Clarence knelt down beside the front screen door and gently asked the little girl if her mother had finished her dinner before sending the dish over to his house.

The child looked down at her scuffed sneakers and shook her head, explaining that her mother claimed she was not hungry again because growing children needed the food much more than grown adults did.

“Those warm meals were never extra leftovers from a full refrigerator,” I told Judge Lawson as moisture blurred my vision.

“Rebecca was giving up her own evening meals and going to bed on an empty stomach so an elderly neighbor would not starve in his bed.“

I pulled a tissue from my pocket to wipe my eyes while Clarence stood beside his attorney with his shoulders shaking under the weight of his grief.