Nursery Rhyme News
TRIAL OF THE CENTURY- THE 3 BLIND MICE VS. THE FARMERS WIFE
History Behind The Trial
As many of you remember, the infamous alleged mutilator known as The Farmer's Wife was placed under arrest several months ago for chopping off the tails of the Three Blind Mice. She was read her rights - right to remain silent, right to an attorney and to have an attorney present, and to stop answering questions - and promptly after taken to jail. She was then taken to a court hearing where her bail was set at $100,000. Then, a grand jury did not decide if she was guilty or innocent, but decided that there was enough probably cause to have an indictment (charge) against her of felony assault with a deadly weapon. Of course, had this been a misdemeanor, she would not have been indicted, perhaps simply fined. Anyhow, she then appeared for an arraignment to answer questions about her indictment. She pleaded not guilty to the charges. Though she could have gone with plea bargaining (pleading guilty to get a lesser sentence), she did not and instead requested a trial by jury.
THE TRIAL
Now, the time for the trial has come. The defendant, Mrs. The Farmer's Wife has a petit jury of 12 citizens that will decide if she is innocent or guilty. Seeing as she could not afford an attorney (the farm's crops haven't been selling so well lately), a public defender has been assigned to her. The prosecution got off to a rocky start when their first witness, another area farmer who had been present to see the mice's tails be cut off, was not in court to testify. Perhaps he didn't get his subpoena calling him to court in the mail? However, their next witnesses had no trouble showing up see as they were the main witnesses - the Three Blind Mice themselves. They told a tragic tail where they were seemingly completely innocent and the Farmer's Wife was a completely guilty. Things were beginning to look grim for the Farmer's Wife until her attorney cross examined them and found out that they were the ones chasing the Farmer's Wife in the first place, causing her to panic and cut off their tails. The judge reminded them that falsifying their story in anyway to appear more innocent could result with them being charged with perjury. They were then removed from the stand.
The Final Shocking Moments
After a few more witnesses were called (most notably Mr. Farmer himself, testifying on behalf of wife), the jury was sent to deliberate. The trial had so many dramatic twists, no one was entirely sure if The Farmer's Wife would be found guilty and convicted, or found not guilty and acquitted. When several tense hours of waiting were up, the jury gave their verdict: guilty of felony assault with a deadly weapon. It seemed like all hope was lost for The Farmer's Wife until the court's DNA expert rushed in and and declared that the chopped off tails of the Three Blind Mice that were submitted as evidence by the prosecution were apparently NOT the tails of the Three Blind Mice, but the tails of some other poor creatures entirely unrelated to the case. Seeing as a grave mistake in handling of evidence was made, it appears that The Farmer's Wife will not be convicted yet and has a chance to appeal to a higher level of court to hear her case again.