STOCKTON, CA—Concluding proceedings of a case that will now be sent to a jury it lacked the means to properly vet, San Joaquin District Attorney James Willett told reporters Monday that he believes his office prosecuted a suspected murderer to the fullest extent of its budget. “I can assure the public we used all of the very limited resources at our disposal to build this case,” said Willett, adding that his underpaid colleagues never rested as they attempted to make up for the recent layoffs of their legal assistants. “From day one we worked around the clock combing through whatever evidence had not been rendered inadmissible by the shoddy work of our overburdened, understaffed police force. Then we determined the maximum charges we could bring and settled on something lesser to ensure we got a conviction and avoided completely squandering our department’s meager funding.” Willett confirmed that he is confident the jury will put the suspect behind bars until whenever prison overcrowding forces the state to grant an early release.

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