The People of Thebes vs.

Oedipu s Rex |1

Nestle Mitchell Chiamaka Ohanu Arya Kishor Quentin Moore Kazeem Kareem Markel Moore Mrs. Hope AP Literature September 9, 2013 The People vs. Oedipus Rex Bailiff All rise (Members of the trial stand as Judge enters) Judge Good afternoon. Calling the case of the people of Thebes versus Oedipus Rex Prosecutor Ready for the people, your honor Public Defender Ready for the defense, your honor Judge Will the jury please stand and raise your hand (Waits for everyone to stand) Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court, and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court, so help you God? Please say I do. (Waits for jurors to say I do) Judge You may be seated

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Prosecutor Your honor, ladies and gentleman of the jury. The defendant has been charged with the crime of murder for killing his father and incest of marrying his mother. The evidence I present will prove to you that the defendant is guilty as charged. Public Defender Your honor, ladies and gentleman of the jury. Under the law my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. During this trial you will hear no real evidence against my client. You will come to know the truth. Oedipus was not guilty and liable for the actions presented in this case Judge The prosecution may call their first witness Prosecutor The people call Jocasta to the stand (Jocasta enters and takes a seat at the witness stand) Bailiff Please stand and raise your hand. Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Jocasta I promise Bailiff You may be seated (Prosecutor paces around the courtroom) Prosecutor So Jocasta, how did you and Oedipus meet? Jocasta When he was named king of Thebes, maam Prosecutor And how many kids did you have together?

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Jocasta 3 Prosecutor Any others outside of the marriage? Jocasta Yes. One Prosecutor What happened to said child? Jocasta I had to give him away due to a sad fate Prosecutor And how did you get rid of him again? Jocasta I gave him away to my messenger and ordered him to kill the child Prosecutor Did you have any doubts that the messenger would not fulfill his duty? Jocasta Of course not! The messenger was a loyal servant Prosecutor Did Oedipus know about this child? Jocasta No he did not Prosecutor Did you guys ever discuss each others past with one another? Jocasta No we did not Prosecutor Did you ever care to ask why his feet were the way they are? Jocasta No maam Prosecutor And how could you have never realized Oedipus swollen foot after so many years of marriage? Jocasta Well I had some suspicion but never cared enough to ask.

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Prosecutor Your Honor, I have a few pieces of evidence that Id like to bring forth in court. Judge You may proceed (Prosecutor brings two pictures and places them onto the witness stand) Prosecutor Did you ever notice any resemblance between Laius and Oedipus? Jocasta No, I never imagined that to be him. Prosecutor Oh really? Because I see a clear resemblance between the two and Im sure the jury would agree Public Defender I object! Judge Overruled Prosecutor Thank you, I have no further questions. (Takes a seat down at her table) Judge Does the defense have any questions? Public Defender- Yes your honor. Judge you may as pleased
Public Defender: Is it true that in your last marriage you were forced to kill your child because of a prophecy? Jocasta: Yes that is correct. Public Defender: And was this act fully completed?

The People of Thebes vs. Oedipu s Rex |5 Jocasta: Yes. Public Defender: How can you be so sure? Jocasta: Me and my Husband, God rest his soul {she faces Apollo with a heat fisting look}, well we couldnt, we didnt have the heart to kill our own child, so we sent for a messenger to complete this task. Public Defender Do you feel that youre emotionally unstable? Prosecutor I object! What relevance does this have to this case? Public Defender Your Honor. It was vital to my argument Judge Objection overruled you may answer the question. Jocasta No, of course not. Public Defender: Did you know this messenger? Jocasta: Yes, he did plenty work for me and King Laius in the past. Public Defender: So you would say this messenger of yours was trustworthy to complete such a task. Jocasta: Absolutely, no one would dare go behind neither the back of me nor the great Laius, and for the messenger, he has seen and heard many things in our kingdom, and have not spoken a word Public Defender: I see, have you ever spoken to King Oedipus of this child? Jocasta: Of course not it was the past as I stated in my last statement. (Jocasta starts sobbing) Public Defender And why would you? (Looks towards the Judge)

The People of Thebes vs. Oedipu s Rex |6 Public Defender Your honor as you can see my client entered a marriage full of secrets hidden by his spouse from her past. She seduced the king in continuous without speaking a word until this day. Such things as this should not be hidden in the dark. Prosecutor: I object your honor! Judge: over ruled. You may proceed, but with caution. Public Defender: Thank you our honor, but I have no more questions at this time.

Public Defender The defense would like to call Tiresias to the stand. (Bailiff takes to witness to the witness stand.) (Tiresias walks to the witness stand while bumping into things along the way) Bailiff Please stand and raise your hand. Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Tiresias I promise. Bailiff You may be seated. Public Defender What is your role in Thebes? Tiresias I am the blind prophet. I bring the truth of the gods. Public Defender Interesting. Have you ever seen that man before? (Points to Oedipus sitting at the table) Tiresias Are you seriously asking me that question? Public Defender Oh, I apologize. Have you ever seen Oedipus before? Tiresias Ah yes, I tried to aware him that he is the murderer he hunts, but of course he did not believe. Public Defender Whered you find out that he is the murderer? Tiresias The prophecy Public Defender Prophecy? What prophecy?

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Tiresias The prophecy that Oedipus will kill his own father and marry his own mother. Public Defender And how could you be so sure of this? A man who cannot see, very ironic dont you think? Tiresias Listen to me. You mock my blindness, do you? But I say that you with both of your eyes are blind: Oedipus could not see the wretchedness of his life, nor in his house he lives, nor with whom. Public Defender Even with the prophecy someone could have very well have killed Laius and theres nobody to say that Oedipus is indeed the son of his wife. I have no further questions. Judge Does the prosecutor wish to ask any question? Prosecutor [stand up] Yes, Your Honor. Tiresias, why didnt you tell Oedipus of said prophecy? Tiresias - Oedipus promises to punish the culprit or culprits with death or exile. He clearly values his reputation, his life, his job, and his family. Hed lose it all if I told him. The realization of the indecent truth behind the apparent royal marital bliss is something that Oedipus won't accept lightly. He has a quick temper, and speaks before he thinks. Prosecutor So you were reluctant to tell him because you didnt want to be the bearer of bad news? Tiresias That is correct. Prosecutor Thank you. I have no further questions Judge The witness is excused. [Wait for the witness to leave the stand.] Does the prosecution have any other witnesses? Prosecutor Yes, Your Honor. The People call the defendant to the stand. [Bailiff takes the witness to the witness stand.] Bailiff Please stand. Raise your right hand. Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case now before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Oedipus I promise. Bailiff Please state your name and role Oedipus Oedipus, King of Thebes. Prosecutor do you know who your true parents are?

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Oedipus Yes. Prosecutor Why did you come to Thebes? Oedipus To escape my fate, I thought that I was going to end up murdering Polybus and having children with my adoptive mother. Prosecutor You didnt think to tell your wife about the prophecy the oracle of Delphi told you about? Oedipus I didnt think it was important enough to share with her. Prosecutor Who did you think killed Laius? Oedipus I am sure that a group of robbers were the ones responsible for his death Prosecutor Your Honor, I have a sworn statement written by shepherd that I would like to share with the court today Judge You may proceed. (Prosecutor grabs paper from off desk and begins to read) Prosecutor I the shepherd, confess that it was Laius child a child that Jocasta gave him to expose on the hillside because of a prophecy that he would kill his father. I did not have the heart to kill the infant, so I took it to another country instead. Jocasta and Laius are Oedipus his true parents and he indeed killed his father because of his fate. Thank you, I have no further questions. Judge The witness is excused. [Wait for defendant to leave the stand.] Does the defense rest? Public Defender [Stand up.] Yes, Your Honor. Judge Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am now going to read to you the law that you must follow in deciding this case. To prove the crime charged against the defendant, the prosecution must prove two things to you: First that the defendant married his mother and he did murder his own father. If each of you believes that the prosecution proved all of these things beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should find the defendant guilty. But if you believe the prosecution did not prove any one of these things beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty. Judge Are you ready with final arguments? Prosecutor Yes. Your Honor Public Defender Yes, Your Honor.

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Prosecutor [Stand up and face the jury.] Your Honor, and ladies and gentlemen of the jury: The judge has told you that we must prove two things. There is absolutely no question about the things I have proved to you in this courtroom today. First, the defendant married his own mother. Second, the defendant murdered his own father. According to what the judge just told you, that is all we have to prove. Based on the evidence, you must find the defendant guilty. Public Defender [Stand up and face the jury.] Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury: Oedipus was unlucky and should not be liable for the fact that he married his mother and killed his father. He had a fate, it was going to happen whether he wanted it to or not. He should not be held responsible for something that was clearly out of his control. Oedipus is an honest man, and would never do anything to hurt anyone purposely. The prosecution has presented no real evidence to you to show that this is not true. That means that there is a reasonable doubt and, therefore, you must find him not guilty. Judge The jury now has 30 second to deliberate and come back with a verdict (Pause for 30 seconds while jury discusses) Judge Will the jury foreperson please stand? Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict? Foreperson Yes. (Pause) Foreperson We the jury find Oedipus Rex, King of Thebes, _______. Judge The jury is thanked and excused. Court is adjourned.