AUSTIN — It wasn't the verdict they wanted, but the parents of a young Austin man killed in Greece aren't giving up.
On Thanksgiving Day, a Greek court sentenced six men for deliberate bodily harm -- not murder -- for beating 22-year-old Bakari Henderson to death outside a nightclub in Greece last July.
"For them to come back and say, 'No one was charged with murder,' was very, very upsetting for everyone," Bakari's mother, Jill Henderson, told KVUE just hours after arriving back in the U.S. Tuesday. "It was just a shock for everyone. We just really had no preparation for that news."
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Under this verdict, the men would serve five to 15 years in prison. But earlier this week, Bakari's family got a second chance at justice after the public prosecutor asked for a retrial with more experienced judges.
"They had 10 days to approve the appeal, and so it looks like it only took them two days, which was phenomenal. We're very excited," Jill said.
A seventh man will also stand trial for murder this time around. However, the prosecutor will not seek life sentences for all seven of the men. His decision is based on evidence that shows where on Bakari's body each of the men hit as they beat him, according to Jill.
"To us, it doesn't make a lot of sense because if you're all together as a mob, your intention is the same," she said.
Even if some of the men are sentenced to life in prison, Jill said it's not as harsh of a punishment as it should be in Greece.
"Usually, the majority of the time, it's 10 to 12 years for a life sentence. To have that reduced meant even less time, so that's what was very heartbreaking for us," she said. "They still have the majority of their life left ahead of them, so they can still have children. They can have a career."
She hopes this time, the court will rule in Bakari's favor.
"It was a horrendous crime, and it was something that no person deserved, not just because it's our child, but I think the country would've felt the same way had it been any child," she said. "It's not a way for anyone to have to end their life."
The Hendersons' attorney expects the retrial to begin before spring of 2019.