I might be back in court. I won\u2019t be the one on trial, but that doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be a price to pay. For a while, I wrestled with the decision\u2014until I realized there really wasn\u2019t a decision to make. If I\u2019m called to testify, I have to show up. The only choice I have is how I carry it. I can let fear and resentment eat at me, or I can accept what\u2019s in front of me and move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The risks are real. If I testify, the defence lawyer will tear into me. My past\u2014something I work hard to move beyond\u2014will be dragged into the open again. There\u2019s a good chance I\u2019ll be outed as a murderer in a public forum. That alone could make me a target. Not just from the accused\u2019s friends, but from anyone who sees me as nothing more than the worst thing I ever did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here\u2019s the thing\u2014I\u2019ve already lived through the worst. And I\u2019ve learned that the only person who can truly hurt me is me. If I let fear stop me from doing what\u2019s right, then I\u2019m the one betraying myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This case isn\u2019t just some abstract moral dilemma. The victim is a client of mine. She\u2019s spent years trapped under the control of her son\u2014stalked, threatened, and drained of every penny she had. The day she finally found the courage to speak up, I reported it. I documented everything, got her to safety, and made sure the police knew what had been happening. Now, I may be asked to stand up in court and confirm what I saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I gave my statement, I told the officer the full truth\u2014including the fact that I\u2019m on a life licence for killing my partner. I was an abuser once. I know exactly how this kind of violence works. The officer just nodded and asked how I felt about testifying. That\u2019s when it really hit me: If I refused, there was a good chance the victim wouldn\u2019t testify either. Like so many people in her position, she\u2019d probably stay silent. And if she did, her son would walk free, and the cycle would continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what made the decision for me. This isn\u2019t about snitching. It\u2019s not about revenge. It\u2019s about standing up for someone who can\u2019t stand up for herself. I won\u2019t pretend it doesn\u2019t scare me. But I also won\u2019t pretend I have a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because sometimes, doing the right thing is the only thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I might be back in court. I won\u2019t be the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[535,534,536,533,386],"class_list":["post-2246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parole","tag-choices","tag-civic-duty","tag-coercive-control","tag-member-of-society","tag-rehabilitation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2249,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions\/2249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jailhousemoose.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}