Closing Statement

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. There is only one just verdict for this case. Jack Merridew, a 12 year old boy, is innocent! You have just heard the testimony of many of the other boys stranded on the island who regarded the death of Simon as an act of self-defense committed by ALL of the boys on the island. If you were young and made to believe that there was a monster inhabiting the place where you were forced to live, that wanted to kill you, who came running out of the forest in the pitch dark, would you not try and defend yourself? It was only natural of Jack and the rest of these boys to try and protect their own lives, which they were made to believe were being held at stake. On account of the death of Piggy, Jack had absolutely nothing to do with this! In the first place, he was not even the one that killed Piggy. In fact, he was standing only a few feet away from Piggy when the rock was dropped, FROM ABOVE them, onto Piggy. As testimony has shown, Jack gave no indication to the actual person who committed this crime to drop the rock onto Piggy, in the first place. There were no statements or gesticulations made by Jack that would have given this person any _______ to drop the rock anyway. Now it is time for you to decide the verdict of this case. Jack Merridew is innocent!