40 years. It won’t bring back the lives of Michael McDougal, Carmen McDougal, and Jimmy Kisner-three lives taken in cold blood, three lives stolen through stabbing and then burning, and lives taken by an act of malice, a most gruesome murder.

We know 40 years is small to those who were blessed enough to know the McDougals and Kisner. It seems small to us as well. It seems smaller when hearing the words of Carmen’s daughter, who has nothing tangible to remember her mother by. Because of a monster.

However, we know the state did what was necessary in this case. They did what was best for the community. Otherwise, the risk was too great.

You see, real life and “real courtroom drama” is not as cut and dry, black and white as televison shows portray it to be. Sometimes there is not a damning piece of evidence that wraps the case up neatly in time for the show to end and the 11 o’ clock news to come on. Sometimes all there is, is a set of circumstances.

Sometimes justice is not served. However, this isn’t the fault of our county’s prosecutor, nor is it the fault of our law enforcement officers. The blame game does nothing but leave unnecessary “What ifs.” What if the case had gone to trial? But what if the verdict was not guilty? It is real life courtroom drama.

It is the reality of life sometimes when we must make the choice between the lesser of two evils.