After more than two years of waiting for the chance to spend the better part of a week watching the criminal trial play out, only to see the man responsible for killing one of their family members and injuring another be found not guilty of murder and allowed to go home for the night, the question of whether or not justice had been served got mixed reviews.

“We have to go to the cemetery to visit with my brother,” Kimberly Wood said. “(Scotty Dale Moss) gets to spend time with his family tonight. I don’t see the justice in that.”

Moss had a blood-alcohol content of around twice the legal limit when the GMC Envoy he was driving crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Chevrolet El Camino driven by Wood’s brother, Lloyd Jason Reed. Reed’s stepdaughter was in the passenger seat.

Reed was killed in the wreck. His stepdaughter was severely injured and spent nearly a week in the hospital, and she testified this week that she continues to suffer from headaches and other issues as a result of the wreck.

Leslie Reed, his wife, said it felt like she’d been waiting “forever” to finally sit in a courtroom and watch Moss stand trial for what he’d done to her family.

“I hadn’t been able to rest or sleep, because all I could think about was my husband, wanting to call my husband, and there’s nobody to call,” she said. “He was my soulmate. We’d been together forever, and I couldn’t see my life without him.”

Family described Jason Reed as someone who never met a stranger and who would gladly help anyone who needed it. Gathered near the Limestone County Courthouse entrance, tears still running down their faces, they shared how nieces and nephews viewed him like an extra parent, how loved and wonderful he was, and how there was no amount of time Moss could spend in prison that would replace what they’ve lost.

Moss had been indicted on a charge of reckless murder, but the jury found him guilty of reckless manslaughter instead. They also found him guilty of DUI and first-degree assault.

The assault and manslaughter charges are Class B felonies, meaning Moss would normally face between 2 and 20 years in prison. However, he was previously convicted of first-degree possession of marijuana, another felony, which the Limestone County District Attorney’s office said could earn him up to 99 years behind bars.

“We had hoped for the murder charge,” Wood said Thursday. “We will do our victim impact statements and hope for a longer sentence.”

Moss was allowed to leave the courthouse with his family after the verdict was read. Jail records show he was arrested 1 a.m. Friday, and he is set to remain in the Limestone County Detention Center until his sentencing June 10.

When asked if she felt justice had been served, Leslie Reed said it was only “some.” A family member said maybe now the family could start healing, since there was no point before, while another wondered aloud how anyone could spend time healing when the man responsible for their hurt might not get more than two years in prison.