Valerie Bauerlein

It opened the door for a review of whether Stand Your Ground should have been applied to the killing of Scott Spivey.

What was the first thing that went through your mind when you heard that?

And after two years, what does this moment mean to you?

Now, an elected solicitor from the other side of the state named Barry Barnett has the power to reinvestigate the Spivey case.

He also has the authority to impanel a grand jury, which could recommend criminal charges.

Despite her caution, Jennifer is hopeful about Barnett.

Like Jennifer, he's a former science teacher.

And as a prosecutor, Barnett has gone after government corruption.

He has a reputation for being independent.

While the special prosecutor is at work, on a parallel track, the Spivey's wrongful death lawsuit is still moving through the civil courts.

I asked a dozen lawyers across South Carolina, and none of them have heard of a lawsuit like this.

Normally, police and prosecutors are the ones who decide whether to file charges in a self-defense case.

But through the lawsuit, Jennifer has found a way to get a civil judge to make a call.

Judge Eugene C. Bubba-Griffith will decide whether Boyd and Williams truly were acting in self-defense.

It's all building to what's referred to as an immunity hearing.

Emotions are sure to be high.

All these people, whose lives have been so intertwined for so long, will be gathered in the same room.

This November, the judge held a procedural hearing in which he played some of the 911 calls.

It lasted three hours.

Afterward, Jennifer texted me, quote, my watch sent me six high heart rate alerts.