Sept. 24, 2002

Now we come to the end of another chapter in this horror story that has loomed over this city and these families for 11 years.

This community has been privileged to bear witness to and perhaps to share in a small way the grief and determination of these families. They have shown us the true meaning of courage and faithfulness and integrity.

The people who work in the district attorney's office have gotten to know these families over the years. We have come to see them as dear friends, and in way, as family. It is said that you don't get to pick your family, but if we could, these folks would be in it. They are what they appear to be, honest, hard-working, decent people who hurt deeply and who want to see the right thing done.

In fact, they're a lot like the members of the jury. The members of that jury now join that small group of citizens – police officers, members of the district attorney's office staff and members of the first jury – who have come to share in the intimate horror of what happened inside that yogurt shop the night our innocence died.

We thank them, and we would ask that tomorrow when they return to work and to their lives, that those who know them thank them too. They have carried the burden of justice and done us proud.

I want to say a word about this trial team. The district attorney's office doesn't talk much about our cases. We prefer to let our actions speak for themselves. Nobody speaks less than these three lawyers, and nobody's actions speak louder.

Robert Smith, Darla Davis and Efrain DelaFuente are superb lawyers. They are as good as the best anywhere. They put together a monstrously difficult case and have sustained the integrity of that evidence through two profoundly complex trials. Karen Kiker and Beverly Patterson were also invaluable members of our team. All of them gave up their free time and most of their peace of mind for many years to bring us to where we are today. Thanks.

The evidence that we present in trials is only as good as the investigation that is done by law enforcement officers. I want to thank the Homicide Detail of the Austin Police Department for a job well done.

We are grateful to the jury, the 12 people and Jim Raup, the alternate juror, who walked down into the hell that was that night 11 years ago and came out to help make us all whole again.

In a strange way this tragedy served as a sort of rite of passage for Austin. It showed us that it was no longer enough just to trust in the goodness of our city. It showed us that we had to work at being safe by knowing our neighbors and by watching out for each other's children.

We take no pleasure in this matter. We share a kind of grim satisfaction, but we have not celebrated, nor will we. We will merely observe that we have closed a breach in the moral fabric that holds us all together. And we will probably cry some more with the families.