...On Friday, the day the Idaho jury was deliberating I went about my workday as usual and then went to the gym afterward. Actually I had something else on my mind. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and WOAR recognizes it with a Take It All Back day. This is similar to the Take Back the Night events around the country planned for SAAM. Each year WOAR plans a march through Philadelphia that ends up at the location chosen for that year to hold the rally. At the rally they have tables set up for local services available, a raffle with different goodies donated by local businesses that you can win, a performance of some sort whether it be dance or art and survivor speakers. In my therapy session two weeks prior my counselor Laura explained the days events to me and described how far I have come in my counseling and she felt I was ready to get up and tell my story. She asked if I felt comfortable doing that. A few things ran through my mind at that point. I was happy to know that my hours and hours with Laura were paying off. Also this was the perfect opportunity to give back (pay it forward) for all the help and support I received due to the kindness of strangers. Then I thought 'ok I'm going to have to write a speech'. I accepted her invitation and she was very happy. She said figure out what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it and write it down. Then during our next meeting we can review and talk about it before the event Saturday April 25th. She also gave me some ideas as to how other victims gave their speeches in the past. During our session the evening before, on Thursday, we did just that. So on Friday I was thinking about my speech and having to tell my story to a large group of people. Although this time would be different than when I was in court because everyone I was speaking to would be supportive plus Laura would be at my side the entire time, which was comforting.
So distracted by my upcoming speech the next day and following my usual routine, when I finished my workout got back to the locker room and checked the messages on my phone I was completely shocked to hear a message from Joe Khan that the Idaho jury came back in 2 hours and delivered a Guilty verdict for Rape. WOW! I couldn't believe what I was hearing and replayed the message. I was smiling and crying at the same time. I felt like the weight of a building just lifted from my shoulders. Everything I (we) had worked for the past 3 1/2 years was worth it. The words I wanted to hear were spoken. Jeffrey Marsalis was now a convicted rapist. He was going to face the potential for a Life sentence. I was happy and relieved and couldn't stop crying. Trust me I tried. I was sitting in the locker room making a bit of a spectacle of myself so I grabbed my bags to get out of there and dialed Joe and left a voice mail.
I got in the car to drive home and first called my mom to give her the news. She was happy and wanted to know why I was crying. I told her I was relieved but I was still uncontrollable so she was trying to calm me down, obviously a bit worried. I hung up with her called my brother next to tell him quickly and then I called my best friend Renee. They were all happy for me and I continued to cry the entire way home. It was only a 10 minute drive home thankfully. Joe returned my call and we both shared our moment of success. He explained to me that the sentencing was scheduled for June and he would be pushing for a Life sentence. He also told me that I (along with the other Philadelphia victims) would be able to write a victims impact statement and email it to the court for the judge to review and weigh as part of his sentencing decision. This was like the cherry on top of the sundae. I get to tell the judge what Marsalis did to me and how it affected my life and how important it was to not allow him to ever be released from prison. This was certainly something that I would work on with Laura. Joe provided me with a few more answers to the questions I had regarding the verdict and sentencing and we hung up.
What a way to end the week and start my weekend and now I had some really good news to share the next day at the WOAR event. My mind raced the rest of the evening and I had maybe the most restful nights sleep in years...
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