On 1 1 local time in the United States, the family of YINGYING ZHANG, a visiting scholar from China who was kidnapped in the United States, said that they confirmed that the girl who had appeared in the small town of Salem, Illinois was not YINGYING ZHANG herself.
When someone said that he had seen YINGYING ZHANG in Salem, Tom Bruno, one of the defense lawyers of the suspect Christensen, avoided talking about this latest development.
The suspect Christensen has been arrested, but YINGYING ZHANG is still missing. Lawyer Wang Zhidong, Zhang Jia's legal adviser, said that in the investigation of criminal cases in the United States, the suspect has the right to remain silent, and no one can force the suspect to provide a confession, especially a confession that may be unfavorable to him. This is the American judicial system.
On July 5th, the suspect who kidnapped Brendt Christensen YINGYING ZHANG was ruled by the judge not to be released on bail, and he will continue to be detained until the pre-trial date of July 14, or the grand jury issues an indictment.
Subsequently, the reporter called lawyer Wang Zhidong. He believes that according to the evidence currently available to the prosecution, the preliminary hearing of 14 is likely to be cancelled, and the prosecution is likely to formally accuse the suspect Christensen of kidnapping.
Tom Bruno was interviewed.
In this regard, the reporter interviewed Tom Bruno, one of the defense lawyers of the suspect (the father of Bruno's three sons), who responded exclusively to the defense work currently being done for the suspect Christensen:
Reporter: Why do you want to be a defense lawyer for criminal suspects?
Tom Bruno: In America, suspects have the right to be represented by lawyers. He defended him because he contacted Bruno Law Firm and asked us to be his lawyers.
Reporter: What evidence has the FBI provided so far?
Tom Bruno: During the trial, the FBI did not provide evidence, nor did it show me the evidence or sworn testimony that Christensen was accused of kidnapping as reported by the media. After the trial, the sworn testimony was made public by the media and widely disseminated.
Reporter: Are you going to plead not guilty? If YINGYING ZHANG is discovered, how will you adjust your defense plan?
Tom Bruno: The preliminary hearing will be held on the morning of July 14 10 local time. If the judge announced the existence of "probable cause" at that time, the defendant would enter the "not guilty" defense stage.
Reporter: Is there any evidence to support your plea of not guilty?
Tom Bruno: The defendant is never asked to provide evidence, so the pressure is on the government side. The defendant can provide additional evidence, but it is not necessary. It is too early to say whether we will provide evidence.
Reporter: Will the suspect Christensen remain silent? If so, is this part of your defense plan?
Tom Bruno: As for the current and future defense plans and whether we will adjust our strategy, we won't tell you.
Reporter: As the deputy mayor of Champagne, you acted as the defense lawyer of the suspect in this case. Is this common in the American judicial system?
Tom Bruno: It's not uncommon. It is common to work in the local government and have other full-time or part-time jobs. I have worked in Champaign City Council for 20 years and am a full-time criminal defense lawyer. This is not a conflict, and it is not uncommon.
Reporter: What other impressive cases have you participated in? Do you think defending Christensen is more difficult than these cases?
Tom Bruno: This case is very special and involves a lot of work, but according to the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, we are actively defending our client (Christensen).
This is the case with the judicial system that we have operated for more than 200 years. As an American, I am very proud of this judicial system and the rights granted to citizens.
We can only wait and see how American law works.