Outside the courtroom, Robert Duplain's face was a deeper color than his burnt orange shirt, tears streaming down his face, body shaking, as he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Around the corner, Katie McKinney, one of Michael McKinney's sisters, was also crying.
She was curled in the fetal position, her back against the exterior wall of the courtroom in which she'd just lost the last scrap of hope that someone would be accountable for her brother's death.
After 10 days of testimony, a verdict was reached in the McKinney v. Duplain civil trial.
The jury deliberated for three hours and ruled in favor of Robert Duplain, saying he did not use excessive force when he shot and killed Ball State University student Michael McKinney on Nov. 8, 2003.
Although a jury has ruled this case closed, we should remember the McKinneys and Duplain will carry emotional scars the rest of their lives. The McKinneys were devastated at the loss of their son and were looking for a Band-Aid they didn't get.
Whether the McKinneys won or lost, they invested four years into this case. For the family it wasn't about the money, but about accountability.
"From my point of view, my wife's, my children's - we're looking for accountability," Tim McKinney said in a previous interview.
A decision in their favor would have been a step forward in gaining peace of mind.
On the other side, Duplain might have won the case, but he is left to his own punishment. The events of that night will always be with him. He might not have been charged, but it doesn't change what happened that crisp November morning.
He will never be able to go back to the same life he led before McKinney's death. As a police officer, his career might be finished. If he does return to the career, he will be reminded of what happened when responding to a burglary or getting in a tense situation. Just as any person involved in a traumatic event, the pain and memories will not go away easily, if at all.
Tony Proudfoot, associate vice president of marketing and communications, issued a statement on behalf of Ball State:
"There are no winners in this case."
When Proudfoot wrote those words he might not have known how true that is. Duplain and the McKinneys will carry their emotional scars with them, having no way to turn them away - and no options left to heal them.
Each party left the courtroom to go their separate ways, but the two will always be linked and be forever changed.
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