Chapter 20 - Vanessa’s Plea
The criminal case took nine months.
Margaret testified at the preliminary stage.
She hated it.
Not because afraid.
Because she did not enjoy being described as:
“elderly victim.”
“I am elderly,” she told me. “I am not decorative.”
Vanessa eventually entered a negotiated plea to a misdemeanor assault count.
The prosecutor did not charge attempted murder.
No aggravated felony based on imagined catastrophic risk.
The video showed deliberate interference with a mobility aid followed by a fall and minor injury.
Serious enough.
Sentence:
Eighteen months probation.
Anger-management counseling.
Community service.
Restitution for Margaret’s uncovered medical costs.
No direct contact with Margaret during an initial period, with later contact only by mutual agreement.
No jail.
Vanessa gave a formal allocution.
She admitted she intentionally moved the cane with her foot.
She said she did not intend Margaret to fall.
Margaret believed that.
So did I.
Intent not to cause the full result did not erase the choice that caused it.
My own diversion concluded around the same time.
Community service completed.
Anger-management program completed.
Charge dismissed under the agreement.
I did not celebrate.
I had learned more from a fluorescent-lit counseling room than I expected.
Especially one question:
What do you want your child—or your employees—to learn when they see you angry?
I had no young child in this story, but the question still mattered.
People watched me.
Security.
Managers.
Relatives.
If I used violence to enforce dignity, they learned violence was part of management.
May you like
I did not want that.
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