During my 30 years as a court reporter, I witnessed many defendants, witnesses, and victims enter our grand courtroom wearing their own self-pity badges. The stories told in those venerable halls of justice were never joyful. The words that still sit in my bones were toxic and heinous. Unspeakable crimes were perpetrated against so many. How often I wished those wounded would take great care before wrapping themselves in those dark blankets of loneliness. Owning a victim persona is a risky proposition. Soon accountability... MORE
