even live long enough to see him get out. that was my fear walking into that courtroom. reporter: but instead they heard the judge vocalize what he says they have known from the start. judge robert perry said the evidence is overwhelming the shooting was an accident, and he believed oscar grant was in fact resisting before mehserle mistakenly shot him with a gun. the first thing he said and he emphasized this was it was never a race issue, never. and that he believed johans. it s highly emotional because be felt besieged and to hear what judge perry had to say was certainly good enough for us. it gives us a lot of faith that in the end, you know, things will work out. reporter: mehserle s father, who sobbed throughout friday s proceeding, believes his son should have gotten probation. he says his family finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel. i know that he s looking forward to getting back to his family and getting back to his baby and trying to put this who