The tennis ball smashed into the net.
“Watch your follow through, Gretchen,” the coach instructed.
“YOU’RE HITTING LIKE AN AMATEUR,” Gretchen’s dad Bernard yelled from behind the fence.
“I’m doing my best, dad. My shoulder is killing me.”
“At this rate, you won’t win a single point against Trish Renman at the tournament,” Bernard barked.
“You won’t even make it past the first round!”
“Forget it then.” Gretchen threw down her racket.
“Bernard, stop disrupting!” the coach ordered.
The night before the tournament, Gretchen was panicking. “My shoulder hurts…”
“Pros don’t complain,” Bernard admonished her.
“Trish beats me every time. And with my shoulder…”
Bernard paced the living room. “I have to do something.
I know…I’ll crush some of Gretchen’s painkillers and…”
The next day, Gretchen couldn’t find her rhythm during her pre-match warm up.
“Trish is in top form. I don’t have a chance…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it…” Bernard promised.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see.”
The match started.
Gretchen quickly fell behind and lost the first set 6-0.
But then, in the second set, Trish suddenly looked faint.
Gretchen forgot about her shoulder and moved in for the kill. She won the tie-breaker in the second set and swept the third as Trish kept faltering.
“Way to go!” Bernard cheered as Gretchen won the match.
“Call an ambulance!” the referee called out. “Trish has collapsed.”
She was rushed to the hospital. To everyone’s shock and horror, Trish died that night.
Gretchen gasped. “What a nightmare.”
“It’s tragic but it doesn’t change your victory,” Bernard insisted. “You need to focus on the tournament.”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
“Bernard . You’re under arrest for causing death by administering toxic substances.
We have evidence that you poisoned Trish by drugging her water bottle with painkillers.”
Gretchen started shrieking, “Dad! Please tell me it’s not true!”
IN THE COURTROOM The prosecutor stormed to her feet. “What a senseless loss of life.
Bernard’s premeditated actions were shameful, to say the least.
Send him to jail for 10 years.”
Bernard was remorseful, “I just wanted to give my daughter an edge in the competition by making Trish sleepy. It was a horrible mistake and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
I’m not a terrible person, I’m a decorated war vet.”
Should Bernard be sent to jail for 10 years? You! Be The Judge.
THE DECISION “8 years in jail,” held the Judge. “This was a travesty.
Bernard ended a young person’s life in an attempt to further his fantasy of turning his child into an elite athlete.
Although he’s remorseful, he still killed in a planned and deliberate way.”
Today’s column is based on a case from France. The characters and the scenarios are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental. The information in this column does not constitute legal advice. If you have a similar problem, consult a lawyer in your province. Elissa Bernstein is a lawyer and syndicated columnist. Copyright 1994-2019 Haika Enterprises
