By: Dr. Jerry Bergman
Montpelier, Ohio
One of the most interesting legal cases I have ever been involved in was a case in which a dog was on trial.
The names of those involved in the trial and other data have been changed for obvious reasons.
My brief summary of the court trial, which lasted for several hours, follows:
Judge: “This case involves William Abe v. the State of Ohio. Mr. Abe has been charged with 1st degree murder.”
The Prosecutor presents his case: “Your Honor, Mr. Abe, a 19-year-old man, on May 25, 1971, shot and fatally wounded Mr. Rakehil. Mr. Rakehil was not in any way threatening Mr. Abe.
“Mr. Rakehil had no weapon, nor had he made any threatening actions or words to warrant Mr. Abe’s firing at him with a gun, killing him.”
The Defense: “My client, Mr. Abe, suffers from severe autism disorder. He witnessed Mr. Rakehil torturing Spot, his dog, who was crying out in serious pain due to Mr. Rakehil’s deliberately hurting the therapy dog, that has never threatened anyone before.
Mr. Abe implored Mr. Rakehil to stop hurting his dog. He refused to stop and, to defend his dog, Mr. Abe retrieved his father’s gun and fired at Mr. Rakehil, killing him.
My client is low functioning, autistic, and has a learning disorder. His intellectual level is about 3rd grade. As is true with most autistic persons, his dog is a very critical part of his emotional support.
One of the most important treatments for autistic persons, both low- and high-functioning autistic persons, is a dog. The core of autism is a combination of severe social communication and sensory processing differences, which can be exacerbated by the environment.
These core deficiencies often lead to significant challenges in daily life. The abuse of his dog was severely traumatic for Mr. Abe, equivalent to witnessing his daughter being murdered in front of him.”
The Defense calls Spot’s vet to testify: “Could you describe Spot’s injury?” “He had a broken leg and several broken ribs. His head and one eye were severely injured to the degree that he has now lost the use of this eye.
His injuries were so great that I was very afraid we were going to lose him. Mr. Abe was hysterical at the prospect of losing his beloved dog. Fortunately, Spot, once a very healthy dog, has made much progress.”
The Prosecutor: “Mr. Abe was evaluated by a psychologist to determine if he is fit to go on trial. He understands the fact that taking a life is wrong; thus, he knows the difference between right and wrong and also understands what taking a life means.
Because someone is mentally slow is no excuse to avoid justice. Many of the people we prosecute in this court have mental or physical problems and should be prosecuted.”
A neighbor testified: “What bothered Rakehil was that the dog barked and barked and also growled at Mr. Rakehil.
He was a mean dog that was trying to bite Mr. Rakehil, who was only trying to protect himself. Rakehil does not like dogs, especially this dog, who was in the past mean to him.”
Ms. Rakehil testified: “Mr. Abe murdered my husband, a good man and a loving father of two boys. I admit he did like dogs.
However, I don’t, especially the neighbor’s dog. We are cat people. My husband may have over-reacted, but that does not justify killing him.”
The Prosecutor: “Objection. The dog’s presence will bias the court and is irrelevant to the guilt of Mr. Abe, which is the goal of this trial.”
The Judge: “This is not a bench trial, and the decision will be made by the jury. Since the dog is on trial as much as Mr. Abe, we need to make judgments about the dog.”
The Defense: “Since the dog is central to this case, please allow, Spot, into the courtroom.” [So, the dog was allowed in. He ran to his master, wagging his tail while hobbling on his three legs, dragging his broken leg, which was in a cast.
He jumped on the stand, his tail wagging vigorously, and began licking his master.] “With the court’s permission, …” [Spot then walked over to where the judge was sitting].
“I should mention that Spot loves all people and has never hurt a single person in his life, although there are a few dogs he does not like.”
The Defense: “Does anyone on the jury object to a visit with the dog?” No one objected, and the 20-pound dog visited with the jury.
As a people lover, Spot was in heaven and relished the time visiting with so much attention. Most of the jury obviously also enjoyed his attention.
“I need to explain the central importance of a therapy dog for autistic persons. They provide non-judgmental companionship and a bond that improves emotional well-being and reduces feelings of isolation common in autistic persons. They reduce stress, often helping to mitigate behavioral meltdowns.
They improve social interactions by acting as a bridge to others and foster independence, emotional bonding, sensory regulation, and safety. Spot, a poodle-golden retriever mix, is ideal for this role.”
The Prosecutor: “Abe fired once, then Rakehil stood up, and Abe fired twice more. He had no reason to fire two more times. To shoot once is one thing, but to fire when Rakehil stopped mishandling the dog is quite another.”
The Defense: “True, but being autistic, he is unable to process this and cringed when he heard Spot whimper in pain when Rakehil broke its leg. He had no reason to torture the dog, torturing which he seemed to enjoy.”
The case was then sent to the Jury. The expectation was a hung jury. After over three hours, the jury emerged from the jury room. “Have you reached a decision?” The judge asked.
“Yes, we have. 9 to 0 for the defendant.” The defense cheered, but Ms. Rakehil screamed, “No! He got away with murdering an innocent man.”
Post script: Abe was given 2 years’ probation on another charge related to this case and Abe’s parents, also charged, were instructed to securely lock up all firearms to ensure this crime did not recur.
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Dr. Bergman is a multi-award-winning professor and author. He has 9 degrees and has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate level for over 40 years. His over 2,100 publications are in both scholarly and popular journals. Dr. Bergman’s work has been translated into 15 languages. He has spoken over 2,000 times to college, university and church groups in America, Canada, Europe, the South Sea Islands, and Africa. He lives in Montpelier and is available to present in churches and schools. Jerry can be reached at JerryBergman30@yahoo.com