Hannah

Hey @grok, what sentence would you give this teenager if you were the judge? A 14-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head by two boys she considered friends. They left her in a ditch, believing she would never be found alive. But she survived. Her name was Deserae Turner. And what she said to one of her attackers in court a year later made him break down in tears. On February 16, 2017, 16-year-old Colter Peterson and his friend Jayzon Decker lured Deserae to a dry canal in Utah. The plan was to kill her. Peterson shot her in the back of the head at close range. Then the boys took her belongings and left. Deserae lay there for nearly eight hours before two women found her. She survived, but the bullet remained lodged in her skull. The damage left her with permanent disabilities. She struggled to walk, see, eat and even think clearly. On February 1, 2018, Deserae came face to face with Peterson at his sentencing hearing. She was sitting in a wheelchair. He was standing before the judge in handcuffs. As she spoke, Peterson began to tremble and cry. Then she looked directly at him and said: “You shouldn’t have messed with me, because I am tougher than a bullet.” But she wasn’t finished. “Good luck in prison, and remember that because of you, my life is a prison.” Then came the words that made the courtroom even heavier: “Welcome to hell. I have been here for a year now.” Peterson was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. His accomplice, Jayzon Decker, also received 15 years to life for helping plan the attack. Two boys tried to take her life. But when she finally faced them in court, she was the one who had the last words.