But the question remains; will Joseph Duncan be sentenced to death? Douglas seems conviced that if there isn't a death sentence at the federal level, he will get one in Kootenai county. But Adams told me this case will never come back to Kootenai county. Whatever the case, we may know the answer soon. Douglas told me today he is "very close" to the federal prosecution, and while he couldn't give a start date for the federal proceedings, he did tell me he expects the federal case to be resolved "very quickly."

The big victory today for everyone - the victims' families, the prosecution and even the defense - is that 9-year-old Shasta Groene will not have to testify against Duncan. Nobody wanted that. The prosecution and Shasta's family believe she would have been a critical witness in the prosecution case, but they didn't want her to face Duncan. And now she won't.

It's hard to know who gained the most in this plea agreement until the story reaches it's final resolution. And sitting in the courtroom I today I wondered, what does Duncan want? I know most people we've spoken with argue it doesn't matter what Duncan wants after the crimes he committed. But ultimately he is the one who had to agree to the terms of this deal. Adams says Duncan is ready to bring this drama to an end, saying Duncan didn't "want to inflict any more trauma" on the victim's families, and today Duncan seemed to break down when given a chance to address the court.

"I've thought a lot about what I would say if I was asked," Duncan said. "There's nothing to say."

And after all of the negotiating involved in this case - something sure to continue in the federal case - I wonder, who will actually get the last word?