Families on both sides cry together

It was the moment they had been waiting for. It was the moment many of them had prayed about, worried over, obsessed on.

But when it came, the moment wasn't what many thought it would be -- for either side.

"Our kids are still gone," Harriett Booth said. "I thought I'd be happy as soon as I heard she was guilty of DUI, but as soon as they said it, I started to cry. It hasn't changed anything."

Vicki Gould had much the same reaction.

"I guess it's good she doesn't get to go home today," a tearful Gould said, struggling for words.

Booth is the stepmother of Jennifer Booth, and Gould is the mother of Scott Garner Jr. Both children were among six teens struck and killed by Jessica Williams' van on Interstate 15 last March.

The teens were picking up trash for the county after having committed a petty crime.

On Friday Williams, 21, was found guilty of driving under the influence of a prohibited substance and use and possession of a controlled substance.

She was found not guilty of reckless driving, involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

The jury decided that while Williams had marijuana in her system, she wasn't impaired by it or the Ecstasy she had taken 10 hours before the accident.

She faces between two and 20 years for each of the six victims killed when District Judge Mark Gibbons sentences her March 30. The maximum sentence could be 120 years.

On the courthouse lawn after the verdicts were read, members of the victims' families and Williams' family mingled with reporters and lined up to speak on Court TV as the attorneys took their turns at a press conference.

There were moments when both sides came together and hugged, each recognizing the tragedy of the situation and sharing in their disdain for Clark County -- which many agree should be held partly responsible for the teens' deaths.

Williams' father, Steve Williams, spent many moments discussing the case with Scott Garner Sr. and civil attorney Tom Christensen. Steve Williams assured them he would help them in their lawsuit against the county.

The Williams family was happy the jury didn't think Jessica was impaired. They are confident such a distinction will lead to the conviction being overturned. Her sister is in a "good place" because she knows God is in charge, Stephanie Williams said.

"Why was she not bursting in tears" during the verdict, Stephanie Williams said. "Because she knows the conviction will be overturned one day. We'll have our baby back one day, and it won't take 120 years."

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