

Times Non-Humans Were Used as Witnesses
Humans aren’t the only ones who’ve had to show up at court; animals, puppets and robots have taken the stand as well. Some courts begrudgingly allowed it while others flat out refused. Some parrots and dogs had to testify in criminal proceedings while a certain children’s educational puppet had a chat with Congress. No matter the reason, here are five times non humans were used as witnesses.
1. Peach the Dog
A misunderstanding between the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the West Midlands Police Station in Wales led to one of the funniest exchanges ever. For their upcoming case, CPS requested a witness statement from Police Constable Peach who actually turned out to be Police Dog Peach, a four-year-old German shepherd. Undeterred, CPS insisted on the statement, so the police did next-best thing: they wrote the statement, in a wriggly doggy handwriting saying, “I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Goody boy. Good boy Peach,” signed with Peach’s paw print. The post quickly went viral on Facebook and CPS became the butt of several jokes.
2. Max the Parrot
Sometime in November of 1991, a 36-year-old woman named Jane Gill was found in her home and her business partner, Gary Joseph Rasp quickly became a suspect. Max, her parrot, was found nearly two days later, hungry and thirsty. After being nursed back to health, Max immediately shouted out, “Richard, no, no, no!” Everyone was stunned, to say the least. Rasp’s lawyer was determined to prove his client’s innocence by trying to produce the bird as a witness. But the judge overruled his request and Max’s whereabouts were kept secret, long after the incident.
3. Buddy the Dog
In the early 20th century, a Major General for the US Armed Forces named Eli Helmick and a hat seller by the name of Keeley Morse went to court over a dog named Buddy… or Prince, depending on who you asked. Helmick named his dog Buddy who he last saw in November 1921 while a similar dog named Prince popped up in Morse’s hat shop just a few months later. The two wound up arguing in court and to put an end to the dispute once and for all, judge Kimball let the dog into the courtroom and placed him on a chair. Buddy immediately ran towards Helmick’s wife and the judge ruled the case in Helmick’s favor.
4. Elmo
Elmo, Sesame Street’s top star, made a special appearance before Congress in 2002 to have a little chat about the Education Appropriation Subcommittee to support an increase in funding to purchase music equipment and to fund music research in schools. Although a few people enjoyed this light-hearted moment, many of them were unimpressed, and even annoyed. It didn’t help that Elmo interrupted a couple of witnesses and tried to munch down on the mic a couple of times.
5. Pepper the Robot
In 2018, Pepper, who is just one of a group of smart robots created by the Japanese company SoftBank Robotics, became the first robot to appear before the British Parliament. Pepper testified alongside several human witnesses including roboticists and computer scientists. The purpose of all this was to prove the usefulness of robots and artificial intelligence to humans. Pepper has performed a number of jobs including receptionist and cashier, although he was fired from the latter.
Recent Posts
-
Facts About Sleeping That’ll Make You Want to Stop
02 | 06 | 2023
We spend a third of our lives sleeping. We all look forward to having restful sleep particularly at night and waking up feeling rejuvenated. While …
-
Jobs AI Can’t Take Away From Humans… At Least Not Yet
02 | 05 | 2023
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous and is becoming increasingly smart and efficient. While AI has proven to be beneficial, there is growing concern that it …
-
Air Stunts Pilots Pulled That Saved Many Lives
02 | 04 | 2023
Aviation is a risky business. Getting on a plane means placing your life in the hands of a pilot and that can be a scary …
-
Syndromes You Didn’t Know Existed
02 | 03 | 2023
Sometimes, reality can appear much stranger than fiction. There are many diseases in this world that are so rare and unusual that they’ve been named …
-
The Most Dangerous Roads in the World
02 | 02 | 2023
Roads are one of the oldest man-made constructs in the world, and despite our technological advancements, many of them still remain very unsafe and hazardous. …
Leave a Reply