Jason Lopes was sentenced to 30 years for the Manslaughter of Zackary Marshall. 20 years to serve and 10 years probation with time served for his time already served in the ACI.

We don’t know what the future will bring with appeals and future parole hearings but for now, after yesterday’s sentencing, we can try to make peace with finally having accountability. The judge had an amazing read on the entire case and even felt that if the Jury came back with a second degree murder charge she would have affirmed it. She found many inconsistencies in the testimony and interviews and called out outright lies. She called out everyone by name who took part in the entire case where they’ll be forever memorialized in the transcripts for their part in what happened to Zack. She believed that had one of them not gotten themselves in his own legal trouble and used the information about what they knew about the night Zack was killed that Jason Lopes would have taken it to his grave. Everything that happened after the crime heavily weighed in her decision. Most importantly, she saw and felt the disingenuous nature of the defendant that we all saw and felt throughout the trial. “The decisions you made were unconscionable and unforgivable.” The Justice in her words alone was everything.

We’re all so proud of Kira for her bravery in speaking her truth yesterday in front of the court. Her statement was impactful and beautiful. So was Dianne and Paul’s who spoke so perfectly about their son and their loss. Zack was a person worthy of having a full and beautiful life but In the words of Zack’s mother “the world is forever dimmer and different without him.”

We thank everyone endlessly for their unwavering support over the last 15 years. For sticking by us, for following Zacks story and sharing it to keep his memory alive so we could get to this point. Your help in holding us up and supporting our advocacy helped move us through the last 15 years and that has never gone unnoticed. Justice was a long and difficult chapter that we’ll spend years healing from but for today Justice prevailed. For that, we are so grateful.

In Memory of Zackary J. Marshall 💙 May his soul forever rest in peace