Guilty!

Okay, so after about 8 hours of deliberation, we found him guilty of Child Kidnapping. It's an interesting feeling to be done. I feel like we did our job well. We were very thorough, very thoughtful. And we all felt good about our decision.

One thing I didn't know about Utah law (and perhaps this is the same all over the U.S.) is that one does not have to actually get away with a child in order to be convicted of kidnapping. To seize or detain for any amount of time is considered kidnapping.

And one thing the jury didn't know through the whole trial is that the man we convicted is also the man who was caught trying to kidnap two little girls in a city just south of me. I remember hearing about this and being terribly disturbed about the things they found in his vehicle.

And the most disturbing part of the trial? The officer who arrested him for this told us his (the defendant's) address at the time of the crime. I almost fell out of my chair. He lived within walking distance (about 5 minutes) of MY home in 2004, when he committed both crimes. FIVE MINUTES from my sweet daughter. FIVE MINUTES from her beautiful friends. I made sure not to let that sway my decision in the case. He deserved a fair trial no matter where he lived. But, now that it's over, I'm sure glad he won't be getting out of jail and living near us any time soon.

On a side note, I do feel sad for his family. I talked to his mother in the lobby of the courtroom during jury selection. I didn't know that she was his mother and she didn't say anything to make me think so. But, after seeing her in the courtroom every day sitting behind him, I figured it out. She was a lovely person. I'm sorry she has to go through this.

Okay, I'm done. Not sure if this whole experience will make me more or less gabby over the next week. We'll see. But I'm definitely taking a break and just loving my kids right now.