to be a hero; he was trying to be the person he had needed two decades ago.
The judge leaned back, her hand momentarily covering her mouth as she processed his words. The state’s attorney, who had been ready to offer a rebuttal, remained silent, his notes forgotten on the table. The emotional weight of Carter’s lived experience had shifted the entire energy of the room from a legal debate to a human one.
Carter continued, describing the bunk beds he’d built with his own hands and the way he
