A Question of Proof
The verdict was greeted with different passions. The press roared in satisfaction whilst the public gallery cheered with a now-satisfied l**t for justice. There were sobs of released tension from the grieving parents and hisses of dissent from the guilty man’s supporters. Barristers, in turn, shook hands in congratulation and bowed heads in defeat; even the judge, as experienced in impartial stoicism as he was, seemed to allow himself a brief smile as he prepared to pass sentence. As he did so, the room fell silent once more. Afterwards, there was the excited bustle of movement accompanied again by the jeers and cheers of the assembled crowd, the sounds clashing with each other into a frenzied hum of voices. Amid it all, only two men remained in motionless silence, the
