I placed a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “He did not intentionally take my daughter’s life. He was drugged. He made a terrible mistake. And he has paid for it every day since.”

The judge studied us for a long moment. “I need time to consider this.”

After a three-hour recess, the courtroom filled again, even spilling outside. When the judge returned, he delivered his decision.

He placed Marcus on ten years’ probation, ordered two thousand hours of community service, mandatory counseling, educational requirements, and speaking engagements. He assigned Marcus to live with us under supervision and warned that any violation would send him to prison for the remainder of the original sentence.

And then the gavel fell.