Chapter 19 - The criminal cases
Carla’s case was the most serious.
The prosecution considered:
Child’s age.
Use of a metal object.
Documented fracture.
Video.
Her admission that she intended to scare Lily.
No prior criminal history.
No evidence of repeated serious physical abuse.
Carla ultimately accepted a plea to a felony-level child-abuse or malicious-injury-related offense structured to reflect intentional dangerous conduct causing injury, without claiming she intended the exact fracture.
The sentence was not twenty years.
A period of incarceration measured in months.
Much of the remaining term suspended under probation conditions.
Anger-management and behavioral treatment.
No unsupervised contact with Lily.
Restitution for uninsured medical expenses where applicable.
No possession of weapons during supervision beyond ordinary lawful conditions? The court did not turn barbecue tools into a special category.
Accuracy.
Frank resolved his obstruction case at misdemeanor level.
Probation.
Community service.
No jail after taking responsibility.
Helen was not charged for saying Lily deserved it.
Cruel speech is not automatically a crime.
Her role became central in child-safety and family decisions instead.
My kick produced no charge because authorities concluded it was immediate defense of Lily.
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That did not make the afternoon a victory.
A child still had a broken leg.
