The judge calls the attorneys to the front to review the appeal. He and Stephen Jones Sr. talk back and forth, and then the prosecutor answers some questions.

“Your Honor, we’d like to submit an oral argument to go with our appeal,” Mr. Jones says.

“Objection,” the prosecutor says.

“I’ll allow it,” Judge Vandyne says.

The prosecution looks frustrated, but they weren’t expected to object. Especially being under scrutiny for their approach to the first trial since the media made Mrs. Evans’s statement public.

We should’ve known the district attorney’s team would try to pull something; they’ve never been fair to us before.

The room is silent when Stephen Jones Sr. begins to speak. He commands the courtroom with his words.

“A rush to judgment took this innocent man’s freedom from him.” He points to Daddy, and the courtroom hangs on every word. “His family has suffered seven long years knowing that, at the time of the murder, he had the best witnesses you could ask for—his arm around his pregnant wife, children playing at his feet—but their truth was unable to stand in the court of law because their voices were silenced. Overpowered by a desperate attempt to close a case. Now another family suffers. All because the prosecution charged the wrong man, and the real killer was free to murder again. Free to spread hate through racist organizations. Your Honor, let us end this injustice here and now with the Beaumont family and start to heal our community. Grant justice for James Beaumont.”

I watch Judge Vandyne as he takes in the argument, knowing that the other eight judges have already weighed in. They’ve had time to consider. To feel the weight of the personal impact this has had on our family. And front-row seats to the injustices throughout the entire process, all leading to Angela’s murder.

Ultimately, this decision comes down to whether the judges will affirm Daddy’s conviction or reverse it, forcing us to go to the Supreme Court. We hope it won’t go that way. We want Daddy home. Today.

I’m nervous. My heart is sinking. Judge Vandyne has the same expression Judge Williams had years ago when he confirmed what the jury’s decision would mean for Daddy. Death. His matter-of-fact demeanor always rubbed me the wrong way.

He thought he was being just, but what I’ve learned is you can’t separate humanity from the legal system. That’s what Mrs. Evans did. She didn’t think about our family. The real people affected. She closed that door years ago when the trial started. Now that she’s opened it up again, I wonder if she’ll ever be the same. The guilt eats at her. I hope Judge Williams lies restless at night, thinking about Daddy’s case.