Chapter 9 - The Verdict
The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
When the bailiff announced that a verdict had been reached, the courtroom was charged with electric tension. News networks went live across the country as the judge, Honorable Marcus Thorne, took the bench.
"Will the defendants please stand and face the jury," Judge Thorne ordered.
Daniel, Evelyn, and Mara stood, held up by their attorneys.
The jury foreperson, a stern-faced retired military veteran, stood up and unsealed the verdict forms.
"In the matter of the State of Georgia versus Daniel Hayes:
On Count One, Attempted Malice Murder: Guilty.
On Count Two, Aggravated Battery upon a Pregnant Woman: Guilty.
On Count Three, Cruelty to an Unborn Child: Guilty.
On Count Four, Kidnapping with Bodily Injury: Guilty.
On Count Five, False Imprisonment: Guilty."
Guilty on all counts.
The foreperson continued reading:
"In the matter of the State of Georgia versus Evelyn Hayes: Guilty on all counts."
"In the matter of the State of Georgia versus Mara Hayes: Guilty on all counts."
Mara collapsed into her chair, sobbing hysterically, while Evelyn stared blankly at the floor, her lips trembling. Daniel stood paralyzed, his eyes wide, his face completely drained of color as the reality of his total destruction crashed down upon him.
Two weeks later, the sentencing hearing was held. Judge Thorne delivered a scathing reprimand before passing sentence.
"In my thirty-five years on the bench," Judge Thorne declared, his voice echoing like thunder in the courtroom, "I have rarely encountered a crime of such calculated, depraved cruelty. You attempted to bury a living human being and her unborn child in the dirt like trash. The law will ensure you spend the rest of your natural lives reflecting on that atrocity."
The Sentences:
Daniel Hayes: Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Without the Possibility of Parole, plus an additional forty years for cruelty to an unborn child and kidnapping.
Evelyn Hayes: Sentenced to Thirty-Five Years in State Prison, ensuring she will spend the remainder of her life behind bars.
Mara Hayes: Sentenced to Twenty Years in State Prison, with fifteen years to serve before parole eligibility.
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As the guards ratcheted the heavy steel chains around Daniel's wrists and ankles to lead him away to maximum security state prison, he turned his head toward me one last time, his mouth opening as if to speak.
I didn't say a word. I simply turned my back on him, took Rachel's arm, and walked out of the courtroom into the bright afternoon sunlight.
