Who Is Gene Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter

Prosecutor: Hunter O’Hotto

Case Number: 102938

Objective: Provide convincing evidence that Gene is guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Phineas.

Gene is guilty of second-degree manslaughter for the death of Phineas, which means his death could have been voluntary or involuntary. I believe, as should the rest of you in the court, that Gene is guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Phineas, his best friend, and it is proven with a surplus of evidence. This evidence includes: Gene’s actions leading up to Finny’s first fall, which inevitably lead to his death, and Gene’s thoughts after Finny’s death. First, we will start Gene’s actions leading up the death of Phineas. As stated indirectly by Leper, the kid who never lies: he recalls seeing two shadows up on the tree branch, one was Finny, and the other could be inferred as Gene. Gene stated right before Finny’s first traumatic fall, “Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step

To illustrate this point of guilt, “I never killed anybody and I never developed an intense level of hatred for the enemy. Because my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there. Only Phineas never was afraid, only Phineas never hated anyone” (Knowles 204). It can be inferred that Gene’s “enemy” was Phineas. Even though he was his best friend, Gene still thought at times that Finny was trying to compete with Gene over sports and academics, which displays how Gene can perceive Phineas differently throughout time. Gene could have been thinking that taking part in having Finny break his leg for the first time would stop Finny competing against Gene in sports and academics, but possibly realized later that Phineas was never competing against Gene, because Finny could never see the “evil” in