“All rise!” the bailiff called out. The packed courtroom quickly fell silent from the many hushed conversations, and people stood as Judge Anderson walked into the courtroom wearing his traditional, authoritative black robes. It was the conclusion of the sentencing hearing for a middle-aged man, found guilty of rape by a jury just a few months prior and the courtroom was filled with friends and relatives of both the man and his victim. Both parties were about to receive closure.
The trial was slightly unusual in that he had originally been arrested for 2nd degree assault for spiking a young woman’s drink with a “date-rape” drug. Luckily for the young woman, he was seen dumping the drug into her drink; charges were filed, and an arrest was made. It was during the investigation that the detectives discovered an earlier victim, Juliana, had initially filed charges against him and then later dropped her charges in fear of repercussions. It took a bit of coaxing to convince Juliana to come forward with her testimony; as it turns out, it was only her case which the jury reached a guilty verdict.
Juliana’s two children, Mark and Timmy were present in the courtroom. For them it was extremely boring, Mark, the eldest at 7 shared a tablet with his 3-year-old little brother; together they were watching cartoons, with almost no volume. Timmy was a bright young boy, who even at 3 was already recognizing certain words; his pre-K teacher often said he was one of the brightest students she’d ever taught.
There Timmy sat in the courtroom wearing his “fancy shirt” (as he called it), a shirt he often wore to Sunday School at church. His bright blue eyes were focused on the tablet that his brother held; he was a very cute little boy, which often allowed him to get his way… after all who could resist that face? As he was watching the cartoon playing on the tablet, he remembered that he and his brother Mark had just started building a “fort” in their shared bedroom just before they were called to leave for court. They often took chairs, pillows and sheets to form a rudimentary tent like structures they called forts and he was looking forward to returning home to finish it with his brother.
Juliana, obviously more interested in the court than her children were, watched the proceedings with a tear in her eye. This same man had drugged her years ago at a party, one moment she’s dancing with him and the next thing she remembers is waking up in a hotel room feeling defiled and dirty. She immediately called the police, who initially convinced her to press charges and testify, but as a single mother she became afraid of what might happen to her, so she refused to testify. It wasn’t until he was caught trying to do the same thing to another woman, when the detectives approached her from that case that she became willing to testify. She was glad it was finally going to be over; she sighed a sigh of relief.
The rapist was asked to stand to receive his sentencing. Judge Anderson was getting the point of announcing the sentence: “The court will impose the following sentence after considering all of these factors: the defendant is sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment in a location to be determined by the Department of Corrections of the State for 10 years…” As the judge continued specifying the terms and conditions and possibility of parole and time off for good behavior, Juliana again sighed in relief: 10 years was longer than the average sentence of someone convicted of rape.
“There is one more item on the docket before this court” Judge Anderson said, “It is my understanding that there was a child born as a result of this rape, is this correct?”
“Yes, your Honor,” Juliana replied, “Timothy here.”
“Timothy would you please step forward?”
Timmy looked up from the tablet, then at his mother, an unspoken question visible on his face. “Go on Timmy” his mother encouraged. Timmy nervously stepped forward; the judge had used the name his mother only said when he was in trouble “Timothy.” He wondered why he was in trouble; did he make too much noise watching his favorite cartoon?
Judge Anderson looked down from his bench. “Timothy, as the product of this crime, you are declared the "residue of a rapist"; you are hereby sentenced to death by dismemberment. Bailiff lead him away.” Timothy turned to run back to his mother, tears beginning to swell in his face, he didn’t know what the words the judge had just spoken meant, but he was sure it wasn’t good. He could see his brother Mark standing there looking stunned, his mother’s face turned cold.
The bailiff caught Timothy and roughly held on to him and as the bailiff walked away from Juliana, Timothy began to cry in terror; instantly he understood, he would never see his mother again, he would never see his brother again, they would never finish building the fort together.“Mama!” Timmy cried out, but as the bailiff walked through the door, he heard his mama say:
“I never wanted you anyway…”