[I still care]

I had a friend who was murdered by her husband. He chased her through the house and caught her in the children's bedroom. She was stabbed over 20 times in front of the children. The oldest child I think was about 12.

The family did some kind of plea bargain that he got only about 12 years, because they didn't want the children to have to testify in court. The lawyer made it clear that he would drag it out with them unless they accepted the bargain, and they did. The judge was livid about it, calling it a atrocious miscarriage of justice. The kids were whisked away upstate, we didn't see or hear from them again.

I guess we could all understand it, and only the family really understood what the kids went through.

If that is the reason, I guess the Smarts must have a better idea than anyone what they need to do to protect their daughter. Maybe the last thing they want is to have her testify in court about her sexual relationship with this pervert, when kidnapping charges will do just as well.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

If it is the STATE that prosecutes the case against Mitchell, how could the Smarts influence it to the degree in the murder case that you mentioned? How could the family of the murdered mother get away with this, legally? I am not saying I don't understand their motivations. But, I didn't know that the families could intervene in such a way.