Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
It was noted to the court how, after the crime, each woman, while still young, had suffered the death of a parent.
“While it does not excuse, or diminish their crimes,” one of the lawyers told the judge, “it presented additional challenges to be confronted at a young age while incarcerated as a consequence of the offence.”
In reports presented to the court, each woman was characterized as being a model inmate while serving their time, with no acts of violence or violations reported against them. Each woman, the court was told, was deemed a minimal risk to reoffend or become a threat to anyone.
At each final review, lawyers read statements from their client to the court.
“‘Prison can change you,’” the first woman’s statement began. “‘My mother died while I was in jail. I had no family. I had nobody, but I learned so much.’”
The lawyer for the second woman, in reading part of the statement, said: “‘Some people come out of prison hardened. Some people come out of prison ready to be a better person than they were when they went in. I know what I did. I know the pain I caused. I am now a changed person.’”
The lawyer for the third woman, in reading an excerpt, told the court: “‘I was fourteen, I was a stupid kid. I made a stupid mistake and each morning I wake up it’s the first thing that hits me—like a hammer.’”
Like Justice Claiborne before her, Justice Crawford had struggled with the horrible dimensions of the case and made similar final statements to each woman, evocative of the poet Omar Khayyám, and the futility of the moving finger of time.
“You will never be able to undo what you’ve done. No amount of words or tears will change the past. But you’ve served your sentence, met every requirement, and now this court can only hope that you’ve truly shed the skin of the vile, vindictive young person you were, to become a stable, functioning adult member of society and make a positive contribution to this world.”
In each case, court proceedings did not allow for statements from family, friends or supports of the victims. Their thoughts, if they wanted to voice them, were given outside the court to the news media.
“What they did to my brother and his family,” Paul Tullock told the cameras, “what they took from us, was too much. It can never be forgotten and will never be forgiven.”