*Much of the text below was what I posted on Facebook a few days ago, but I've added a bit more here.
Well, it's finally over. Christopher Jones and Alison Gracey have been sentenced. The final chapter in this story is closed.
As I may have explained before, they both pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge, with other charges being waived as part of the plea deal. When it comes time to determine sentence recommendations, defendants are 'scored' on a number factors: level of culpability of the crime, criminal history, and a bunch of other stuff. And those scores are based on what can be PROVED, not on what people think or even know.
Given all of this, I was told to expect a sentence for Gracey to be roughly equal to the time she's already served (about 18 months), and for Jones to be a bit higher.
When all was said and done, Gracey was indeed sentenced to time served. Again, this based on the level of fault that could be proved. Jones got higher than I expected, but lower than I wanted (and asked for): 51 months. He will also get credit for time already served.
Jones' sentence particularly bothered me. Based n the documentation collected by the investigation, he was the person who repeatedly made decisions that put people at risk, lied about the ownership of the boat (as a citizen of the UK he would not have been eligible to operate the boat commercially), flouted the Coast Guard inspection failures by reclassifying the boat for fewer passengers and then taking more on anyway, and more.
Both the US Attorney, and I when I had the opportunity to speak, tried to convince the judge that this case was not just about Jones and Gracey, or even about Aimee. There are thousands of charter boat operators in Florida, and we wanted to judge to send a message that flouting regulations and putting people at risk would be dealt with harshly. But that's not how it played out.
The guidance for Jones' "score" put him in a recommended sentence range of 51 months to around 75-ish (I can't recall the exact number now). By law, the manslaughter charge he pleaded guilty to came with a maximum penalty of 96 months (8 years). The judge spent a lot of time making sure he was clear on those two higher numbers, so I had hoped that the sentence would be stiff. Instead, he went with the lowest end of the recommended range. His explanation to the court (and to me directly) was that while he felt for my loss, he wanted a sentence that was, and I quote, "fair."
But here's the thing: I don't see any reason in hell why he should be concerned about being "fair.' This wasn't a case of Jones just being careless. This wasn't some "act of God" accident. Key Largo Scuba Shack's owners repeatedly and intentionally put lives at risk, and the worst case scenario happened. And given the severity of the problems with the boat, which were ALL KNOWN to Jones, the ending was inevitable, if not for Aimee, than for someone else.
No sentence would ever bring Aimee back. No sentence would ever do justice to the magnitude of the loss that is, to this day, felt by so many. And I have never placed any of my happiness on the outcome of these legal proceedings. In fact I assumed long ago they'd never be caught. I tell myself that any sentence is more than I thought I would get. And honoring Aimee's memory means living the best life I can, and that's what I try to do and pass on to our daughter.
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| Molasses Reef, where Aimee died, is due east of this spot in Key Largo, FL |
Yes, the final chapter in this long, sad story is now closed. All that remains is the epilogue, and that will be written by how we live our lives now. And I intend to live them as Aimee did: with laughter and love, and making the world around me better in whatever ways I can. I owe her that much for all she did for me.
To all of the readers of this blog, thanks to all of you for your love and support these past 10+ years. It's been very, very much appreciated.
PS. Several years ago, I had decided to write a book about all of this. But I kept stalling out... I couldn't figure out the reason for writing, or what I hoped a book would accomplish. I tried to outline it, but I couldn't find a flow or an ending. Now that the sentencing has happened, I'm feeling the urge again. Maybe now that the legal ending has happened, I can use that to tie together a narrative about this whole affair. But I'm still uncertain about what I would say, other than to just relay the story. And I feel like a book needs to be more than just that.
