Defense Speech to Indict Euphiletus for Murdering Eratosthenes - Case Study Example

Defense speech to indict Euphiletus for murdering Eratosthenes When looking at the eventsthat happened in this case, before and after death of Eratosthenes, it is evident that the defender needs to be more cautious in his speech in order to indict Euphiletus for murdering Eratosthenes. This is because Euphiletus defended himself remarkably well in his defense speech. He stated clearly factors that led him to kill Eratosthenes (Lysias24). He makes all judges believe that he actually was innocent by involving them in his defense speech. It is true that Eratosthenes had an affair with Euphiletus’ wife. He even went to the extent of making love with her in Euphiletus’ matrimonial home. In the conclusion of his speech, Euphiletus says that he did not do what he did (killing Eratosthenes) for his own benefit, but also for benefits of the judges and the rest of the public. Euphiletus said that he killed Eratosthenes in accordance to the law of the land as he called his friends and neighbors to witness every action that he took. He even declined Eratosthenes’ offer to pay him any amount of money the he wanted so that he could spare his life. Nonetheless, due to his belief in the law and justice, he declined the offer and did what he was expected to do by law, according to his speech. Thus, when looking at these developments, all witnesses and lawyers seeking to indict Euphiletus should be prepared with a powerful defense speech and evidence. They should not concentrate on the reasons as to why Euphiletus killed Eratosthenes. Instead, they should concentrate on the murder of Eratosthenes and the laws illegalizing murder. This is because there are no laws that allow people to kill others, regardless of their offenses. After looking at the speech of the defense indented to indict Euphiletus, I have realized that they were basing their argument on the fact that the offender had accepted his offense. However, the fact that Euphiletus had accepted that he actually killed Eratosthenes was not supposed to be the basis of defense’s speech. This is because Euphiletus had already presented reasons as to why he killed Eratosthenes. In case it is a must that the defense base on this fact, they should be concerned with whether Eratosthenes forced Euphiletus’ wife to have a relationship with her, or whether she did it willingly (Lysias 29). They should also question Euphiletus on the step that he took against his wife. Their speech should be focused on convincing judges that it is illegal to kill. Even if, the penalty of adultery is death, the law should state clearly the process of executing death penalty. They should remind Euphiletus that according to law; everybody is innocent until proven guilty. The fact that Euphiletus found Eratosthenes in bed with his wife, therefore, does not make him guilty. He would have handed him to the authority for law to take its course. If everybody starts to interpret the law and take action in his/her hand, what will be the significance of the constitution and laws, and how many death cases that will be reported daily? The defense speech should have described how Eratosthenes suffered in the hands of Euphiletus, his friends and neighbors before he was killed. They should have told the court how Eratosthenes suffered serious injuries, which meant that, he was serious tortured and beaten brutally before being killed. Which laws allowed Euphiletus to beat and torture Eratosthenes? As a matter of fact, there is no law that prevents people from falling in love (Lysias 34). To make matters worse, Euphiletus’ wife is the one to be blamed. This is because she did not decline Eratosthenes’ offer when she approached her yet she was fully aware that she was married with children. In essence, it was Euphiletus’ wife who welcomed Eratosthenes in her husband’s house. In addition, the speech would have said that, it is difficult to tell if Euphiletus and his wife had disagreed with Eratosthenes on some issues and planned to eliminate him. This is because it is unreasonable for Euphiletus to tell the court that her wife locked him in his chamber at upstairs, and that he heard doors opened and closed late at night yet he did not bother to investigate what was happening. The defense speech should make the court belief that it was a plan between Euphiletus his wife to kill Eratosthenes. In order to prove their points, they should ask the court to summon Euphiletus’ wife to narrate exactly what happened. She should say whether she actually loved Eratosthenes or not. If yes, she should say why she loved him yet she was married. In order to indict Euphiletus for murdering Eratosthenes, the defense speech should have included information about the other woman who had an affair with Eratosthenes (the one who send old woman to tell Euphiletus that his wife had an affair with Eratosthenes) (Lysias 39). In their defense speech, they should have asked the court to summon her to come and tell the court the main that led her to tell Euphiletus that his wife was having an affair with Eratosthenes. This is because this information that she gave Euphiletus played a key role towards death of Eratosthenes. There is also high probability that by telling Euphiletus, this woman wanted to use him to punish Eratosthenes who according to her had betrayed her. This woman should also tell the court the reason as to why she kept quite all that while until after she was betrayed, that is when she decided to tell Euphiletus yet she knew it for a very long period of time. In general, there is more significant information that the defense should have included in its speech so as to indict Euphiletus for murdering Eratosthenes. This is because murder is the biggest offense according to the laws. Adultery should not have amounted to death of Eratosthenes, and if it had, both Eratosthenes and Euphiletus’ wife should have been killed. By adding the above information, the defense speech will have indicted Euphiletus more easily. This is because it could have denied Euphiletus a base to justify his action of murdering an innocent man. It could also have helped them to prove that Euphiletus was guilty of murder and took the law in his hands, which is illegal. Works Cited Lysias. Lysias on the murder of Eratosthenes. New York: CANE Instructional Materials, 1994, 2-53. Read More