Word: courtroom
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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While 25 policemen stood guard inside Courtroom 3-C of the Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro, N.C., and police sharpshooters patrolled the surrounding rooftops outside, Jury Foreman Octavio Mandulay slowly announced the verdicts. There were five counts of murder and one count of rioting against each of the six defendants. As the litany of "not guilty" grew, a relative of one of the accused choked back a sob. By the time the 36th and final "not guilty" was called out, the defendants themselves were weeping...
...wintry smog just before 3 p.m. As police and soldiers kept away curious bystanders, sober-faced men and women emerged from the cars, strode through the gates of the public security compound at No. 1 Zhengyi (Justice) Road near Tian'anmen Square and entered a large, brightly lighted courtroom. After taking their seats, the 35 judges and 880 "representatives of the masses" looked on impassively as the ten defendants were led into the court by bailiffs to hear the charges against them...
Thus began the long-awaited trial of China's notorious Gang of Four and six other high-ranking "evildoers." The carefully orchestrated courtroom drama, which is expected to last for several weeks, is the most important show trial to take place in the 31 years that the Communist Party has ruled China. The most celebrated defendant is Jiang Qing, 67, the widow of Mao Tse-tung, who, along with her allies in the Gang of Four,* led Mao's reckless and violent Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. They were arrested four years ago, shortly after...
...defendants had not been seen publicly since their arrest. Jiang Qing, a onetime film actress, seemed almost defiant as the trial opened. Her jet-black hair was pulled severely back behind her ears; she marched into the courtroom with her head regally erect and then alternately smirked and yawned during the reading of the indictment, apparently to show contempt for the proceedings. Still, there were some reports that at one point she broke down and cried. Other defendants seemed tired and worn from their long imprisonment. Two members of the Gang, Zhang Chunqiao and Wang Hongwen, had shaved heads...
Police kept the courtroom under heavy security to prevent any recurrence of the disruptions which had taken place earlier in the trial. State authorities have put police and national guard on alert, but no disorder resulting from the verdict was reported...