Chapter 17 - Emma’s StatementEmma did not testify live at sentencing.
She chose a written statement.
Vincent asked:
“Want help?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
She wrote:
Ms. Hargrove did not just cut my hair. She used my hair to make sure I remembered being afraid of her.
Then:
I remember asking why my name was on a list.
I remember knowing the number was wrong.
I remember her being angry because I knew.
She stopped.
Cried.
Vincent waited outside the room.
Emma called him in later.
“Read?”
“If you want.”
She handed it over.
Final paragraph:
I don’t want people to say this happened because I was brave. I wasn’t brave. I was scared. Owen was scared too. We just told the truth before she could erase it.
Vincent cried.
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Dad.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No.”
She smiled.
Then:
My hair grew. The record changed. What I want most is for adults to understand that children should not need a photograph before somebody starts checking.
That became the line quoted in the court record.
Emma hated when newspapers repeated it.
May you like
Then learned she could ignore them.
Her life was not public property because a photograph became evidence.
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