Trial by combat: Kansas man requests in court to allow him to have a sword fight with his ex-wife

Photo: Eteknix

Harlan, Iowa (AP) - A Kansas resident suggested to an Iowa judge to let him fight his ex-wife and her attorney in a sword fight to "rend their souls" from their bodies.

David Ostrom, 40, of Paola, Kansas, testimonies in January 03, 2020 that his estranged wife, Bridgette Ostrom, 38, of Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney, Matthew Hudson, had "destroyed [me] legally".

The Ostroms have been involved with each other in several legal battles over property taxes, visitation rights, and custody issues.

Hence, the proposal of trial by combat, which Ostrom said that "To this day, trial by combat has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States," and that Britain has utilized it as recently as 1818.

He also stated that given 12 weeks, he is to be ensured to secure Japanese samurai swords or Katanas to be used in the fight.

Surprisingly enough, Ostrom told the Des Moines Register, New York Supreme Court Justice Philip Minardo validated in 2016 that duels were technically not yet abolished.

Attorney Hudson filed a resistance in response to Ostrom's request, claiming that death would be the assumed outcome of the battle.

Also, he argued that "just because the US and Iowa constitutions do not specifically prohibit battling another person with a deadly katana sword, it does prohibit a court sitting in equity from ordering [the] same."

Thereafter, Ostrom fought back, saying that duels could also end when one of the combatants "cries craven" or surrendered, then he argued that because Hudson and his former spouse declined "the call to battle... they should lose this motion by default".

Due to the eccentric nature of this case, the court said they wouldn't issue any response until proper procedures are followed.