For the Rest of Your Natural Life

Jason Greene sat on the stage shaking his head in disbelief. There were people all around him, but everything felt strangely silent and detached. The election results were still coming in, but it seemed clear already that he had lost his reelection bid for district attorney.

As he sat there occasionally receiving the sympathetic words of his supporters, Jason reflected on the absurdity of it all. Here he was, losing an election he should have easily won and 1,000 miles away sat Jack Moore - lying on a beach in the sun when he should be behind bars for good.

Jason shook his head in resignation. Moore had made an utter fool of him and it had cost him his political career.

Jason Greene had been a rising star in his party. A Harvard graduate, handsome and articulate, Jason made his mark early as a lawyer. Trial successes as a defense attorney naturally led to his hiring as an assistant district attorney. In that post, he had out-shined everyone else - including his boss.

So, when the district attorney announced that he would not be seeking reelection, Jason was the obvious choice to replace him. Campaigning with his wife and two young daughters at his side, Jason was unbeatable. There seemed to be nothing that could stop him from serving many years, or seeking an even more influential office.

And then came Jack Moore.

Moore had been a target of Greene's since the beginning of his term of office. He was a serial criminal who had been in and out of prison since his teens. Moore eventually became a trusted lieutenant in a small Mafia clan, rising eventually to its top ranks through murder and threats of murder. It was for one of those murders that Jason Greene had been confident he could get a conviction.

Using informants, wiretaps and some extraordinary sleuthing, Greene was able to convince a grand jury that Moore had not only ordered the murder of a small-time crook named Frank Parissi, but that he actually participated in the murder personally.

At the trail, things also went Jason's way. The jury selection was favorable and his evidence unimpeachable. In fact, the only hold-up to a speedy and successful trial was Jack Moore's heart trouble. The old mafioso had experienced three heart attacks and one quadruple bypass in the past few years. So there were some days throughout the trial where the defense claimed that their client was too sick to attend the proceedings.

Still, after three months, the verdict was returned in Jason's favor. Jack Moore was guilty of murder and would likely end his life in prison. It was anybody's guess how long that would actually be. In fact, after three months in confinement, Jack Moore had another heart attack and was resuscitated by the prison medical staff. Afterwards, his lawyer petitioned the court for advanced medical care for the old man. The court, for its part, approved the care, but did not grant the request for an early release due to health reasons.

As far as Jason was concerned, if the old man wanted to live longer in solitary confinement, that was fine with him. So, when Jack Moore asked to have the experimental surgery done, the district attorney did not oppose the request. As a condition, though, Jason ensured that no early medical release would be allowed even if the surgery went very wrong.

Two months later, Jack Moore was wheeled into an operating room only to leave it 20 hours later with his ailing heart removed and an artificial heart in its place.

Later, when it seemed clear that the surgery had been a success, Jason was shocked to learn that Moore's lawyer had filed a petition for Jack's release from prison. Even more shocking to Jason was the basis of the petition. Rather than claim medical necessity, Moore's defense team stated that Jack Moore had fully served his term and should now be set free.

The proposal was so ludicrous that Jason laughed it off. It was such a ridiculous argument that rather than attending the hearing personally, Jason sent one of his assistants to handle the proceedings.

Soon, however, a hasty phone call from the assistant district attorney during recess brought Jason running the the court building. But it was too late. To Jason's great surprise and eventual political ruin, Jack Moore won his case and was released because he had served his full sentence.

Victory confetti drifted down on the loser as he continued to sit alone on the stage. Most of the crowd had gone home and those who remained kept a polite distance. Jason shook his yet again. When Jack Moore had requested to be released, his lawyers had noted that state law decreed that life sentences were to last until the end of the convict's natural life. With an artificial heart, Jack Moore's natural life ended at surgery. Now he was living an extended, unnatural life. Therefore, his sentence had been served.

The court was obliged to agree with the defense and Jack Moore was summarily released. Now, a year later, he was living in Barbados, surrounded by young nurses and a personal physician. Meanwhile, Jason Green sat, alone and out of office.

(c) 2016, Kevin H. Grenier