They're here!!!

Justice is a funny thing. We often long for it when we've been wronged. It becomes such a focus for us when we face a tragedy that has a person or persons who are clearly at fault. We may even become obsessed with it. And yet even when justice is served, and it's the best we could hope for, it may still feel hollow in the aftermath, for the loss we suffered is still there. The best consolation is that those responsible for our loss and our pain have not gotten away with it. But our loss and our pain are still there.

All of that brings me to today's exciting news: Alison Jones and Christopher Gracey have been extradited to the U.S. at long last. As of earlier today they are once again, after more than 10 long years, back on American soil. Now that they're here, they'll finally face the federal charges stemming from Aimee's death in December 2011. I received this photo from my contact at the Coast Guard earlier today: 

Folks, that is a beautiful thing right there.

As for the aforementioned justice, we're still not there. This is a HUGE step, yes. These assholes have been evading the law for more than 10 years, so this is critical. But we still have the criminal process to play out. For those of us who loved Aimee, we'll celebrate this milestone tonight, and then we'll start looking forward to the next one tomorrow.

Justice may not change anything, but we want and deserve it anyway.