Arica has a jury system, which is designed to limit judges from abusing their power and to ensure that suspects can receive a fair trial.
However, in the tax court, because the power of the Internal Revenue Service must remain unrestricted, there is no jury.
Therefore, after a brief assessnt of the situation, Judge Kiesa stood up.
And the audience invited to observe the proceedings also stood up in unison.
Judge Kiesa proclaid, "Defendant Dieter, you have been found guilty of attempted assault on IRS personnel, guilty of fleeing to avoid prosecution, guilty of tax evasion, and the amount involved is substantial. You are sentenced to concurrent punishnt for multiple offenses, including the confiscation of all funds to be surrendered to the treasury.
Additionally, you are sentenced to 1000 years of imprisonnt without the possibility of parole!"
Upon hearing this verdict, shock was apparent on the faces of most people present, especially the Native Aricans like Gael who were invited to attend.
They knew that Dieter might face the death penalty, and that it was likely he would never be released, but they did not expect him to be sentenced to 1000 years in prison.
How many years can a man live?
A hundred years at most, right?
And now he's been sentenced to 1000 years; even with ten lives, it wouldn't be enough to serve out this sentence.
On the other hand, William, Director Arabella, and even Director David from the Internal Revenue Service did not display much surprise.
A sentence of thousands of years might seem absurd in other countries, but it's quite normal here in Arica.
Let's not even talk about thousands; there have been criminals sentenced to tens of thousands of years.
The reason is simple; Arica practices "consecutive sentencing."
As the na implies, once a suspect is sentenced, the prison terms for each conviction can be stacked on top of each other.
As for how many years they can accumulate, it largely depends on the judge's discretion.
Many might ask at this point.
If a person can live only up to a hundred years or so, isn't sentencing them to thousands or tens of thousands of years just an exercise in spectacle?
That's not the case.
A sentence of thousands of years exists to serve as a deterrent. The deterrent effect refers to instilling fear and caution in potential criminals by imposing severe punishnts on offenders, thereby avoiding or reducing cri. This is done to maintain social order and safety!
The tax authority's continuation of such punishnts serves the sa purpose: to deter those who dare to defy the IRS and make it clear to them that if they dare to evade taxes or confront the IRS, they will definitely end down imprisoned indefinitely!
"No, 1000 years, this must be a joke. I reject this verdict, I demand an appeal, I demand to take it to the Washington D.C. Supre Court...!"
Upon hearing that he had been sentenced to 1000 years, Dieter was stunned for a good while, and it was only now that he seed to co to his senses, screaming in desperation.
Taryn couldn't sit still either and stood up to object, "Your Honor, isn't a sentence of 1000 years a bit too harsh? Even the Departnt of Justice rarely imposes such penalties for the most heinous of criminals."
Judge Kiesa glanced at him with disdain and replied, "You need to understand that this court is not under the jurisdiction of the Departnt of Justice. Moreover, Dieter is suspected of tax evasion and attempted assassination of IRS personnel, which is more severe than being heinously wicked, don't you think?"
"This..."
Taryn was rendered speechless once again.
Yes, this was the tax court; they didn't need to consult the Departnt of Justice.
And indeed, Dieter had crossed the IRS, so such an extre sentence might seem justifiable.
"I refuse to accept this, sentencing to 1000 years is sheer abuse of authority. I demand an appeal, I demand to take it to the Washington D.C. Supre Court..."
Watching Dieter struggle in vain, Judge Kiesa waved his hand impatiently at the inspectors, signaling them to drag him away quickly.
As Dieter was dragged out, silence once again descended upon the courtroom.
But at this mont, if anyone paid attention to the bench, they would notice that both Tewin and Virginia were pale and trembling uncontrollably.
Now that Dieter's sentence had been delivered, 1000 years of imprisonnt.
How much lighter could their own sentences be?
The thought of their impending punishnt caused both of them to feel on the verge of collapse.
Unconcerned with their thoughts, Judge Kiesa continued with the sentencing, "Defendant Tewin, you have been found guilty of ard resistance against the IRS, guilty of harboring criminals, guilty of tax evasion. Your sentences for these cris will run concurrently. You are hereby sentenced to 1000 years of imprisonnt without the possibility of parole!"
As this verdict was announced, many in the audience inhaled sharply.
At this mont, invited guests like Gael sighed in relief, grateful for their quick decision to submit to the IRS the day before.
Otherwise, if they had continued to resist, they might be the ones on trial today, receiving a 1000-year sentence!
On the bench, Tewin, already near collapse, upon hearing that he was also sentenced to 1000 years, was like a man under a spell, staring blankly ahead.
It took about 30 seconds before he suddenly snapped back to reality, and like Dieter before him, he let out an indignant roar, "I won't accept this; I may have ard the young n of our tribe, but I didn't cause any casualties or losses to the IRS. Why should I be sentenced to 1000 years!"
Judge Kiesa still gave him a disdainful look and responded, "You should be thankful you didn't cause actual damage to the IRS, otherwise, it wouldn't be just a re 1000 years!"
"You..."
Tewin was infuriated, and he suddenly turned his head as if searching for soone in the crowd. Eventually, his gaze rested on Senator Angstorm and he shouted, "Senator Angstorm, this is an unfair judgnt; I cannot accept it. As a senator, are you going to just watch this tax court judge abuse his power over ?"
Upon being nad, Senator Angstorm jolted in fear, his mind overwheld with frustration.
He was now fearful of attracting scrutiny from Director David and the IRS, and here was the damn Tewin, publicly calling him out.
Was he that eager to let everyone know about his association with the Indian Tribe?
Looking at the unusual gazes of the people around him, Angstorm was both angry and anxious as he retorted imdiately, "Although I am a senator, matters of the judiciary are not within my purview. We are in court now, and I have even less right to intervene!"
The underlying aning of his words was, "Stop your babbling and accept the trial honestly!"
Upon hearing this, Tewin beca frantic and roared, "Angstorm, you've taken so many benefits from our tribe, and now you are leaving us to die. I'm going to report you for tax evasion too!"
As soon as his words ca out, the scene was imdiately thrown into an uproar.
Angstorm himself nearly had a heart attack from the anger, quickly retorting loudly, "Tewin, I warn you not to talk nonsense. I haven't taken any benefits from your tribe, you're slandering !"
"Tewin, don't spout nonsense here and slander Senator Angstorm. Senator Angstorm only visited our Tribe a few tis, and we gave him so smoked at, tea, and other local specialties as a gesture of hospitality. How does that count as a benefit?"
Gael also couldn't stay seated any longer and stood up to explain.
Now that it was certain that Tewin and his son were going in, and since Angstorm was still a senator, he had no need to offend this senator for a few tribespeople who couldn't be saved.
"Exactly, that's how it is!"
Gael's explanation allowed Angstorm, who was both angry and anxious, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It was good that there were no dia reporters at the scene.
The ones present were either from the city hall, the city council, or so well-known figures from Las Vegas. With his connections, he should be able to handle it.
If the dia had been here, with their ability to exaggerate and distort facts, he would have been in trouble.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Seeing the scene descend into chaos, Judge Kiesa on the stage imdiately hamred the gavel forcefully again.
To prevent the scene from becoming even more chaotic, he ordered the inspector to drag Tewin away, and calm was restored.
Judge Kiesa once again decreed, "Defendant Virginia, guilty of the charges of attempted assault on an IRS officer, fugitive from justice, and tax evasion. With multiple offenses to be served consecutively, the sentence will be 800 years in prison without the possibility of parole."
With the preceding sentences of 1000 years each, the 800-year sentence this ti did not surprise many people.
As for Virginia, even though her complexion turned pale instantly upon hearing the sentence, she knew that any protests would be useless in the IRS court and under the judge's ruling, resigning herself to her fate with a face ashen as death.
Judge Kiesa then looked towards the final defendant, Iman, and decreed, "Defendant Iman, guilty of the charges of attempted assault on an IRS officer and tax evasion, but given his cooperation with the IRS in whistleblowing and rits earned, the sentence is 7 years in prison."
"As for the witnesses, since they cooperated fully with the IRS in the investigation, all charges against them are dropped!"
The stark contrast between the previous sentences of 1000, 1000, and 800 years and suddenly hearing a sentence of only 7 years left many in the courtroom stunned for a mont.
However, they quickly realized that Iman must have co to an agreent with the IRS in advance, which is why he received such a light sentence.
This realization led many present to silently make a decision.
That is, if they ever ca under scrutiny from the IRS, they would definitely need to cooperate actively to receive the lightest punishnt possible!
In the judgnt seat, on hearing the predetermined sentence of only 7 years, Iman shot a grateful look at Director David.
At the witness stand, Baldwin and the other two witnesses did the sa.
Logically, they should have hated Director David for forcing them to pay taxes and threatening them to testify against Dieter.
But after seeing Dieter and his son, along with Virginia, being sentenced to 1000 and 800 years, respectively, they suddenly felt incredibly relieved.
They were grateful they had co forward to testify against Dieter and for the opportunity given to them by Director David for an immunity deal; otherwise, their fates might not have been much different from that of the father and son.
"Alright, this court session is adjourned!"
Following the words of Judge Kiesa, the invited attendees started leaving with a sigh of relief.
anwhile, the IRS officials, including Arabella, William, and Director David, each went forward to shake hands with Judge Kiesa, expressing their gratitude for the successful conclusion of the trial.
Afterward, Director Arabella approached Director David, asking, "Director David, may I ask you sothing?"
"What is it, Director Arabella?"
Director Arabella lowered her voice and asked, "Have you investigated Senator Angstorm?"
Earlier in the lobby on the first floor, she had sensed sothing fishy from the exchange between Director David and Senator Angstorm, but she was not yet certain.
And just now, with Tewin's public exposure, even though Gael had stepped forward to explain, she still keenly felt that there might really be sothing fishy about Angstorm!
"He's a senator of the nation, how would I dare to investigate casually. However, Director Arabella, if you authorize it, then I could give it a try..."
Not yet certain of the intentions of the city director before him, Director David naturally didn't dare to ntion that he had obtained tax evasion data on Angstorm.
After all, a senator is not just any small fry like Gray, Dieter, or even the Omaha Family.
Their political power and the groups they are tied to are substantial.
Director David was only the Chief Tax Officer at the mont and couldn't afford to take too many risks unless soone endorsed him!
After pondering for a mont, Director Arabella smiled and replied, "Just asking out of curiosity. The trial may be over, but I think you still have a lot of work to handle, so you better head back now!"
Understanding the hint from the city director, Director David didn't waste any more words, turning to leave imdiately.
He indeed had a lot to handle upon returning, such as the fact that the case was now closed, and it was ti for the taxes to be deposited in the treasury!
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