...I worked in a 4-story building with a very large parking lot and when I got to my car I just sat there quietly for a few minutes. Then my phone rang and it was Joe Kahn. He apologized for not having gotten the news to me before I saw it reported but his first priority, of course, were to the victims that testified. He had to speak with all 7 of them individually and that took a significant amount of time. I explained that I understood and my finding out was random and I didn't actively seek out the information as I much would have rather heard it directly from him. I expressed how upset I was and felt defeated by the jury's verdict. It was at that point that he patiently went into a very long, detailed explanation of why the 2 sexual assault guilty verdicts were not a loss. Although the ultimate goal was to have Marsalis convicted on all the rape charges there were significant penalties that went along with sexual assault. Each count carried a minimum of 5 and maximum of 10 years in prison and he would be classified as a sex offender which when he got out would make his life very difficult. Joe all but assured me of his confidence in the judge handing down the maximum for each count and parole would be highly unlikely with a sex offender status. This meant a guaranteed 20 years in prison. As a person who loves detail and logic I took in all that he was telling me and was beginning to feel A LITTLE better. He told me the sentencing would be scheduled for September (4 months later) and I would be attending that as well. Once that was all done the process of scheduling the Idaho trial would begin. I thanked Joe for everything that he had done thus far, he said he would be in touch regarding the sentencing and we said good-bye.
The next thing I did was turn on the all-news radio station to listen to the reporting of the verdict and you can be certain they were reporting it. They recapped the trial, Marsalis' crimes, the long jury deliberation and the ultimate verdict. I was still shaking my head as I drove to W.O.A.R. for my counseling session with Laura. Although I would be early I didn't mind waiting it out behind their four walls as I knew I would be comfortable there.
It was time and Laura called me into her office. As I had said before I could be open and honest with her even while faking it to others. Although I listed to the prosecutor relay his explanation to me and make it sound as if I was OK, it was all too fresh for me to except so soon. I cried openly and told Laura I felt it was not a win but I did also tell her what Joe had said and she and I discussed that at length. We also talked about what it would be like to move forward from this now that the trial was over and the verdict was in. There was still a long road ahead before the Idaho trial and things didn't go as planned there was the potential of my continued involvement. It still seemed never ending and I was hating the court process not to mention my contempt for that jury! It is something that I have never reconciled with and don't plan on it because I don't have to. That jury failed the victims who testified and all those victims, myself included, who didn't testify. I found out later on that it had gotten heated in there and they were heard yelling at each other from the outside of the deliberation room. They clearly couldn't agree and it explained why it took 5 days to reach a verdict. Laura and I finished up and decided to continue to discuss the subject in further sessions.
On my drive home I listened to the news some more and once home I showered to try to relax and wash the day off me then ate dinner. I made only a few quick calls to my brother and friend Renee. Once the 11:00pm news came on I watched the reporters question Joe Kahn about the verdict and then listened to whatever nonsense the defense attorney had to say. The news cameras also tried to get interviews with the jurors but all they caught was them running from the courthouse. It's an image I keep to this day because if you stand by your verdict what are you running from? Cowards!! They clearly took the easiest way out possible instead of really considering the gravity of their verdict and affect it had on the victims! Well I have certainly said all I can say about them and have no question that you know my opinion now.
I knew it was time to begin moving forward and what would happen next was an excellent way to do so...
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