Chapter Thirteen: 12 Minutes

A guilty verdict ended the trial. But it didn't end the questions. In Episode 24 of Wrong Ride Home: Beyond the Book, we move into Chapter 13 and the day Austin Burke learned just how much of his life the State of Ohio intended to take. Before sentencing, his attorneys made one last attempt to challenge the conviction. They asked for an acquittal. They asked for a new trial. They pointed to conflicting witnesses, questions surrounding the evidence, and issues they believed had affected Austin's right to a fair trial. Those motions were denied. Then Austin stood before Judge Logan. Brandon Sample's family spoke about the life they had lost and the sentence they believed justice required. The prosecution asked for Austin to never come home. The defense asked the court to consider that the person standing before it was only eighteen years old. And Austin was given an opportunity to speak. His answer was two words. "No, sir." Judge Logan sentenced him to 47 years to life. But Austin's morning wasn't over. He was taken to another courtroom, before another judge, for sentencing in a separate case involving a modified spoon found in his jail cell. His family remembers being left outside. The media apparently had access. Austin was asked again whether he wanted to say anything. Again: "No, sir." Then another judge added 11 years and ordered Austin removed from his courtroom. The records surrounding that morning leave us with an extraordinary window of time. Twelve minutes. So in this episode, I'm not simply going to tell you that twelve minutes isn't very long. We're going to experience it together. I'm starting the clock. And for twelve minutes, I want you to imagine what it would feel like to hear numbers that could determine the rest of your life... while still maintaining that you didn't commit the murder that put you there. This episode isn't only about sentencing. It's about two grieving families living two completely different realities. It's about what happens after a jury says guilty. And it's about the beginning of Jamie's transformation from a mother trying to understand the legal system... into a mother who would have to learn how to navigate it if she ever hoped to bring her son home. Chapter 13: 12 Minutes. Sometimes twelve minutes can change everything.