It Takes A Village

For the past week I have been very focused on listening to your feedback. I appreciate each and every one of you; your questions and helpful input.

Most of you want less transcript verbiage. I can certainly understand that. All of the transcripts and hearings together amount to over 500 pages of reading. As one woman said, “Just get to it please, tell us what the hell happened!” Being the mom of a young man on the spectrum she is genuinely concerned. I went ahead and shared with her what I will share in my next blog post with all of you.

So, I’ll break from my original plan. I’m not a professional writer or an attorney. I’m a mom trying to save my son.

For today’s post I will answer a couple of your most frequently asked questions:

Q: If the young woman has provided false testimony do you want her to go to prison?

A: No. Neither she nor my son deserve incarceration. I have spent the past four years listening to punitive legal consequence discussions. From reading her victim impact statement it appears that the trial process was what most traumatized the young woman. I can attest first hand that every aspect of this experience has been horrific for my son. Here’s a thought for lawmakers. When young women come forward, recant their story, and are sent to prison; this only deters others from doing the same. This sadly results in many innocent young men remaining in prison, and the young women having to live with that reality.

Q: The financial expense must be unbelievable. How much has this cost so far?

A: When someone you love is suffering you don’t care what it costs to help them, and to right the wrong. We cashed in my husband’s retirement funds. We refinanced our home to retrieve as much equity as the mortgage company allowed. We went through our savings. And when we came up short, my mom and stepdad lovingly paid almost ten thousand dollars. I have not added it all up. I honestly don’t want to know the total dollar amount. And, it’s not over yet. This legal nightmare has been physically, emotionally and financially draining.

Thank you to those who are reading, caring, sharing this story; and keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers. We are grateful. I continue to believe this will end well for our son, and all who love him. I trust that he will be exonerated.

But I also believe it will take a village. And you are a part of the village of change.

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