Chapter Two

As we head into year two of our new norm I'm going to recap the last 365 days.

I was a witness on John's trial. Testifying in court brought on a whole new level of fear, and anxiety. I remember hugging him the last day of deliberation and telling him "It's going to be fine babe".

Rushing around the week before trying to find "court" clothes so I can look halfway decent. I hate shopping and always buy the wrong sizes. ALWAYS! A year later and those clothes no longer fit. The 40lb weight gain has affected every ounce of my life.

I spent the first week in a mental fog, trying to get information from the hospital and MCJ on his condition. Every report was "he's stable". Without anyone being his emergency contact the information was limited.

I spent three months fighting greedy people, being followed and threatened. Met with several different attorneys and begged God to guide me as I am now responsible for a multitude of things. I worried more for my girls.

End of June I opened his laptop. Discovered a "file" and spent nights fixating on it. After about a week I discovered major errors during trial and tried to contact his attorney's. I couldn't reach them by phone, so I sent several emails. Every response "I'll forward it to them".

I spent the next 3 months sick over the appeal. Knowing we should have gone with another attorney but being convinced we didn't have to. Reading the brief for the Appeal gave me hope. Reading the prosecutor's brief cause anger. The lies that were written and handed over to the Appellate Court as if the truth didn't matter.

Oral arguments were the week of Thanksgiving. I remember walking in with my friends and meeting his there. Listening to our Attorney speak and present the FACTS with ease that gave me hope that the panel would see the truth.

Sitting there, biting my tongue when the prosecutor gave his rebuttal, stumbling on his words and listening to the lies that fluently came out of his mouth. I remember thinking "there is no way 3 Judges are going to trust what he's saying".

Only to hear the questions that were asked by the court. How scripted they were, as if their decision was already made but they were going through the motions of the appeal. I'll never understand who she knows to have this many people against John. I'll never know.

I checked the docket every day for 5 days until I obsessed over it, making myself nauseous daily. I finally took a break and on December 12th at 9pm after not hearing back from the Attorney's I decided to check. There it was, "Affirmed".

The anger, hurt, frustration, pain, and heartache I felt after seeing that word will forever be feelings I don't ever want to experience at one time.

We hired a new Attorney. Submitted the appeal with the Supreme Court and submitted the 26(b) motion to reopen the appeal at the 7th district.

John and I had our biggest argument ever and we haven't spoken in a few days. Despite our issues, I will always advocate for him. I will continue to share his story until the truth is revealed.

I don't know what year two holds, but I pray it is filled with good health, happiness, wealth, and a reversal of his original trial. We are NOT asking for him to be exonerated, we are simply asking for the 6th amendment, A FAIR TRIAL.

I know in my heart and soul; John had no intentions on hurting anyone that day. He was ambushed, severely beaten with weapons, and dragged over to his gun with the intention of using it on John first.

Please continue to pray as we are still fighting an uphill battle. It's hard to take on the government and corrupt political parties, when you're one solo ginger.

Revelation 21:8: "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death"