THE SPAN OF AN INJUSTICE

"There was a jury trial a while back, and a jury determined that they were guilty," Rood says. The case has dragged on for all these years because of the Spans' efforts, not the government's, Rood notes.

"The length of time is a function of their motions," he says. "Everything is being pursued by the Spans. Not us."
If the sentences are imposed, for Darlene it means a $6,000 fine, 36 months of probation, three months in a community treatment center, three months' house arrest and mental-health treatment.

For Jerry, it means he will quite literally become a prisoner of the house on Fillmore Street, serving four months of house arrest along with 30 months of probation and a fine of $1,000.

For both, it will also mean rending the last shreds of faith they have in the courts.

Their brother Pete explains that the Span children were raised "warped by reality. We believed in justice and the justice system."

Says Jerry: "When you go to court, you think you're able to tell the truth about everything. But you can't talk about this, and you can't talk about that. How are you going to tell your story? I'm a criminal in their eyes.

"Here I am, one of the best citizens there is, and I hate crime, and I'm branded as a criminal.