Trial of a Young Man

Lorri Berry

English 101

Andrea Lepinski

April 25, 2012

Trial of a Young Man

It all began in the early morning hours of November, 1995, in a small Montana town named DeBorgia. A young man, Scott Abe, 29, said his father, Chris Hanson, 52, called him to his 20 acre ranch Chris shared with his wife, Nanette, 34, because there had been an accident. Did the son know the reason his father had summoned him or was he already there? That was the question I and 11 other people would have to ask ourselves and determine whether this young man was guilty of the deliberate homicide of Nanette Hanson.

I had wondered what it would be like to sit on a jury. Was I capable of sitting judgment on someone and not let my personal prejudices interfere? I was able to answer that question when called to sit on the jury for this young man. Every fiber of my being would be put to the test during the weeks that followed that call to duty.

I had never been called for jury duty until this case. I went into that courtroom extremely nervous. A wave of fear came over me when Scott shuffled into the room. After all, I did not know if he had committed murder or not. I would have to focus so a mistake would not be made when it came time to determine this young man’s fate.

At 29 years old, Scott recently after 25 years had reunited with his father and step mother. This reunion was to change his life forever. Scott had said how much he hated his father’s wife. He had also expressed that he would kill her for him and just how he would get the job done. Scott told a close friend he was not willing to give up any portion of the assets his father might leave him upon his death. In this small, town rumors were abuzz about what had happened in that barn early that cold November morning.

As told to the emergency workers and sheriffs’ personnel that arrived on the scene, Chris said Nan, as the locals called her, had gone to the barn where the horses she so dearly loved trampled her. Upon...