Chapter 526: Death penalty starts, no upper limit
Chapter 527 Death penalty starts, no upper limit
Reims, a province adjacent to Paris.
Reims District Court.
Judge Fusne listened to the prosecutor's request to sentence the defendant to death by beheading, and his face was full of fatigue.
In the past, he only tried petty thefts and damage to public property. This case involving hundreds of thousands of francs and the defendant being sentenced to death was the first time in his 20-year career as a judge that he was responsible for.
To be honest, if he hadn't studied for two nights before the trial, he wouldn't be sure which law should be applied to this case.
There is no way. There are too many cases about tax farmers recently. The High Court's schedule is full, so even the local court has to accept major cases.
The defendant's lawyer immediately walked up to the podium and loudly refuted:
"Your Excellency the Prosecutor, my client, Mr. Boca, just failed to strictly follow the tax procedures and made mistakes in the tax calculation. It is a completely economic case and should not be sentenced so heavily!
"In fact, I think this case should be tried by the commercial court, not in the ordinary court. "
The prosecutor frowned and almost drove the lawyer off the podium, raised a stack of documents in his hand, and said in a cold voice:
"Lawyer Corentin, you are really good at distorting the facts!
"In 1785, Bocca arbitrarily collected taxes in advance and imposed huge fines on 41 farmers in Meitian, causing 18 of them to go bankrupt. In the process, more than 9 people in these farmers' families died of hunger or disease. If they still lived in their own homes, all this could be avoided!
"In addition, Bocca forged government tax documents in 1786 and collected 300 francs of "industrial legacy tax" from Mr. Blanche and others, causing Blanche's workshop to go bankrupt and Blanche to commit suicide...
"In the same year, Bocca ordered his men to beat Mr. Neger because of tax arrears. Neger died 5 days later..."
Lawyer Corentin said in a shrill voice:
"Objection! Mr. Inspector, first of all, people in Meitian die of starvation and disease every year. Even if there was no fine, the 9 people you mentioned would probably not survive the year.
"As for Blanche, it's even more nonsense. How can you be sure that he didn't commit suicide because of a quarrel with others or just mental problems?
"And the situation in Neijeh is also full of doubts..."
He talked nonstop for half an hour, mainly changing the concept and making nonsense. Anyway, it happened a few years ago and many evidences have disappeared.
He has many ways to delay the trial of the case for a long time. If it can be delayed until the storm of the tax farmer incident has passed, perhaps a light sentence can be given. He can even try to get him acquitted by bribing the judge.
He received 7,000 francs in lawyer fees from the Boca family, so he naturally has to do his best to help him get rid of the crime.
The prosecutor was so angry at the lawyer's words that his face turned blue, but he was troubled by the short preparation time for this case - he had to be responsible for 4 cases about tax farmers recently - he had no time to collect detailed evidence. At present, the evidence and materials in his hands are basically handed to him by the tax bureau.
He argued for a while, and the lawyer named Corentin suddenly changed the subject:
"By the way, Mr. Prosecutor, the cases you mentioned today should be sued by the parties involved or their families alone. I think it is unreasonable for you to file a public prosecution, based on..."
These lawyers can always find new angles to play with the law.
"The families of those involved can't afford the cost of the lawsuit, and they don't even know how to sue!" The prosecutor said angrily, "Otherwise Boca would have been in jail!"
"Your Honor, the prosecutor is threatening my client..."
Afterwards, the prosecution and the defense argued for more than two hours, and Judge Fusner knocked the gavel helplessly and announced a recess.
He had a hunch that with the experience of this lawyer, this lawsuit could last at least half a year.
He returned to the lounge and was about to have a cup of coffee when a court employee knocked on the door with a well-dressed middle-aged man with a silky and shiny wig, who looked very prestigious.
The middle-aged man motioned the staff beside him to leave, and then said to the somewhat nervous Fusne:
"Nice to meet you, Judge Fusne. I am Cyprian, the special representative of the Royal Supreme Court, and I need to know some information about the case from you..."
An hour later, the Boca case was reopened.
Lawyer Corentin continued to talk about this and that, but unexpectedly, he had just said a few words this time when he heard the judge knocking the gavel hard and interrupted him:
"Defense lawyer, please don't say anything that is irrelevant to the case."
"Yes, your honor."
Corentin changed his angle to deal with the prosecutor, but was soon stopped by the judge:
"Defense lawyer, your speculation cannot be used as evidence in court. If you do this again, I will warn you."
The prosecutor was overjoyed and began to take the initiative.
With the obvious assistance of the judge, he quickly argued that Corentin was sweating profusely and retreated step by step.
At 4 p.m., Judge Fusne symbolically sought the opinions of several court assistants, slammed the gavel, and said loudly:
"This court formally declares that Pocar has illegally levied taxes, murdered, defrauded, and forged official documents...
"The charges are established, and this court, in accordance with the Edict of Dorne and the Edict of Cirnans...
"Sentences Jacques-Etoile de Pocar of Touraine to be beheaded."
The people of Corentin were dumbfounded. How could this be sentenced?
Although I was at a disadvantage during the court defense, there were still many points in the case that could be used to argue, and the judge actually made the decision in less than a day!
He hurriedly whispered to comfort the ashen-faced Boka:
"Don't worry, there are many points that can be used to appeal this case. After all, a lot of evidence is gone. I will submit an application to the Court of Appeal tomorrow."
Judge Forsne took a long breath. Just now, the big shot from the Supreme Court came to remind him that in all recent cases involving tax collectors, as long as the facts of the case are clarified, there is no need to pay too much attention to the details of the evidence and the verdict will be pronounced as soon as possible.
At this rate, the thick stack of tax collector cases in his hand will probably be completed in more than half a month.
He originally planned to spend half a year handling these cases.
At the door of the court, when a bailiff heard the verdict, he immediately slipped out excitedly regardless of the violation of the regulations, and shouted anxiously to the people who were waiting outside, waiting for the result:
"Beheading! It's beheading!"
The crowd suddenly burst into cheers like waves:
"Great, that damn Boca is finally going to hell!"
"Long live Judge Fursney!"
"Thank God, the evildoers are finally punished!"
It can be said that there is almost no one in Reims who does not hate the tax collectors. Even if your family is not ruined by tax collectors, it is common for you to be charged a few sous more in taxes, or to be beaten with a stick by tax collectors when calling for payment.
Now, how could they not rejoice when they learned that the tax collector was sentenced to death?
Lawyer Corentin waited until dusk before carefully walking out of the Reims District Court - he knew very well how bad the reputation of tax collectors was.
However, as soon as he walked out of the door, something stuck on his face.
He subconsciously reached out to touch it, and his hand suddenly felt sticky. At the same time, a foul smell filled his nose, causing him to vomit violently.
More than a dozen people poured out around him, apparently waiting for him, cursing and throwing more "unidentified objects" at him.
It wasn't until Corentin's servants helped him get into the carriage that the men chased him for two more streets before leaving.
Leonor, as well as the families of Blanche and Neige who were related to the case, only received the news the next day - they had no time to come to the local court to wait for the outcome of the trial, and they were all weighed down by the heavy life. No rest either. And the culprit who caused all this will soon pay for his crimes.
…
To Corentin's great surprise, the efficiency of the French judicial system was suddenly frightening.
He appealed for Polkadot, but it was rejected by the appeals court in just one day on the grounds that the evidence was clear and the verdict was reasonable.
He had no choice but to appeal to the Supreme Court of Reims again, and this time he waited for two days. Then the court announced that it had upheld the original verdict and made a final ruling, ending his idea of continuing to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Immediately afterwards, the execution date was set - ten days later.
Naturally, he didn't know that all this was the result of the Crown Prince asking the Supreme Court to supervise the courts in various places. Even when several senior officials of the Supreme Court suggested that he should be cautious about this matter, Joseph did not hesitate to replace the chief judge assistant of the Supreme Court, the second-in-command.
Joseph did not want to interfere with the judiciary. Although intervention in a royal society would be interference, it is just that the facts of these tax collectors' cases are actually very clear. There are basically no unjust cases when they are hanged, so there is no need to waste time and money on this. Judicial resources.
Moreover, these tax collectors are all wealthy. The longer the lawsuit drags on, the more they can think of various ways to exonerate themselves.
Just when Corentin repeatedly reviewed the trial process and began to doubt his professional abilities, he heard good news that restored his confidence——
Recently, all cases related to tax collectors have been tried very quickly, and his case is even considered slow. Some cases are even decided in the morning, and the High Court announces the final verdict in the afternoon.
Moreover, the death penalty rate in these cases is as high as 70%!
Those who were not sentenced to death were basically sentenced to decades of imprisonment, and only a few were sentenced to exile or short-term imprisonment.
Not a single case of innocence!
The tax bureau always arrests people with a clear target in mind, and tax collectors who have truly committed no evil deeds will not go to court.
In the early morning, Corentin had breakfast and came out for a walk from a hotel in the Saint-Germain district of Paris - he didn't dare to live in Reims recently because he was really afraid that the angry people would kill him sooner or later. Although he made 7,000 francs, if he could go back to a few days ago, he would never dare to take on Polkadot's case again.
"Read the newspaper, read the newspaper!" the newsboy yelled from across the street, ""News and Pictures", the thugs who violently attacked the tax collector conducted a joint trial, and you can see the verdict for 1 sou and 5 dennies!"
Corentin raised his hand to summon the newsboy and bought a newspaper. When he opened it, he immediately saw the news - a total of 571 thugs who participated in attacking the tax officials or violently obstructed the tax officials from arresting the suspects were all sentenced to death! The vast majority of them are former tax collectors, that is, subordinates supported by tax collectors.
At the same time, the news also mentioned that because there were a small number of nobles among the 571 people, in order to facilitate the unified trial results, the Paris Supreme Court sentenced them all to beheading. And the appeal was dismissed that same day.
Like Poca, these 500 people will be executed ten days later.
…
Southern suburbs of Paris.
In Fuld's villa, more than a dozen tax collectors and tycoons all bowed their heads sadly and remained silent.
Naturally, they had already learned that a large number of tax collectors and their men were caught and quickly sentenced to death.
This shows that they have failed to take the queen's route through the Count of Artois and the Countess of Debennac, and the government has begun to deal with them.
After a long while, a fat tax collector said: "
I didn't expect Brian to be so ruthless this time. Is he going to force us to death completely? "
Fuld rolled his eyes at him and scolded:
"This is simply not something Brian can do. The entire judicial system has been mobilized!"
HP nodded:
"It seems that it should be the royal family's intention."
Bolore gritted his teeth and said:
"I have long said that at that time, a sum of money should be allocated to support the High Court to fight against the royal family! But you stingy people don't agree."
"What's the use of talking about this now?" Baron Morel said, "The people from the tax bureau are staring at me all day long. If this continues, the fire will burn us sooner or later!"
Since these tax-farmer giants usually stay behind the scenes, the tax-farming business is left to agents, and even tax-farming negotiations involve a nobleman. In addition, they paid a large amount of hush money, so so far, the tax bureau has no concrete evidence to arrest them.
However, tax farming involves hundreds of millions of francs, and the flow of debts cannot be completely hidden. Moreover, they will summon lower-level tax farmers from time to time to issue instructions, so as long as the investigation continues, the tax bureau will definitely find them. .
Hope signaled everyone to be quiet and looked very calm and said:
"Don't worry, everyone. Our arrangements in the caravan and Marseille Port have been completed, and we will send people to negotiate with the royal family later.
"The royal family has arrested so many people this time and has gained enough benefits. They should just accept it as soon as possible. Otherwise, once there is a problem with trade and Mediterranean ports, there will soon be a lot of riots in France."
Morel curled his lips and whispered:
"I hope your method works. But I have decided to give up the funds in France and go to England to hide for a while."
Goldmead and several other tax collectors immediately expressed the same intention.
…
French central-eastern province, Champagne.
Gérald Bonnet handed a contract to the owner of Manor Marie and said with a smile:
“You won’t regret your decision today.
"In addition to giving you the most favorable purchase price, we will also provide you with a property insurance - as long as the purchase amount exceeds 5,000 francs.
"In the future, if there is an accident with the goods, such as the wine becoming sour before it is sold, the insurance company will compensate you without having to return the goods to you."
Bona is the second person in charge of the new caravan established by the French Trade Federation in the Champagne region.
He was just a small businessman before. Although his business was not big, decades of hard work made him very skilled in business skills.
When he saw that the Trade Federation offered an annual salary of 1,500 francs to recruit caravan management, he signed up without hesitation. His family's small business only made about 1,000 francs a year, and he still had to take risks.
