“Could you please repeat that question, counselor?”
In 2015 a woman in Michigan shot and killed her husband, then shot herself in a failed suicide attempt.
The whole thing was witnessed by Bud, their pet African Gray parrot (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40665520), who functioned as a feathered tape recorder and imitated both parties to the confrontation. He re-enacted the murder.
The police took the parrot’s re-enactment seriously and the woman was convicted. But Bud’s testimony wasn’t used in court, they had to find other evidence–which they did.
Well, how could the judge allow a parrot to take the witness stand? Really–do you swear him in? Does the defense get to cross-examine? Any risk of perjury? No, no, the judge just couldn’t see his way to allowing it. Nevertheless, the parrot did play a key role in the investigation.
Now I wonder how many parrots voted Democrat in this year’s presidential election.
I don’t know why, but this story really amuses me.
Naturally–I mean, just imagine the courtroom scene. “Do you swear to tell the truth…?” “Awk, awk!”
You asked great questions about impeaching the bird’s credibility. Haha. How do you cross a bird?
Fascinating!