Chapter 9 - The Gavel Falls on Christian Prescott
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Four months later, Courtroom 5B of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana convened for the formal sentencing hearing of Christian Prescott, Dr. Arthur Lawson, and Derek Cole.
The public gallery was packed to capacity with domestic crime advocates, medical ethicists, and hundreds of former fans who had burned Christian’s albums in street bonfires across the nation.
Sitting at the petitioner’s table, radiant, elegant, and dressed in an ivory tailored suit, was myself, accompanied by Dr. Julian Bennett and Gabriel Miller.
Christian Prescott sat at the defense table in a bright orange federal prison jumpsuit, his hands and feet secured with heavy steel transport chains. His celebrity swagger had completely evaporated; his hair was unkempt, his face gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and fixed on the floor to avoid the courtroom sketch artists.
Chief Federal Judge Harrison Miller adjusted his spectacles and delivered the court’s judgment with thunderous moral authority.
“The defendant, Christian Prescott, executed a calculated, depraved, and monstrous campaign of slow chemical poisoning, reproductive destruction, and hired chemical mutilation against an innocent woman who devoted five years of her life to his success,” Judge Miller declared.
The judge brought down his heavy wooden gavel with a resounding crack that echoed like thunder.
“Christian Prescott is hereby sentenced to Forty-Five Years in maximum-security federal custody at ADX Florence, without the possibility of early parole. Dr. Arthur Lawson is stripped of his medical license in perpetuity and sentenced to Thirty Years. Derek Cole is sentenced to Twenty-Five Years.”
Judge Miller struck the gavel a second time.
“Furthermore, the court orders the complete forfeiture of all music royalties, catalog rights, real estate holdings, and corporate equity belonging to the Prescott estate, transferring eighty-five million dollars in civil restitution directly to the Genevieve Vance Foundation for Medical Trauma & Survivor Recovery.”
A collective, emotional cheer erupted from the public gallery.
Christian collapsed forward onto the table, sobbing in dry, ragged gasps as federal marshals hauled him to his feet and escorted him through the heavy iron holding doors forever.
Sabrina Sterling had her assets seized under restitution liens and was ordered to perform three thousand hours of community service, while little Leo was placed in the loving, safe custody of his maternal grandparents.
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I stood up, took Julian’s arm, and walked down the center aisle with my head held high, stepping out of the courthouse into the crisp, brilliant autumn sunshine.
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