On February 1, 2014 my step-daughter was murdered. Shot in the heart by the father of her daughter in an attempted robbery.  Although he provided many accounts of what happened that night, he has admitted that he pulled the trigger and was responsible for her death. We have waited years for him to stand trial, a trial that was scheduled to begin in only a few weeks.

The Original Charges

I don’t know the exact number of original charges but I know there were MANY. Among those charges was a charge of 1st degree murder–a Class 1 Felony–which allows for the harshest punishment allowable by law.

811 Days Gone

Yesterday marked 811 days since the murder and yesterday we sat in court and watched the man who did it plead guilty. Unfortunately, all but 2 charges were dropped in lieu of him accepting a deal.

The plea…

• Guilty to 1 count of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Robbery
• Guilty 1 count 2nd Degree Murder

The plea agreement…

• A 20-25 year sentence

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69 Days to Go

It won’t be until June 30th, in 69 more days, a judge will finally deliver the sentence. Finally! Maybe the sense of closure will come that day. 

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Is Justice REALLY Being Served?

I anticipated I would feel a sense of closure yesterday, finally knowing that we were one step closer to slamming the door on the tragedy but I don’t. I don’t feel any different today than I did yesterday. Yes, I know that there is some closure but do I really think justice is being served? No, not really.

The entire case is extremely complicated.  The man committed the crime right before his 18th birthday and although it took a week of testimony and several months of waiting, the a judge eventually decided they could try him as an adult. But because he was a juvenile when he actually committed the crime, he wouldn’t serve more than 40 years. MUCH less than the life sentence he could have received had he been over 18 at the time of the murder.

Over the last 2 years I sat through countless hearings, listened to people testify about how horrible his childhood was, listened to people argue that he shouldn’t serve any time as an adult, listened to testimony about that night, heard him waive his right to a speedy trial, witnessed him get a new public defender, waited more time for that person to learn the case, and received calls from the victim advocate notifying us of multiple rescheduled hearings. It seemed like this would never go to trial but FINALLY a date was set…May 3rd would have been day one of an 8 day trial. BUT, due to some significant change of events, the trial was cancelled and he plead guilty.

There was frequent talk about a plea deal, a lot of back and forth about what should really happen, a lot of consideration about what would guarantee a conviction. About a month ago, talk of a plea deal got more serious and he was offered a sentence agreement in the mid 30’s. He and his attorneys denied the offer, counter offered, and were themselves denied. A final offer was going to be made last week, somewhere in the ball park of 27-33 years. And then something totally unexpected happened.

The Event That Changed it All

Right before the prosecutors offered their final deal, they found out that the only witness to the shooting that WAS NOT involved in committing the crime, had died. Apparently the 2nd victim in this case overdosed and poof, their best bet at getting a conviction disappeared. The dilemma–going to trial without this witness would mean that the jury would only hear from the man accused of murder and his friend who was in on the attempted robbery and who fled the scene and led police on an insane chase with the murderer.

The Reality

My stepdaughter’s murderer has been serving a sentence in a juvenile facility for a crime he committed prior to the murder. He will finish that sentence in May and be moved to the jail where he will await the sentencing in this case. He will be eligible for parole after serving 75 percent of his sentence. He will likely get credit for time served. He could receive favor from the judge if he cooperates in the case against the co-defendant. He could earn time off for good behavior while incarcerated. The reality…he could end up doing about 50 to 55 percent of his actual sentence.

What Would I Consider Justice?

I really don’t care what happens to him. I’m suspect that, based on past criminal behavior, that he will seal his fate in the system. And if he is somehow rehabilitated himself while he’s incarcerated, good for him. I still don’t care. My one and only concern is what will happen to his daughter who was only 9 months old when her mom died. I am not confident that the system will protect her. The system has already failed her in placing her with someone who has become the murderer’s biggest advocate. Someone that doesn’t have the common sense to protect her from what is one of the most complicated and horrific realities. Someone that has promised to serve as his mentor and his father.

My granddaughter will be facing some extremely difficult situations as she grows older and protecting her mental well-being will be critical in helping her deal with those. Carelessness will only do more damage than what has already been done. Justice to me would be keeping him in prison until she is an adult and is old enough to decide how, or if,  she wants to involve herself in his life.

Final Thoughts

The prosecuting attorneys have spent a great deal of time explaining the situation to us and have made sure that our wishes and thoughts have been considered. Yesterday we had the opportunity to share our opinion about the plea with the court. We could have either expressed agreement or not. We choose not to say anything.

Do we think the punishment fits the crime? NO.

Are we in agreement with the plea? YES– considering the fact that if this goes to trial things could go much differently.

But you better believe that we will advocate for our granddaughter at every opportunity. The court, parole board, and anyone else that needs to know will hear from us.

I have learned MANY, MANY things over the last few years. One is that the system, as it is designed, doesn’t always work and isn’t always fair. I am thankful we will not have to sit through a trial hoping a jury finds him guilty…hoping the system gets it right. The biggest lesson for me–there isn’t much you can do about it if they don’t. Thinking about it constantly will get you nowhere. You don’t have to accept it but you do have to move on. Lucky for us, we are one step closer to doing just that!