Just wondering if this ever existed in reality. I am basing this on the “Romulan Right of Statement”, where a comdemned prisoner was allowed a last , official statement.
Ever hear of such in real life extened to general citizens who weren’t accused of crimes? Presumably to close kin or shaman, etc.? As in refusing such would mean someone got a reputation for allowing such. Seems with some cultures having deep repect for the eldery, this would be taboo somewhere.
I remember that episode! TOS “The Enterprise Incident.”
Many states permit prisoners who are about to be executed to make final statements.
Also, FWIW, in English common law (and still under American law, as in Ohio Evid.R. 804(B)(2), for instance), a declaration made by one who is “under belief of impending death” is a hearsay exception and admissible in court, “concerning the cause or circumstances of what the declarant believed to be his or her impending death” (e.g. “Joe shot me!”). Historically, this arose from the belief that one who was about to die would want to “get something off his chest” or to finger the killer, and would presumably not dare to lie just before “slipping this mortal coil.”
Not all cultures share this view - the contrary example I heard in law school was a country (the name of which I don’t recall, and it might have just been a smear anyway) where someone who knew he was about to die would say all kinds of awful stuff about his enemies, so that God would have no doubt as to who the bad guy(s) were.