Zhen Stull-Lessane

English 1 Seminar
Swing
March 2, 2020
Justice Stays in the Courtroom

The fact that George had murdered Lennie in cold blood is cut and dry, and deserves to

face justice in a court of law. Lennie, although having murdered a woman, did not deserve this

fate, and George should serve retribution for his actions. George himself did not abide by the law

and deserves to face the consequences of such actions. Lennie was not in his right mind

throughout the events that had transpired, as he was not completely mentally fit. George decided

to bestow punishment on Lennie when he clearly did not have the right to do so, and should

experience the repercussions of this heinous deed.

The evidence of the murder is easily seen with “He pulled the trigger. The crash of the

shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to

the sand, and he lay without quivering” (Steinbeck 106) This evidence shows that, without a

doubt, George had murdered Lennie. The nature of this is clearly seen with “And George raised

the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s

head”(Steinbeck 105). This evidence provides support to the indisputable fact that this murder

was premeditated and committed in cold blood.

Not only had George killed Lennie, but he had several other crimes that he committed.

Lennie had murdered Curley’s wife, and although George discovered the body, he did not report

the body. Instead, he decided to not report the body while searching for Lennie to kill him. This

evidence is obvious with George saying “and I'll come along and make like I never seen her”

(Steinbeck 95.) This shows that he omitted the fact that he found the body, and had malicious

Stull-Lessane
2
intent to kill Lennie. George had also stolen a gun in order to kill Lennie, which is another

charge entirely. This claim is easily supported by “He reached in his side pocket and brought out

Carlson’s Luger” (Steinbeck 105.) This piece of information shows that George had broken the

law in order to meet the ends to kill Lennie.

The jury should also recognize that Lennie was never actually in his right mind, and

never intended to kill Curley’s wife. This is obvious with “Lennie never done it in meanness," he

said. "All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of 'em mean” (Steinbeck 95) This

shows that Lennie, although doing acts that would normally be inexcusable, never had an ounce

of malice whenever he did something wrong. Lennie, although undiagnosed, was likely mentally

retarded. This fact is relevant in that George knew this, and manipulated him into not using his

strength to protect himself in order for George to take out his twisted sense of justice.

In conclusion, the prosecution would like George to serve capital punishment for his

actions of murdering Lennie. George committed this act in cold blood, and did not have the right

to do so. Lennie was also not in his right mind, and would have likely been sent to a mental

asylum instead of being killed. George had also committed several crimes right before his

murdering of Lennie. The prosecution has no further evidence to present.