Chapter 17 - The Day of SentencingThe atmosphere in Room 402 of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse was heavy with finality.
Scott Carter and Richard Vance stood before Judge Katherine Hayes in orange prison jumpsuits, their hands and ankles bound by heavy steel chains.
Scott looked like a shell of the man he used to be. He had lost weight in jail, his hair was unkempt, and the arrogance that once defined his posture had crumbled into pathetic, trembling anxiety. Richard Vance sat quietly beside his court-appointed public defender, having been abandoned by his uncle Arthur, who was currently fighting his own federal indictment charges in a neighboring court.
Judge Hayes looked down over her spectacles at the defense table, her expression stone-cold.
"Scott Carter," Judge Hayes began, her voice echoing off the high wood-paneled walls. "You were given every advantage in life. You had a devoted wife who built your fortune from nothing, a mother who loved you, and a beautiful young daughter. Yet, driven by unbridled greed and vanity, you chose to forge documents, steal millions of dollars, and conspire with corrupt counsel to ruin the mother of your child."
She picked up the photographic evidence from the trial file.
"The court cannot ignore the sheer cruelty of throwing an infant suffering from a severe fever out into a winter storm," Judge Hayes continued sternly. "You showed no mercy, Mr. Carter. And today, this court will show you none."
She slammed her gavel down on the wooden block.
"On the counts of Grand Larceny, Wire Fraud, and Criminal Conspiracy, I sentence you, Scott Carter, to eighteen years in state penitentiary without the possibility of early parole for the first twelve years."
Scott let out a choked gasp, his knees buckling beneath him as two bailiffs held him upright.
"As for you, Richard Vance," Judge Hayes turned her gaze toward the disgraced attorney. "For abusing your license, conspiring against your client, and engaging in systematic corporate racketeering, you are hereby disbarred for life and sentenced to twelve years in state custody."
As the bailiffs turned them around to lead them through the heavy iron side doors, Scott caught my eye from across the courtroom. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks.
May you like
"Diane..." he mouthed silently, his lips quivering in a desperate plea.
I didn't turn away. I didn't scowl. I simply held Evelyn’s hand, looked him in the eye with complete calm, and watched the heavy iron doors click shut behind him forever.
