like. ilyukhina watching over a sedated-but-not-yet-comatose grace during their last moments on earth. and she feels weird. maybe it's just a strange sort of mourning, thinking about not seeing her friend awake again for years, even though she knows she'll be out, too. she'll see him when she wakes up, she won't even feel the loss. she doesn't know. but she's looking at his face, and she wants to shake him awake. it wouldn't do any good, she knows; she wasn't there when he was put under, but she's sure stratt got him the good stuff.
she turns away. takes out her phone. maybe she just needs to see him with his eyes open — wait, why does grace have a wikipedia page?
Ryland Grace is a controversial microbiologist associated with the 2011 UNESCO conference scandal. He is more widely known for his testimony in the 1995 trial of Courtland Gentry as a child.
well, right, she knew the first part. she taps the third link. looks over at grace.
"don't look at me like that. you never talk about yourself."
The State of Florida v. Courtland Gentry was a criminal trial in which the then seventeen-year-old Courtland Gentry was convicted of the murder of his father, Henry Gentry, and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The trial remains contentious among victim advocacy groups to this day for a variety of reasons: the fact that Gentry was tried as an adult, the status of Gentry and his brothers as survivors of child abuse and neglect, the precedent the case set in regards to self-defense in Florida courts, the articulate testimony of a young Ryland Grace, and Gentry's 2003 death in prison.
Involvement of Gentry's brothers
The case in Gentry's defense largely hinged on the reasoning that Gentry acted out of concern for the safety of himself and, primarily, his younger brothers, Ryland Grace and Colton Grace (Colt Seavers).
Colton Grace was unconscious when police arrived on scene with markings on his neck indicative of attempted manual strangulation, understood to have been inflicted by Henry Gentry. The defense contended that it was clear Gentry's motivation in killing his father was to save the life of his brother.
Colton was rendered unable to speak following the events that day, and remained mute for some time after he had physically healed, likely as a result of psychological trauma. Ryland, a noticeably timid child himself, famously addressed the press gathered outside their foster parents' house, "Are you all stupid?! He can't talk, how is he gonna give you a comment?!" in a viral video clip.
Testimony of Ryland Grace
While many victim advocacy groups strongly advised against allowing Gentry's young brothers to testify, Ryland Grace reportedly insisted upon being allowed to take the stand, saying he wished to provide "a voice for both of [his] brothers."
The trial was widely covered in Florida media, with the Miami Herald being the first to release the well-known courtroom sketch of Ryland crying on the stand as he is cross-examined, along with several excerpts from his moving testimony in Gentry's defense.
"I'm, um. I'm very scared. I'm scared that Colt's not talking. I'm scared that Court's in jail. ... I'm not scared that Dad's dead. Dad was someone we were scared of every day. Court's always protected me from scary stuff. Now I need to... to help protect him."
she didn't even know he had brothers.
she looks at him again and smiles. "you are so full of shit, you know that? saying you aren't brave. you've been brave since you were a little kid."
strangely, she feels more settled, now. she's really glad grace came around. of course he would. that's the type of person he is.
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