I nearly destroyed my friend’s life by lying under oath

She locked up her ex husband and it was entirely my fault<br><br>I’ll obfuscate identifications just in case "<br><br>Back in 2016 I went out on a date with this girl and we were in her car when we stopped for a red light.<br><br>As I was looking at the radio, a car pulled alongside and I noticed there was a guy matching the girl’s ex husband’s description in the passenger’s seat. <br><br>I thought nothing of it, but still said: “hey, is that...”<br><br>Before I could finish the sentence she interrupted, saying “yeah, you see, we were talking and...”<br><br>Then, the car took off. A few seconds later, she said, in a very natural and monotone voice<br><br>“If he ever calls me again, I will get him locked up for the rest of my life”<br><br>At the time, I had the feeling she might have been under some sort of threat and didn’t think about it anymore.<br><br>Fast forward to 2017, I receive a phone call from an unknown number, asking me if my name was (my name) and I said yes, and they said they were working for this agency investigating this guy.<br><br>I was intrigued, and they said they needed my testimony to this case under oath. <br><br>“Sure thing, why not?” I thought<br><br>They were very clear about the name, the person in question and the context, and I matched all of their information.<br><br>Then, they asked me if I had ever seen any messages, emails or conversations where he would do or say something menacing or threatening to his ex wife.<br><br>I knew I wasn’t aware of any of this since I had only gone on 2 dates with the person<br><br>But then the following phrase came to my head<br><br>“If he ever calls me again, I will get him locked up for the rest of his life”<br><br>So, I said, and this is my biggest regret to this day<br><br>“Oh, yeah, I remember because he was actually calling her all the time and she once threatened him, saying that ‘one of these days she will get him locked for the rest of his life’”<br><br>“Does that sound like a threat to you?”<br><br>“Kinda yeah”<br><br>They said my testimony under oath could lead to a conviction and a possible prison sentence for him.<br><br>I said okay, it’s fine, I’ll do it<br><br>It wasn’t until I hung up that I thought I might have messed up.<br><br>But I didn’t want to lie or backtrack on my previous testimony, even tough at this point I knew she had lied about ever being threatened<br><br>A few weeks later, they called me again saying I would have to testify in court.<br><br>I told them about my doubts, and they assured me I had nothing to worry about.<br><br>The time passed by and the first two hearings were cancelled, <br><br>I thought they ran out of budget or something and it wouldn’t happen again.<br><br>But one morning, a little before noon, I came home early from work to pick up the papers and sure enough, they were there.<br><br>I had to be there at 2pm, in less than an hour.<br><br>I called the agency to explain my doubts, but no one picked up the phone, so I decided to go and talk to the judge myself.<br><br>I told him I wasn’t sure I was telling the truth and that she said those things out of nowhere, with no context, and that I didn’t think it was fair.<br><br>He told me that they were going for a restraining order, and the witness list was long, so it would be a while.<br><br>Right at that moment, the girl in question walked towards me, smiling, and she asked “hey, what are you doing here?” <br><br>I told her I was there to testify against her ex, and her smile disappeared<br><br>“Against my ex husband, or for?”<br><br>“For”, I replied<br><br>She got really upset, said some hurtful things, called me an asshole, and I said “I’m under oath, whatever I say has to be the truth”<br><br>She said “but you were never there! You never heard him threaten me, you don’t know anything about him, it’s all made up”<br><br>I told her that the agency said-<br><br>“They lied to you, I never said any of those things, I lied and now you are here lying as well, this is all because I’m a dumb bitch who can’t move on from my ex husband!”<br><br>I felt horrible, and I told her I would probably lie to get him in trouble, just so she could get back at him.<br><br>She cried a little bit, right there in the courtroom, and I apologized for letting her down, and she told me to shut up and go home.<br><br>I did.<br><br>I thought that was it. That they would just drop the case<br><br>A few months later I found out she had actually been granted the restraining order and he had spent a few weeks in jail, until someone from the agency reached out to him and he discovered he had the right to defend himself and that the whole case was built around two lies. <br><br>The agency was nearly sued, everyone behind the case was either fired or transferred, and she was prosecuted (but nothing came out of it)<br><br>It still bothers me today, even though I have no contact with either parties.<br><br>Edit: thank you all for the kindest words, even the ones I don’t agree with.