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PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK CAN BE PURCHASED WITH FIVE OTHER NOVELS OF MINE FOR $1.49 AS PART OF AN ANTHOLOGY ENTITLED 6 COURTROOM DRAMAS. A shooting in 2006 by two eighteen-year-old students at a high school in Georgia leaves nineteen dead. One of the perpetrators is killed at the scene, while the other, Karyn Hill, is arrested. Later that night, Karyn Hill's mother makes a statement to a local television station: "My name is Cora Hill, and I'm the mother of the woman who was involved in the shooting at the high school. First of all, I want to say to the families of all the victims how sorry I am that this happened. Words cannot possibly express how devastated I am by this tragedy, but I know that my sorrow can never compare to the sorrow that those mothers and fathers feel who lost one of their children. No words of mine, no matter how well intentioned, can ever begin to heal the deadly wounds that my daughter left behind in her trail of wanton and merciless destruction. "As her mother, I must take some responsibility for the atrocious actions of my daughter. I knew she was a troubled adolescent, and I certainly attempted to help her overcome her problems. But it goes without saying that I did not do nearly enough and that I failed to perceive the danger she posed to this community. "Like any mother would, I loved my daughter -- in fact, I continued to love her up until the day of this tragedy. It's true that Karyn tried my patience over the last couple of years, but I was always hopeful that as she grew older, she would change for the better. But I deceived myself, and as a result, nineteen people have died, and to some extent, I cannot escape responsibility for what happened. In my heart, I know I could have done more, but I became seduced by a kind of false optimism and did not do nearly enough to discipline my daughter. "I wish to say now, as a kind of pathetic memorial to the victims, that from this day forward, I will do nothing to help my daughter. She has chosen her course, and she will have to face the consequences. And I do hope she realizes that she will be facing those consequences without any support from me. I never want to see her or speak to her again, and I hope that she receives the death penalty because that is exactly what she deserves." Perhaps Cora's harsh attitude can be explained by the following eyewitness account of a student who survived the shooting and described the murder of her teacher, Heidi Lawson. "I could see Heidi -- she was on her knees and had her hands clasped in front of her, and I heard her say, 'Please, please, don't shoot me. I have three children who don't have a father, so -- " But Karyn, who had the gun pointed at her, said, 'You deserve to die.' And then I heard the sound of two or three gunshots, and I saw Heidi's head... it like exploded. You have no idea... no idea at all what it's like to be in a room where everybody is being killed." Doreen, Karyn's sister, feels much differently about Karyn than her mother does. As the years pass by, Doreen continues to offer as much support to Karyn as she possibly can. But by the summer of 2011, Karyn's appeals are running out, and as her execution date approaches, Doreen attempts to reunite her sister and mother. Finally, after months of persuasion from Doreen, Cora goes to the prison and has an unpleasant conversation with Karyn. "What you're going to have to do, "said Cora, "is face up to the fact that you're about to die and that you deserve to die. You owe it to those people you murdered, and now that the time has come to repay the debt as best as you can, you need to show some courage and not whimper behind a lot of tears and expect people to feel sympathy for you." As the day of Karyn's execution approaches. Doreen continues to struggle to bring her sister and mother together, but time is running out. In the end, the tragedy inherent in the senseless murder of nineteen people overwhelms everyone in a tidal wave of grief.
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