rehabilitated, that the susan watson who killed her mother no longer existed and at 41 years old, they say, she did not belong in juvenile court. >> all right. this is the case of susan mariegrets. she worried. she was a little bit relieved that she had come forward and finally told what happened. but i think the remorse consumed her all through the trial. >> 1999, in her first appearance in a newark, new jersey, family courtroom, susan watson's lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the case against her. >> one of the advantages we have in this hearing which we don't normally have in a juvenile proceeding is that we can actually look into the future. we can look beyond 1971 and see the person that susan watson is and has become. >> the judge tried to determine if susan was rehabilitated. susan did not speak on her own behalf, but those close to her did, including the man she married. >> i met susan -- >> john amos told the court he is devoted to an upstanding woman. >> and i can honestly say that she has led a very sober and clean lifestyle. >> john wanted the courtroom to learn something from this terrible incident. >> what i wanted people to understand is that this was a trag