Fall Flash 4

“I find you guilty of murder; do you have anything to say before your sentencing?”

The judge stared down at the woman before him, his eyes shooting sparks of hot fury. He was clearly prepared to throw all the books at her.

She stood straight, proud in her orange. In clear, ringing tones so all could hear her, she said, “I was right to kill him, he beat me ten times. You let him go ten times to beat me again, the eleventh time I stood my ground.”

The courtroom gasped.

“I sentence you to Life, without Parole.”



The Flash word is Right . The word limit is 100 words. This one comes in at exactly 100.

Hashtags: #flashfiction #getpublished with @RedmundPro


  1. Judges need to be on “Trial” as well …

  2. Lots of food for thought in this one Val….

    • Yes, with the nation going in the direction it is, the violence seemingly escalating and the deeply disturbing cultural shift against those who most need our protection, yes food for thought.

  3. I changed my mind: this one is my favorite, thus far. A case like this happened in Florida around the same time as the Zimmerman case. She shot into the ceiling (no one got hurt) as her abusive husband attacked her. She shot to warn him off and she got 20 years. Very poignant!

    • This is a rough one isn’t it? I know the case you are talking about, while we only hear bits and pieces and you are correct the 20 years is a miscarriage of justice there really is more to it than we hear on the surface. But, having been on the other side, the side that saw my abuser released or never arrested time and again. Having been told, ‘he has the right to beat you’, by both the law and a priest. This one came from somewhere inside me.

  4. Law and justice are narrowly defined – so narrow that sometimes wrongs are perpetrated while rights are banged flat under a gavel.

  5. Wow! You certainly do know how to put stark reality into perspective.

    • Sometimes painful reality, horrifying injustice and the terrible words we use in defining our actions. Was she right? Each of us might have a different view but, this one defined something that happens all the time.

  6. As one character from the play/movie “Chicago” said, “He had it coming!”

  7. Brilliant flash fiction, I guess three strikes and your out is only any good if the judge can count

  8. Strong with a powerful message!

  9. I think perhaps the judge should have thrown it out and called it “Suicide by wife” It would have sounded better than if he proudly stood up, proclaiming, “We are the american justice system, and we never make the same mistake eleven times”

  10. She should have got off for all those beatings!

  11. Bravo. Of course, if the man had killed his wife, he would have been justified. Ammirite?

  12. Can you hear me clapping? Tilt you head a little to the…that’s right, there.
    It’s hard not to clap for the victim for standing her ground and it’s the judge’s fault she was put into such a position. A lot said, Val, in so few words. I like it.

  13. Perhaps the judge needs to
    live her life before sentencing…

    This is a great Flash Val but then
    you always add brilliant flashes 🙂 😉

    Have a wickedly
    sweet rest of weekend 😉 🙂

    Andro xxxx

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