Chapter 19 - There is no criminal case against Marcia
People expected me to have Marcia arrested.
For what?
Being cruel?
Giving dangerous advice?
Canceling a grocery delivery?
Pressuring a competent adult to do chores?
The law does not criminalize every harmful family dynamic.
Nor should it.
Child protective services briefly reviewed Theo’s environment because of the hospital report and custody dispute.
They found no evidence that Theo had been physically harmed.
He was gaining weight.
Receiving pediatric care.
Appropriately fed.
No unsafe sleeping arrangement.
The concern centered on caregiver stress and household functioning.
Case closed after services and court orders were in place.
Marcia faced no criminal charge.
Colin faced no criminal charge for canceling the nurse.
Lying to your spouse is often marriage-ending.
Not automatically criminal.
That frustrated me.
Then I realized frustration came from wanting law to perform moral sorting for me.
It cannot.
There were other consequences.
Marcia lost access to the household she had tried to control.
No unsupervised time with Theo for almost two years because Alessandra did not consent.
Her relationship with Colin deteriorated when he finally started blaming her.
Then improved after he stopped blaming only her.
Specific.
Human.
Messy.
May you like
No handcuffs required.
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