[ WP ] A serial murderer who has performed 100 's of inhumane experiments is caught . His research suggests he has found cures for several major diseases and wo n't divulge unless all charges are dropped .

Snap Judgement 
 
 `` What do you mean I decide whether to take this guy's deal? I'm a plumber, not some fancy judge!'' I really do n't want to be here right now. 
 
 These two detectives are nice enough, and they did n't cuff me but I did n't have much choice but to go with them. Adams, the big one, looks like he was probably a football player 20 years ago, in high school. Soup stains on his tie and a wrinkled sports coat told his story. Single and probably a hard drinker. But he had a friendly, concerned look as he tried to explain it to me. I could tell it was stretching his mental abilities, because he made the same assumption that everyone else does. Fat, dumb looking plumber. Need to break out the junior high thesaurus. 
 
 `` The political guys have some hard to remember name for it, but you may have heard of it by its common name,'Snap Judgement'. It goes like this. Someone has waived trial and admitted guilt but wants to plea bargain. The DA's office and the defendant's attorney pick an odd number, randomly chosen between 1 and 13, of citizens from the jury duty pool. They each get two eliminations and can eliminate'juror's' for cause, just like in a murder trial. Once the jurors are picked, they are shown the evidence and the plea deal and they get to choose from the options. They have an hour.'' 
 
 Detective Sam Jones, Samantha, who is the younger partner, is the eager beagle puppy compared to Adams' trusty bloodhound. Dark haired, fit like a soccer player or triathlete if I had to guess. Had to be a rookie. Her addition sounds like it came from the detective manual. Probably did. `` Your identity will be kept confidential. The number of jurors and how they vote will be confidential. There will be no record of your identity kept, only the judgment. Any questions?'' 
 
 `` Yeah, is there any way I can get outta this?'' If it is the case that I suspect it is, I really do n't want to decide this case. Some twisted multiple diploma guy, not a diploma collector like me, but someone who really wants people to think he knows something, maybe really wants to contribute something; anyway this guy kidnaps people and experiments on them. He's set up shop in the basement of a condemned hospital. Dozens of victims dead, 15 who survived, but will NEVER have anything approaching a normal life. All so this guy could run his insane experiments. But here's the kicker. He has found a way to cure cancer, AIDS, the flu, the common cold. Or so he claims. And the doctors checked his serum for some obscure virus. They work, though the doctors can not reverse engineer them. An actual cure, as in it heals someone already sick with the problem. 
 
 And the cures are locked away in the cloud with one way encryption. NSA estimates 45 years to brute force the encryption, assuming hardware upgrades along the way. 
 
 Pardon for the key. Key for the pardon. Dozens of victims vs billions of lives to be saved. 
 
 I mean, WTF. Sociopath killed dozens. Turn them over to the judge and let the judge decide whether they revive him a couple of times between electrocutions so he feels some of the pain he caused. Which he never would, but that kind of wonton brutal mass muder is chilling and brings out our worst. On the other hand, this savant somehow cured our major illnesses. 
 
 `` What?'' I say. Jones has been talking and I've been lost in deep though. 
 
 `` Are you ready to start?'' 
 
 It appears I already signed the agreement in my numbness and now they're showing me down the sparsely lit corridor. They lead me to a room like an interview room, except there's just a console and a chair. There's a pitcher of ice water, one of coffee, and some pastries on a table at the side. And a clock on the wall. 10:00 a.m. 
 
 `` Ring the buzzer by the door when you're done and we'll show you the way out. Tutorial is built into the console. Well made, easy to use. You might recognize the look, similar to gaming consoles in lots of folks rooms.'' Adams is trying to lull me into feeling at home. 
 
 `` Ok, thanks. Better get started.'' I shake their hands and they move off to wherever the babysitters stay while the snap-judges do their thing. 
 
 -=++=- 
 
 Jones slides into the seat across from mine in the waiting office as I scan the channels for last nights scores. `` Do you think that guy can even understand what is at stake? You heard him, he's a plumber and he wants nothing to do with the case.'' 
 
 I reach into my attache and locate a thin folder, manage to extract it without dragging any others out, and slide it across to Jones. `` Read that.'' 
 
 She dutifully opens the file. `` Leonardo Franklin Roberts, 39. AKA Leo. Owner Leo's plumbing. Local address. Family down the coast and some more out west. Recently divorced. Wife is with the in-laws in Florida. Two kids. Wait, it says here Harvard and Yale, and both are listed as legacy scholarships. Wait, this guy has Bachelors degrees from Harvard in Literature and MIT in Engineering, a Masters in Mathematics and Ph.D. from Yale in Philosophy. Membership in IEEE, ASME, Mensa, blah blah blah.'' 
 
 I turn to her and say, `` So do you think he can understand it?'' 
 
 `` Yeah,'' she says, `` What is he? Some kind of genius?'' 
 
 `` I looked it up. He's a polymath. Like two of his namesakes. They can score as geniuses, and this guy probably is, but they do n't have to. You know the guy in school who was always good at everything? That's a polymath. Combine it with genius and a nurturing childhood and you get our plumber. Now read this.'' Another folder across the table. 
 
 `` Robert William Masters. 45. M.D., Ph.D. Biology, Ph.D. Physics. Published numerous times all three fields. Prestigious awards. No wife, no immediate family. Wow, he sounds like a polymath too.'' 
 
 `` Yeah, what are the chances of getting a one judge jury on the snap-judgment case of the century and having the juror look like the defendant's little brother?'' 
 
 -=++=- 
 
 [ file ends ] 
 
 Wow. So it's that case. `` The Doctor'' they're starting to call him. Well there is only one real choice. I take out the paper and write: 
 
 To whom it may concern, 
 
 I want to apologize to you all for not voting to gas this inhumane monster. However, the damage he has done to his victims can not be repaired or repaid. His offered cures will help people beyond measure. I am appending this note to my judgment. I vote to accept the deal with three stipulations. First, if the cures do not work, death penalty. Second, if he ever needs any of the cures, he is to be denied. Third, this letter must be published. 
 
 
 unsigned
