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Murderer is my hero!
12/17/08
By Elissa Bernstein
“Maya, that guy’s checking you out!” Louise said to her 15-year-old friend at their school badminton game.
Maya rolled her eyes. “Oh please!”
“Shhh…he’s coming over!”
“Hey,” the man winked at Maya. “I’m Gary.”
Maya blushed.
As he walked away, Louise whispered. “Did you see his tattoos! A real bad boy.”
A few weeks later, Maya’s parents were frantic.
“Maya should have been home by now,” Estelle fretted.
Maya’s younger brother piped up. “She was with her boyfriend tonight.”
Bob and Estelle were stunned. “Boyfriend? Since when does she have a boyfriend? Is it someone from school?”
“No way. He’s ancient. I think he’s over 25.”
Bob turned to Estelle. “Maya has never acted like this! Where’s our good little girl?”
Maya kept sneaking out to see Gary.
Her life started to unravel.
“Look at this report card! She’s gone from an “A” student to barely passing!” Estelle said.
They got an anonymous note from Gary’s neighbour. “Gary is a crack dealer and he’s getting your daughter heavily addicted. She needs help.”
Bob paced the kitchen floor. “She’ll die if she keeps going there.”
The parents got Maya into a hospital for evaluation. But days later, she was released. She went straight back to Gary.
“What can we do?” Estelle asked. “He has so much power over her!”
“We have to take away his power,” Bob said. “There’s only one solution.”
He took his gun and went over to Gary’s. And shot him dead.
Maya watched in horror.
She went into rehab and turned her life around.
“You saved my life, Dad. And now you’re facing a murder charge!” Maya cried.
“I’d do it again,” Bob said. “Hopefully, the judge will understand.”
IN THE COURTROOM
The prosecutor was unmoved. “This is vigilante killing at its worst! Convict Bob of the murder.”
Bob stood firm. “He would have killed my daughter with his drugs just as sure as I am standing here. I had to kill him to save her life, and that’s not murder!”
Is Bob guilty? You! Be the Judge. Then look below for the decision.
THE DECISION
“Guilty!” roared the Judge. “The end cannot justify the means. What you did was murder, even if you thought you had no choice.”
Today’s column is based on a case from Ontario. 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 internationally syndicated columnist. Copyright 2007 Haika Enterprises CG4-13.
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