We have a friend who was convicted of a crime three years ago. The situation was complicated and boiled down to more in the way of testimony than evidence. No one thought it would truly happen—that he would be convcted—because some of the circumstances surrounding the situation seemed very far-fetched.
But there was a judge that said they wanted to make an example of this case and so gave the maximum sentence possible, sending our friend to jail, leaving the rest of us in shock. His case wasn't handled by experienced lawyers due to cost constraints. Since his incarceration, his family has been working to try and move for a retrial.
It's taken three years to get to today and the hearing they'd all been hoping for. More experienced lawyers had been engaged who discovered two counts of his constitutional rights being violated by the state, including withholding of evidence in his favor. They also built a strong evidentiary case should they be granted a retrial.
The hearing with the judge went quickly with a brief section in chambers. When they came out, the lawyers mouthed, "he's granting our motion." Which is almost as good as it gets. Yes, there will be a retrial, but judges typically don't grant a retrial for frivolous reasons or ones that aren't compelling. Signs are good from the retrial standpoint.
What it also means is the first judgment has been thrown out. After over three years he is free. He can't travel internationally but he's free and he's not a felon. It's hard to explain the emotion that overcomes you when you hear about something that immediate and life-changing happening. I can't imagine how he and his family members, all present, felt.
The judge made a change once he'd made the decision too. He had used the term, "the victim" up until the point he granted the motion for a retrial. After that, he used the phrase, "the alleged victim".
Tomorrow our friend comes home. Tonight will hopefully be the last day he'll ever be in prison.
The Big Boy Update: My son, after three days with no screens today said, "I am so into outdoors" but I do want to go back to screens.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: I saw Dhruti today before bringing my daughter to see her. My daughter is dealing with a lot of pressure to get things "right" and done/complete. This is at home and at school. Dhruti told me in the kindest of ways that my daughter gets more stress from me than my husband. I'm more of the authoritarian, but she's going to work with me in ways I can help with my daughter's pushback so that it doesn't make her look like she's failing or not getting things right.
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