Chapter One Hundred: The Starting Point

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The Starting Point

Chef, vet, builder, musician, teacher, refuse collector, dancer, electrician, architect, stay-at-home-mother, office manager, car mechanic, midwife, sales executive, librarian, farmer, plumber, dentist, pilot, zoo keeper, waitress, actress, fireman, bank clerk, photographer, doctor, astronaut, surveyor, printer, writer, merchant seaman, archaeologist, administrator, fitness instructor, IT consultant, hairdresser, estate agent, shop worker, nurse, professor, chemist, park ranger, accountant...

...to name but a few of the walks in life.

Forty-One countries want the Winter Soldier to answer for crimes committed on their soil, within their borders. Thirty-eight countries actually claim their right to do this under the World Trial. Two of those countries do not respond and are disqualified. One country has lied about their crime; there is no evidence that it was the Soldier. It could have been worse. There could have been so many more. Some countries feel that pursuing the Soldier is against public interest. Some countries have forgiven and moved on because the crimes are too old.

But some countries will not forget, some want their day in court. Some want justice, and you cannot blame them for that.

TOTAL COUNTRIES REMAINING: 35

TOTAL JURORS PRESIDING: 420

The logistics are a nightmare, but when Steve asks Tony how Jarvis will cope Tony had just grinned.

"Not heard of mail merge yet, have you?"

A list of eligible jurors has been made for each country.

There are seven billion people living on the Earth today and not all of those were able to tune in to channel 1917. That would have been an impossibility even for Tony Stark - but thankfully, enough heard what was on offer. And that was what mattered.

Each government had to follow a simple set of rules. The first is that they would never attempt to find out the names and addresses of the chosen jurors. No government would try and influence its population in one way or the another. No news blackouts. When their jurors decided on the verdict, they will accept it. When the final verdict is given, they will accept it

At the end of the trial James Barnes will be visible via monitors, but no one would be allowed to know where he is being held. He has asked that he can say a few words before the verdict comes in. This is his right.

All information screened for the jurors will be shown to the public, and James himself will see it. Warnings will be given, language translation programs will be used.

If James Barnes is to die, then his execution will not be televised. Instead, one representative of each government will attend the execution on their nations behalf. Proof will be available afterwards to show it has been carried out.

If James is found not guilty, then no future proceedings can be held or entertained against him. He will be a free man.

No matter the outcome, no proceedings can be taken against Freya Bowman. Her voice will be heard with some of the film footage and where necessary, to explain what is happening. Neither Jeremy Sands, Charles Bayer nor a judge will be used in the proceedings. This is strictly a trial by jury in every sense of the word.

After some muttering and wounded egos are stroked, the governments of each country agree. The second phase can now begin.

*

There has been no indication of how people will be approached to serve as a juror for their country. The least amount of information is given out in that regard to protect the jurors' identities.

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