It
5 W hen did M r. M acD ou gall see Adams?
was abolished in 1965.
6 Did M r. W heeler see A dam s’s face?

The Case for the Defense

by G ra h a m G r een e

part ı
It was the strangest murder trial I have ever attended. They
named it the Peckham murder in the headlines, although
Northwood Street, where M rs. Parker was found murdered, was
not actually in Peckham.
T h e prisoner was a well-built man with bloodshot eyes. An
ugly m an, one you wouldn’t forget in a hurry —and that was
an im portant point. T he prosecution intended to call four
witnesses who hadn’t forgotten him and who had seen him
hurrying away from the little red house in Northwood Street.
At two o ’clock in the morning M rs. Salm on, who lived at
15 Northwood Street, had been unable to sleep. She heard a
door shut and so she went to the window and saw Adams (the
accused) on the steps of the victim ’s house. He had just come
out and he was wearing gloves. Before he moved away, he had
looked up - at her window.
Henry M acD ougall, who had been driving home late, nearly
ran over Adams at the corner o f Northwood Street because he
was walking in the middle o f the road, looking dazed. And old
M r. W heeler, who lived next door to M rs. Parker, at number 12,
and was woken up by a noise and got up and looked out of the
window, just as M rs. Salmon had done, saw Adams’s back and,
as he turned, those bloodshot eyes. In Laurel Avenue he had
been seen by yet another witness.

Glossary 1
trial ."iraialthe pro cess where a judge, and som etim es a jury,
listens to evidence and decides i f som ebody is guilty o r in nocent
Peckham 'pskom/ an area in S ou th London
the prosecution prasa'kyu/n the law yer(s) w ho try to show
that som ebody is guilty o f a crim e

100 10B
 PART 2 c 5 42))) N ow read and liste n to P a r t 2.
“I understand,” the lawyer for the prosecution said, “that the defense T h e n an sw er th e q u estio n s w ith a p artn er.
intends to plead ‘mistaken identity.’ Adams’s wife will tell you that 1 A dam s’s defense was “m istaken identity.”
he was with her at two in the m orning on February 14. However, W h at does th is mean?
after you have heard the witnesses for the prosecution and examined 2 W h ere did Adams say that he was?
carefully the features o f the prisoner, I don’t think you will be 3 W h at did the prosecution lawyer ask
prepared to admit the possibility o f a m istake.” M rs. Salm on?
M rs. Salmon was called again. She was the ideal witness, with her
4 W h at three reasons did she give to explain
slight Scottish accent and her expression of honesty and kindness.
how she had seen A dam s’s face so clearly?
There was no malice in her, and no sense of im portance. She told
them what she had seen and how she had rung the police station. d 5 43))) R ead th e g lo ssary fo r P a r t 3 o f
“And do you see the man here in court?” th e story, and ch eck how th e w ords are
She looked straight at the big man in the dock, who stared hard at p ron ou nced . T h e n liste n to P a r t 3 and
her with his bloodshot eyes, without emotion. an sw er th e q u estio n s w ith a p artn er.
“Yes,” she said, “there he is.”
Glossary 3
“You are quite certain?” swear swei to m ake a public prom ise th a t som ething
She said simply, “I couldn’t be m istaken, sir.” is true
case keis som eth in g that is being officially
“T h an k you, M rs. Salm on.” investigated by the police, e.g., a m urder case
T he lawyer for the defense began to cross-exam ine M rs. Salmon. alibi 'ielabai evidence that proves som ebody was in a
different place at the tim e th at a crim e was com m itted
“Now, M rs. Salmon, you must remember that a m an’s life may
be acquitted i o'kwit id to be declared not guilty o f
depend on your evidence.” a crim e
“I do remember it, sir.”
“Is your eyesight good?”
“I have never had to wear spectacles, sir.”
“You’re fifty-five years old, aren’t you?”
“Fifty-six, sir.”
“And the man you saw was on the other side of the road, is that right?”
“Yes, sir, he was.”
“And it was two o’clock in the m orning. You must have remarkable
eyes, M rs. Salm on?”
“N o, sir. There was m oonlight, and when the man looked up, he
had the lamplight on his face.”
“And you have no doubt whatever that the man you saw is the
prisoner?”
“None whatever, sir. It isn’t a face you can easily forget.”

Glossary 2
the defense di'fcns the lawyer(s) w ho try to show
that som ebody is not guilty o f a crim e
plead (guilty) pi id/ to say in co u rt th a t you are guilty
(o r not guilty) o f a crim e 1 W ho was the m an at the back o f the court?
court kort the place where crim es are judged
dock d a k the place in a co u rt where a person w ho is 2 How was he dressed?
accused sits o r stands 3 W h at did the defense lawyer say to
cross-examine 'kros Ki'zteman/ to question a w itness
carefu lly about answ ers he o r she have already given
M rs. Salm on?
4 W h at was the m an’s alibi?
5 W hy was the m an acquitted?
6 W hy was there a big crowd outside
the court?
7 W hy did the brothers refuse to leave by the
back entrance?
8 W h at happened to one o f the brothers?
9 W hy does the w riter ask the question at the
end, I f y ou were Mrs. Salm on, cou ldyou sleep
at night?

e D o you like th e w ay th e sto ry ends?

W h y (not)?

Online Practice 10B 101