Chapter 34 - The Sentence
The defense did not even attempt a cross-examination. They were entirely destroyed by the digital truth.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning to the courtroom.
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
The judge asked, looking over his spectacles.
"We have, Your Honor,"
The foreperson answered, standing up.
"On the charge of attempted murder in the first degree, we find the defendant, Teresa Sterling, guilty."
Teresa let out a pathetic, muffled sob, collapsing forward onto the wooden table.
"On the charge of kidnapping and unlawful restraint, we find the defendant guilty."
The judge banged his gavel, demanding order as reporters frantically typed on their laptops.
"Teresa Sterling,"
The judge declared, his voice dripping with profound disgust.
"Your actions are a chilling, monstrous display of unprovoked malice. You attempted to execute your own family over petty societal grievances."
May you like
The judge paused, looking down at the broken matriarch.
"I sentence you to forty-five years in the state maximum-security penitentiary. You will not be eligible for parole. May God have mercy on your soul, because this court will have none."
