Guilty. 44 of 46 counts.

This woman, the rape and attempted murder victim of Robert Williams, has more courage in her little toe than any of us. Marnie is here and we both happened to be sitting there when the verdict came on. Wow. Another sister. One more in our strangely beautiful flock. One more who will need help and will then reach out to help.

Two things stand out: a) what she withstood in those 19 hours and b) what the defense attorney had to say, which is beyond the pale. Let's begin with his statement that she "is just mistaken, that this brave woman's recollection is skewed because of the trauma she suffered at the hands of 'someone other than' his client". This despite her blood all over his T-shirt. And her amazing recollection of every scar, every mole of his body. What I find interesting is that, usually, defense attorneys in these cases exist merely to minimize their clients' exposure to prison. It's a foregone conclusion that he's guilty, they have the DNA, etc. Arnold Levine is actually banging the drum that she is mistaken with her identification. How dare he? Rape survivors don't forget the face. Ever.

Which leads me to my next point, or my first. He actually asked her to gouge her own eyes out so she could never identify him. When she could not, she begged him to kill her as he poured boiling water on her body. This, after gluing her lips shut, beating her, sodomizing her, force feeding her painkillers and numerous other torturous actions. He then set fire to her apartment after tying her to her own futon, but she managed to escape by melting her restraints. God Bless her. Let's all think of her today and wish her good, healing thoughts.

What people don't understand is that this conviction does not tie her ordeal up into a pretty bow. In many ways, it must get worse for her before it gets better. Let the media leave her be and let her heal. With hope and love, L