Zeezrom recognizes his guilt before God, and declares the innocence of Alma and Amulek. We do not know the social context in which this defense took place. It is possible that it took place before the chief judge, and that Zeezrom provided a voice of defense against the larger number of voices of accusation. While there is some temptation to see Zeezrom the lawyer as a representative for the defense, there is nothing in the description that would allow us to draw that conclusion. Indeed, the reaction of the people appears to occur almost independent of the ruling of the chief judge.
What we see in this verse is the enforcement of prevailing opinion by force of numbers. Nevertheless, this action is taken with at least the tacit approval of the chief judge, as we will see in verse 14.
What we do see clearly here, however, is the very real manifestation of the fear that Alma had when first presented with Nehor himself. It is worth reexamining Alma's statement to Nehor as Nehor stood accused before Alma, an ironic twist where Alma as chief judge condemned Nehor, and now a Nehorite judge apparently condemns Alma: