KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cameron Lamb's mother and Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker were waiting to share an embrace together Tuesday afternoon.
Their reaction was nothing short of relief after hearing three court of appeals judges stood by the conviction of former Kansas City, Missouri, Det. Eric Devalkenaere.
"I could not believe it," said Laurie Bey, Lamb's mother. "However, I feel like we finally got the answer we were gonna get."
Aqil Bey, Lamb's father, was also relieved, but had faith the appeals court would uphold the conviction.
"I never doubted it. The system is working. It was decided by a judge, not a jury, who knew the law," Aquil Bey said. "All three judges, if you read the report, you could see all the lies they [the defense] told."
Peters Baker worked this case and all of its twists and turns since the day it happened. While it's not a cause for celebration, she said, it shows the system of justice works.
"You certainly can't argue due process was not given here," Peters Baker said. "What I would say for any family, like this family here — they've suffered every path, every step on this path with us. I've had to give them a lot of bad news on the way."
In their moment of gratitude, Lamb's family does think of the family Devalkenaere leaves behind.
"We don't want to see nobody so instrumental in the protection and livelihood of their family being taken away, especially a father from a home," Aquil Bey said. "We also don't want to see nobody so blatantly break the law and not think they won't be held accountable."
The way Lamb's mother sees it, this ruling is accountability, not justice.
"Devalkenaere still has his family. He still gets to have visits. He'll still get to have visits from his family," Laurie Bey said. "That has been taken away from us, from our family."
To the community that's been standing behind them for years, they said keep doing it. It's not over.
"You got folks that got some hope," Aquil Bey said. "They got some hope behind this thing."
Devalkenaere's attorneys have a chance now to file an appeal with the Missouri Supreme Court. If that's denied, they can appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
If Missouri Gov. Mike Parson does step in to issue a pardon, the case is over from there.
Lamb's family said they hope Parson makes the right decision and they have discussed how the community could react to a decision like that.
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