Marcus Brutus Trial

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I would like to thank you for your time. I am the lawyer for the prosecution of Marcus Brutus. Marcus Brutus is charged with the First Degree Murder of Julius Caesar, a war hero who was beloved by many. Brutus not only decided to kill Caesar, but planned out and enacted it himself. Brutus made the decision on his own. He claims that he killed Caesar on the grounds that Caesar would have become a tyrant of Rome, when there is no substantial evidence for this. Brutus is a murderer, who killed Caesar in cold blood. Marcus Brutus is charged with committing First Degree Murder by planning and committing the murder of Julius Caesar. In a meeting with his conspirators at Brutus’ house, Brutus said, “Gentle friends, Let’s kill [Julius Caesar] boldly…”(Shakespeare 2.1.184-85). Brutus not only invites his friends to help him murder Caesar, but starts to prepare for the premeditated murder. By inviting

Brutus says, “It must be by his death… He would be crowned: How might that change his nature, there’s the question” (2.1.10-14). Brutus assumes that if Caesar were to come to power, his nature would change and he would become a tyrant. This also implies that Caesar’s character, while he was alive and out of power, was not that of a tyrant. Brutus himself doubted what Caesar would do if he came to power, so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I request you do the same. While explaining to Brutus why people were shouting when they offered Caesar the crown, Casca said, “...he put [the crown] by thrice, every time gentler than other…” (1.2.239-40). Caesar was offered the power to become a tyrant and refused. Three times. If Caesar was planning on taking power, why did he refuse the crown three times? Brutus had no reason to believe that Caesar was a threat. Caesar was not ambitious. He was an honorable citizen of