Our hearts hurt for Chris Shumey’s family. We got to know Chris when he managed a winery we had a partnership interest in. We interacted with him frequently over a three- to four-year period. He was always very pleasant, kind, and welcomed us with a warm smile. He dealt patiently with difficult people, always polite and even-tempered. We thought very highly of him.

When we learned he shot and killed his mother, we were horrified and heartbroken. There is no way the wonderful young man we knew could do that. We’re not medical professionals, but there’s no doubt in our minds that he suffers from mental illness.

Our personal experience with the judicial system convinced us it has little bearing on justice. It’s a convoluted system of intellectual debate, ego and manipulation that’s absurdly expensive and inefficient. Not only has the Shumey family lost two loved ones, but they may have lost faith in decency and humanity. We feel their pain.