Besides, you overlook the fact that the crime was
committed at twenty minutes past eleven in the evening, as is shown
by the clock, while the nocturnal visit, mentioned by the
concierge, occurred at three o'clock in the morning."
Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the
guilt of a suspected person, and then distort all subsequent
discoveries to conform to their established theory. The deplorable
antecedents of Victor Danegre, habitual criminal, drunkard and
rake, influenced the judge, and despite the fact that nothing new
was discovered in corroboration of the early clues, his official
opinion remained firm and unshaken. He closed his investigation,
and, a few weeks later, the trial commenced. It proved to be slow
and tedious. The judge was listless, and the public prosecutor
presented the case in a careless manner. Under those circumstances,
Danegre's counsel had an easy task. He pointed out the defects and
inconsistencies of the case for the prosecution, and argued that the
evidence was quite insufficient to convict the accused. Who had made
the key, the indispensable key without which Danegre, on leaving the
apartment, could not have locked the door behind him? Who had ever
seen such a key, and what had become of it? Who had seen the
assassin's knife, and where is it now?
"In any event," argued the prisoner's counsel, "the prosecution
must prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the prisoner
committed the murder.
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