Tuesday March 8, 415 B.C.
The plaintiff’s widowed stepmother stood trial today accused of master-minding the murder of her second husband, the plaintiff’s biological father, when the plaintiff was just a boy. Thirty male jurors, consisting of mostly elderly men, have deemed her innocent by reason of insufficient evidence that it was an illegally carried-out crime of passion.
The trial began at 9 a.m. sharp, beginning with a general introduction to the case, the defendant, and any eyewitness testimony coming from the plaintiff himself which would serve as solid evidence for the crime having been committed.
The plaintiff stood up from his seat in the front row and began speaking. The entire room fell silent as he recollected that day, years ago, when his father was brutally slaughtered by his best friend and his mistress in the middle of the night. Pointing a long, thin finger angrily at his stepmother, who was seated opposite him, he shouted at the jury: “ My [step] mother here seated so calmly in front of you all is one of the sickest human minds there ever lived.” She looked up at him momentarily but quickly returned her gaze back to the 30 jurors, putting on a smug face and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“She ruined my childhood after my father’s death. She was the master-mind, the leader of this whole thing. If not for her my father would still be here today. She plotted in secrecy with my father’s best friend and his mistress on a way to get rid of him.” Apparently, the plaintiff was unaware of his stepmother’s motivation for wanting his father dead since he doesn’t give one.
The stepmom straightened up to address the court for her own defence while her son sat back down. In her statement she said, “I was highly intoxicated with drink that night I killed your father,” she turned to look the plaintiff in the eye briefly, gave him a small smile before turning back to face the assembly. “I don’t really know what happened that night, but I do remember that I got my husband’s friend, Philae and his girlfriend to help me kill my husband while he slept because, in my intoxicated state, I believed he was cheating on me” she exclaimed.
“So, you executed your partner in cold-blood just because you thought he was cheating on you with another woman?” one of the jurors questioned. “Yes, that’s correct !” the plaintiff’s stepmother replied smugly. “You’re excused” the same juror remarked. The whole court is dismissed at this precise moment.
- Athenian law in ancient Greece dictated that if a man or woman found their spouse having an affair then killing the lover was found to be a legitimate legal action to take revenge on their spouse.
