Court Records from the Trial of Charity

Full statement by the defendant

from Charity, High Priest of Edea:

Honored Members of the Court.
My life in Ur started on the streets. As a hatchling I was alone, hungry, and orphaned when my parents were slain by the Knights of the Road, because they were unable to pay their debts. And yet, I managed to survive, not because of any government support system or by turning to a life of crime, but by the generosity and kindness of strangers. In my most vulnerable and pitiful moments of my life, it was the average citizens who saved me. People with little to give and yet they freely gave it. Clothes, food, a bed for a night, these things allowed me to get back on track, they gave me a life again. It was in honor of these strangers that I changed my name and dedicated my life to repaying this debt.
I honor the average citizen.
It was in this attempt to honor the average citizen, that led to my unjust arrest and imprisonment. Eldridge Penumbra, a promising bright alchemist who had succumbed to an addiction to illicit substances, came to my Sister's House, seeking help. I saw in this young man the same thing I see every day in my work, a yound indiviudal who was trapped and enslaved by circumstances they had lost control of. I saw in him what I myself may have become. So I helped the young man, and began to try and help them with their addiction. It was on the night of my arrest that I had made my way to the shack he called home, in order to plead and beg him to seek treatment for his addiction. I had no knowledge of the illegal goods Eldridge had in their house, and yet when the Dogma kicked down the door and brutally detained the pair of us, they deemed me guilty by sheer proximity to the goods.
Any judicial system that defines guilt by association is not a system that seeks to protect its citizens, but to oppress and punish them.
How many "guilty" individuals has Judge Lambert sent to Fate's End? A punishment so foul and cruel, that is only reserved for the most heinous of crimes. And yet, Judge Lambert gives them out as if they were prizes at the Festival of Masks! Not only is his harshness and unfairness transparent for all to see, but he offers "paid legal advice" to the very same accused he stands in Judgement over! How can such a man, who seeks financial gain from the accused, be impartial in sentencing? I submit this, that any institution that is so blatantly corrupt and unfair can never hold the authority to judge its citizens.
I ask for mercy, not for myself but for my fellow accused Eldridge Penumbra. They came to me seeking help, and recognized their addiction was causing them to do actions they would not have done so normally. If this judicial body seeks to punish someone who only wants help and to change, it simply proves the malicious intent of this body. I ask for mercy not only for Eldridge Penumbra, but for every single average citizen who walks through these doors. I ask for mercy for those who are unable to defend themselves due to being unable to pay for "legal advice". And finally I beg mercy for Ur itself, a city and whose people have shown me that there is so much good in this universe. Ur deserves a system as good and as honest as its people.

Full judge's verdict

from Judge Lambert Blink Lexi:

Having considered the case of Charity v. Ur I am ready to pass sentence.
While this trial is currently for Chairty, much discussion has also been raised over the case of one Eldridge Penumbra. While we are not discussing this particular case this day, my personal recommendation given the facts and details I have heard would be submission to an appropriate criminal sanatorium, where Elridge may seek treatment for his addiction, and once free of its malign influence be released into society.
Regarding Chairty - I can see there is strong evidence for their outstanding character. Charity is an individual who seeks to help those in need, and does, for the most part, the right thing. That stated, the court finds it doubtful that Charity would be so naive to assume an addict might not have in their possession the item they are addicted to. Given this the question is raised - why would Charity not report Eldridge, or advise him to hand himself into a public sanatorium for treatment for his affliction under the supervision of trained medical personal?
While Charity is an exemplar of generosity, perhaps pride and not humbleness drove these decisions, by decreeing that only Charity could save Elridge, and not asking for the help the clearly damaged individual needed. In doing so, Charity endangered Eldridge, by withholding necessary treatment. Due to this I feel it inappropriate to overturn the Dogma juror's decision. While not part of the illicit trade, Chairty certainly enabled it in the hopes of being the one to save Elridge.
Since the arrest, Chairty has been of great assistance to the Dogma in their ongoing investigation in these crystals which blight the city, and has received letters of recommendation from the Dogmas highest level supporting a lenient sentence that allows her to continue assisting them in this work.
Given this, I feel the most appropriate sentence would be to release Chairty with a community sentence, of 1000 hours work over the next 5 years, which must be completed anonymously, such that it may be achieved humbly, and not as a badge of pride. A disguise and appropriately remote work will be arranged. Additionally, there is an expectation some of this work will involve continued assistance of the Dogma, and this is a stipulation of the release under these terms. Failure to provide appropriate assistance to the Dogma, or failure to complete the full community sentence within the 5-year period will be subject for an immediate hearing on the matter, and a new harsher sentence.