It took just over 26 months, a trial that ended with a hung jury and some of the most gut-wrenching days, months and years imaginable for the victim, but last Friday morning the case involving the shooting of a Sampson County Sheriff’s deputy came to an end.

Michael Walthall Jr., the Pennsylvania man accused of assaulting Deputy Caitlin Emanuel with a firearm, shooting her in the leg and heel during an altercation he initiated on Hayne Stretch Road on July 22, 2022, admitted his guilt to that charge and was sentenced for it and a string of other offenses.

After the dust settles and credit is given for the time he has already spent behind bars awaiting trial, Walthall will find his freedoms limited to the confines of a prison for several years.

No matter the time he serves, though, it won’t be enough to make up for the life-altering experience Emanuel has been through, yet she has chosen forgiveness and so must we, respecting the legal process and the wishes of the deputy who spoke so eloquently and openly about what she has been through and what she must live with for what, she said, would be the rest of her life.

We applaud all those involved with moving this case toward its close, including District Attorney Ernie Lee; assistant DAs Robbie Thigpen and Jennifer Barnes, who did wonderful work prosecuting the October case; Sampson Sheriff’s officers and investigators; and the state Bureau of Investigation. Each one played vital roles in the case’s outcome.

But the person who deserves the most praise is Emanuel, herself.

She has found the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. We touted that perseverance back in October and we do it again now.

In October and again last Friday, Emanuel sat in a courtroom just feet away from the man accused of shooting her and leaving her for dead, listening to hours upon hours of testimony that brought that horrific night back to life. She sat there stoically, bravely, listening to her own voice screaming in pain, begging for help as audio of her nightmare reality played in the Sampson County courtroom.

Friday, she stood a few feet from her assailant again, emotionally reading a statement to the court about that tragic night and the ongoing pain she experiences — mental, emotional and physical pain.

Friday Emanuel was polite but emphatic, even acknowledging that she had chosen forgiveness toward the man who had brought so much anguish to her and her family.

While there were undeniable tears and tense moments as the worst night of her life was replayed over and over again in that courtroom on two different occasions — and repeatedly during the course of the investigation and preparation for the trial — Emanuel endured the overwhelming obstacles with a grace and courage that was exemplary in every way.

Time after time on this page we have sang the praises of law enforcement officers, touting them for the bravery they show every day they get up and go to work, unsure what their day will bring and if they will ever return home. They run into the face of danger while the rest of us run the other way. They answer the call, a call to serve us, as citizens of Sampson County.

Emanuel is among them. She does the uniform proud in every way; she adds a little more shine to the Sheriff’s Department and she sets a tone for us all, a tone of facing the very worst of our circumstances with grace and strength.

We are glad the book has closed on this awful part of Emanuel’s life, and it is our prayer that with that book closed she will finally be able to move beyond some of the pain and find her way to the life she so richly deserves.