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Charles Pépin
every day for about twenty-
five years. The judge insists.
She says she understands
what the doctor is saying but
to the extent that he treated
my mother for months, could
he not tell us something
about me? “An image if you
must keep only one image of
Mr. Solaro, what would it be?”
I find this image technique
to be a little strange, even
if it is only a way to refresh
his memory. It’s annoying
for the doctor, he must ask
himself what he’s doing here,
summoned to remember, and
to respond. But the process
seems to have worked, the
doctor speaks:
- Yes, I have an image… If I
must have only one image
of Mr. Solaro, it would be
his walk in the corridors. I
remember his gait, his steps,
his pace, rather bizarre in
a hospital corridor, he had
a way of walking that was
dynamic and airy…
- Airy? asks the judge.
- Yes, airy, cheerful, he always
walked as if he arrived with
good news…
- Pardon me for insisting, but
we want to be sure that we
properly understand… You
say that he had a cheerful
walk in the corridors of the
hospital, is that correct?
Then my lawyer stood up and
asked the court clerk, in a
solemn tone, to clearly note
his protest: “But what are you
judging here? Is Mr. Solaro
being judged for the murder
of a drug dealer or for the way
he walked down a hospital
corridor?” The judge replies
that these questions simply
serve to better understand
the personality of the
accused and it’s important
to remember that it is a man
who is being judged, not
solely the act, but a man who
committed an act, and that it
could be useful, as a result, to