It was the first full day of deliberation and JM was once again surrounded by people who loved him. A good friend of his shut his business down during those 10 days of trial, and if you know anything about this friend-he doesn't do that for just anyone.
We all gathered and waited in the foyer. Some of us sat down and conversed with other individuals who were there, and others paced back and fourth. I was the pacer. My mind was consumed with a million different thoughts and I was making myself sick. I remember sneaking off to the furthest section of the court house to beg God for a good outcome. I heard a voice in the distance that said "lets pray". It was one of his friends who wanted to say a prayer prior to going in for the verdict. Every one got up and we made a huge prayer circle, and he spoke words of forgiveness, truth, and comfort. Men who were not religious gathered around that circle and hugged each other when it was done.
I knew a handful of John's friends, but only ever met 2-3. It was extremely refreshing to see these men come together for their "brother". We got word that the jury was breaking for lunch so a majority of them did the same thing. What's the point of waiting here when the jury is going to lunch. I tried to convince JM to leave and get something to eat but he didn't want to. He wanted to stay and wait. Now, looking back I know exactly why he didn't want to leave. He was busy contemplating his fate.
An hour passes and the jury comes back from lunch. No one, not even the attorneys knew how long this was going to take. We read if it was short it was good, if it took time it was sketchy. Technically they only deliberated for 7 hours. Trial ended the day before and the jury had an hour to deleberate. We went into 6 hours of the next day, making it a total of 7 hours. When you read what the media puts about this stuff, never trust them as their information is almost inaccurately reported.
As I am trying to comfort JM I hear a voice say "jury's back". I had an overwhelming sense of fear that came over me. Some how, some way, I knew this wasn't good. John is hugging all of his friends before going into the court room. He asks the deputy if he can go to the bathroom first, and he did. I must have missed him sneaking in there as I was in a world of my own at the time.
I hugged him, asked him for his personal stuff, kissed him and said "I love you no matter what". He concured and walked into the court room. Every one was kind of frantically looking around and walking back and fourth in the room. John was fortunate enough to have two amazing attorneys and paralegals sitting with him, but one of them were missing. I left the courtroom to find the attorney and I saw him walking down the hall. I yelled "there's a verdict" and he put some pep in his step to rush back.
Every one is seated with fear in their eyes. A deputy came to the front and said "no yelling, screaming, cheering, chanting when the verdict is read". Every one must remain silent and calm. I was "okay" at that moment as I was still in my own world. The Judge enters, says something and the juror begins to read the verdict.
Count one; Murder, not guilty.
Lesser included count one; Voluntary Manslaughter, Guilty
Count two; Murder, Guilty
Count Three; Felonious assault, Guilty
I couldn't hear anything else after the first guilty. I was eating the sleeve of my jacket to keep me from weeping. Remember, we weren't allowed to show any type of emotion.
A deputy instantly came over to John and handcuffed him. John looked at his son and said "I love you". He looked over at me and said "Megan, I love you". We had to wait in the court room for the jury to be let out, and I remember begging the deputy standing next to me to open the doors or I was going to collapse. He said "I give you props, you handled it well". He opened the doors and I ran down the stairs and out the building to my car, hysterical. I jumped in my car and sped off. I was utterly sick and had no idea where to go.
I screamed in my car, cried like a baby, and drove home to shower. I just wanted a hot shower. I got dressed in the normal Megan attire (sweats and a hoodie) and went to his house. I laid on the couch, I aimlessly looked around, and I avoided every phone call and text that came in. I was angry, hateful, and spiteful.
To this day, the one thing I will never understand is how someone can be charged and indicted on certain charges but the weeks leading up to trial the prosecutors can change them and add new charges in hopes that they stick. There is no way any jury would convict on a murder charge when this wasn't a cold-blooded killing.
I am not an expert or a practicing attorney, but during these two years I spent every second of every day doing research on Ohio Laws and the definitions of the charges he was being convicted of. Not one of them matched the description of the events that unfolded that scorching July day, NOT ONE!
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