"Gentlemen of the Jury" (Fiction Extra)

Had the crew not attempted to set him on fire, he would have escaped to America

Gentlemen of the Jury, we are here to decide not only the fate of the defendant but the entire judicial system. The question we put in front of you is simple. Will we allow the architect of a heinous crime liberty? My esteemed colleague will tell you that the defendant is not responsible for the actions of his creation. My esteemed colleague will argue that Victor Von Frankenstein is merely the victim of circumstance. According to honorable Herr Rosenblatt, Victor Von Frankenstein deserves pity not consecutive life sentences.

That Herr Frankenstein is a man of above average intelligence, I do not dispute. As many of you know, this very court convicted his creation and accomplice Lucifer Adam Frankenstein only months before. Herr L.A. Frankenstein's story matches Herr Von Frankenstein's account to the letter. The sheer amount of tenacity that Herr Frankenstein mustered to create such a being taxes the imagination; however, these attributes only serve to make him a remarkably accomplished murderer.

The most important part of the state's case will be Exhibit J, the so-called confessions of Victor Von Frankenstein. My esteemed colleague will use these confessions as a basis for an acquittal. Herr L.A. Frankenstein confessed to the murders. His confession conforms to the physical evidence. We do not dispute Herr L.A. Frankenstein's role; merely Herr L.A. Frankenstein's spurious claim of sole responsibility.

The state will contend that Victor Von Frankenstein conspired with Henry Clerval in order to craft a being capable of the deed that he was too cowardly to undertake alone - namely the murder of Frau Elizabeth Frankenstein, a woman whose only sin was to desire marriage to Victor, a man who preferred the company of his companion, the late Henry Clerval, to any woman. It is true that he agreed to the marriage, but his consent derived from family pressure; nothing more.

Note how his confession beatifies his dying mother: "On her death-bed the fortitude and benignity of this admirable woman did not desert her" indeed. After she orders Herr Victor to marry his victim, Elizabeth, she dies "calmly" with her countenance expressing "affection even in death." And what does Herr Frankenstein do when faced with an impending wedding? He flees to Ingoldstadt where he can't wait to desecrate the morgue. Amidst a carnage that would repulse you or I, he claims that "a light broke in upon him." According to Herr Von Frankenstein, only here did he conceive the creation of Herr L.A. Frankenstein.

Naturally, our ghoulish Victor who happily spent his idle hours among the dead becomes a blushing violet when confronted with a nauseating L.A. Frankenstein, the same L.A. Frankenstein that he painstakingly put together in his room. He adheres to the claim that he abandoned his creation from fear and disgust. He goes to great lengths to horrify the listener with cant about "yellow skin that barely covers muscles and arteries" and hair that's "lustrous black and flowing." He even condemns his golem for having "watery eyes…shrivelled complexion and straight black lips." Now gentlemen of the jury, if you have yet to see Mr. L.A. Frankenstein, you will ascertain his countenance when he sits at the witness stand. Until then, let me assure you that he's a handsome fellow. He exercises regularly. His skin is dry but he's certainly not the deformed consumptive that would cause fear in anyone, much less a man who enjoys charnel houses.