Good morning your honor: My name is Ray Clark Jr. and | am here today speaking on behalf of my entire family. | want to thank the court for this opportunity to say a few words on my son's behalf. But first and foremost | would like to extend my family's deepest sympathies to the Le family. The grief and tears we shed are equal for your family as well as ours. The events of September 2009 devastated two families and shocked a nation. No parent can imagine or prepare for losing their daughter to violence or to having their son commit such a horrible crime. Our son Raymond Clark III was born January 28, 1985. Along with the birth of our daughter and grandchildren, it was one of the happiest days of our lives. Today is one of the saddest days. ~ | remember when my son was only 4 months old; he contracted spinal meningitis, a dreadful, life threatening disease, and he required lots of medical attention for the first few years of his life. | remember one time holding my baby in my arms, my wife by my side, while doctors drained fluid from our son's brain. Ray is no longer that little baby in my arms. He is no longer our little boy growing up in a supportive, loving home. | cannot protect him and am powerless to undo this nightmare. But, | stand here today with unconditional love for my son. His family loves him and we are proud that he is taking responsibility for his actions and that he shows great remorse for his conduct. Ray was raised in a loving and supportive household. He was a loving brother to his sister, a good student, a great athlete and had many, many friends. Our family has always been very close. We love Ray and he was always a good son to us. | say this to underscore how shocked we were to hear that Ray committed this horrible, senseless offense. | don’t stand here today to try and explain or make excuses for this tragedy. But, this is not the Ray we know and raised; we can't explain or make sense of this.| know that we will never understand, as | know that Ray does not understand, how this could have happened. It Is with deep sorrow'that | stand here today. But | do want to tell my son that hls family and his flancé Jennifer and his friends love him dearly and are proud that he Is taking responsibility for his actions. I know that my son stands here today also with a heavy heart and that he will carry that pain with him for the rest of his life. | know that he is truly sorry for all the pain he has caused the Le family as well as the pain he has caused his own family. In closing, | again want to extend our condolences to the Le family. We are truly sorry for your loss. My wife wanted to speak today, but she Is too emotional to stand up here. She wanted to address Annie's mom, mother- to-mother, and express her deepest sympathy for her loss and her pain. Finally, we have been contacted numerous times with offers to appear on different national television and news shows. | want the Le family to know that we will not be appearing on any of those shows out of respect for the Le family. Thank you. | | |