In April 2012, as Steve and Paula Alarcon were sleeping, someone fired five shots through the bedroom window, hitting them in the legs. Steve Alarcon wasn’t able to walk for months. Paula Alarcon did better, once the risk of bleeding to death was past.

It was hard for them, especially since the first person who rushed to their aid, a neighbor, said he had seen the shooter, and it was their daughter, Lisa Marie.

The senior Alarcons had a bad relationship with Lisa. She used drugs. She was 25, with a 9-year-old kid. At various times they called police and Child Protective Services on her about her drug use and about her care of the child. Also they didn’t like her boyfriend, the gang member. Still, she’d never stealthily shot them.

The witness who said he saw Lisa shoot, also said he saw her drive away in an SUV, hitting a power pole in the process. Police found damage on the SUV, and matching SUV bits next to the pole. She was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Nuh uh, said Lisa, she did not shoot them. Her lawyer argued that the SUV-power pole incident had happened earlier that day. He said the witness was an untrustworthy guy with a prison record. Besides, the street lights were out, so how could he see her?

The jury deadlocked. Seven said she did it, two said she didn’t, and one couldn’t decide. Mistrial.

There was a second trial, but then Lisa Marie agreed to plead guilty to two counts of attempted murder and accept a 20-year sentence.

Steve Alarcon addressed his daughter in court. “Lisa. I would like to start out by saying that I love you, in spite of what happened that night. I forgive you.” He said he’d had a dream about a Christ-like figure who said he had saved Steve when he was shot, and who also expressed love for Lisa. “I felt like he picked up my cross that was heavy, so we can love and forgive each other and start a new beginning.”

Lisa, crying, told the court, “I am sorry I hurt them and I love them so much. So sorry. I’m so thankful they’re here today. I’m so thankful that they came.”

As she was taken away, she waved to her parents.

“But she never quite explained why she had shot her parents,” grumbled Pablo Lopez of the Fresno Bee.

Prosecutor Brian Hutchins told the Bee the outcome was satisfactory because “She admitted that she did it and said she was sorry for hurting them. That’s a good first step.”

Here’s the thing. I am not sure she admitted it. She said she was sorry for hurting them. That could mean a lot of things.

You know, sorry about the drugs, stealing, yelling, accusations, embarrassment, not taking better care of their grandkid, whatever.

Yes, she was very emotional, but she knew her parents forgave her for trying to kill them – whether or not that’s what happened. Maybe she wanted to express her gratitude for their love and support without getting into the old I-told-you-a-million-times-I-did-not-either-shoot-you argument.

She took a plea bargain, and sometimes innocent people do that because they

figure it’s the best deal they can get. I haven’t seen the evidence, and it’s interesting that two jurors in the first trial thought she was innocent, and one thought she might be. Probably she did it, maybe she didn’t, and I can’t tell if she admitted it.

If she’d clearly admitted it, that might make it hard for her legal situation in the future. The prosecutor may have said she admitted it because he wants that to be true — and because it makes him and his case look better.

Which shows why when you apologize you should say what you’re apologizing for. If “sorry I hurt you” means “sorry I shot you,” say so. So they know it’s not just “sorry I was such a rotten kid.”

Unless you’re in court.