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Kathy O’Brien
Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecutor in King and Steve’s felony murder trial. Although Petrocelli claims to be working on behalf of truth and justice and American ideals, she immediately labels the defendants as “monsters,” prejudicing herself and the jury against them, and she often asks witnesses leading questions to manipulate their answers, which is constantly rebuked by both the defense attorneys and the judge. Nearly all of Petrocelli’s witnesses are criminals themselves and seem to be lying under oath about various aspects of the crime. However, Petrocelli seems completely unbothered by this or by the fact that her prosecution is trying to lock up Steve, a teenage kid, for at least the next several decades of his life, even though his alleged involvement in the crime was very minimal and he has no prior history of crime or violence. Petrocelli’s questionable conduct suggests she is far more interested in winning the court case and bolstering her own career than she is in uncovering the truth of what happened with Mr. Nesbitt’s murder, further suggesting that the justice system propagates lies and injustice.
Sandra Petrocelli Quotes in Monster
The Monster quotes below are all either spoken by Sandra Petrocelli or refer to Sandra Petrocelli. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Monday, July 6th
Quotes
Most people in our community are decent, hardworking citizens who pursue their own interests legally and without infringing on the rights of others. But there are also monsters in our communities—people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others.
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[Steve] is writing the word Monster over and over again. A white hand (O’BRIEN’s) takes the pencil from his hand and crosses out all the Monsters.
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Wednesday, July 8
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Miss O’Brien says that Petrocelli is using Bolden’s testimony as part of a trail that will lead to me and James King. I think she is wrong. I think they are bringing out all of these people and letting them look terrible on the stand and sound terrible and then reminding the the jury that they don’t look any different from me and King.
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STEVE: I thought you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?
O’BRIEN: That’s true, but in reality it depends on how the jury sees the case. If they see it as a contest between the defense and the prosecution as to who’s lying, they’ll vote for the prosecution. The prosecutor walks around looking very important. No one is accusing her of being a bad person. They’re accusing you of being a monster.
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Sandra Petrocelli Quotes in Monster
The Monster quotes below are all either spoken by Sandra Petrocelli or refer to Sandra Petrocelli. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Monday, July 6th
Quotes
Most people in our community are decent, hardworking citizens who pursue their own interests legally and without infringing on the rights of others. But there are also monsters in our communities—people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others.
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[Steve] is writing the word Monster over and over again. A white hand (O’BRIEN’s) takes the pencil from his hand and crosses out all the Monsters.
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Wednesday, July 8
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Miss O’Brien says that Petrocelli is using Bolden’s testimony as part of a trail that will lead to me and James King. I think she is wrong. I think they are bringing out all of these people and letting them look terrible on the stand and sound terrible and then reminding the the jury that they don’t look any different from me and King.
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STEVE: I thought you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?
O’BRIEN: That’s true, but in reality it depends on how the jury sees the case. If they see it as a contest between the defense and the prosecution as to who’s lying, they’ll vote for the prosecution. The prosecutor walks around looking very important. No one is accusing her of being a bad person. They’re accusing you of being a monster.
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