Chapter 12 - MY CASE IS WORSE THAN ONE SLAP
The prosecutor did not treat my retaliation as one simple strike.
I slapped Marjorie.
Then I intentionally cut her hair without consent.
Two acts.
Same incident.
No serious physical injury.
No clipper cut.
No prior criminal record.
But the second act was deliberate after time to stop.
That mattered.
My attorney negotiated.
Potential misdemeanor assault/battery counts.
Diversion remained possible under local policy if Marjorie did not oppose and I met conditions.
Marjorie did oppose at first.
Fair.
She said:
“He wanted to humiliate me in front of my family.”
True.
Then:
“He ruined photographs I can never redo.”
Also true.
A wedding reception can be rescheduled.
That exact day cannot.
I had taken something irreversible in time even if hair regrew.
Exactly what she had done to Ivy.
That parallel made my lawyer uncomfortable.
Made me more uncomfortable.
Eventually, the prosecutor offered:
Twelve-month diversion.
Anger-management and individual counseling.
Restitution for documented medical evaluation and reasonable hair-restoration costs.
No direct contact with Marjorie except through counsel during initial period.
No weapons? Not relevant.
No further offenses.
Completion:
dismissal.
I accepted.
Then Marjorie’s case.
Different.
She faced a child battery charge.
Premeditation evidence from the styling appointment affected how prosecutors viewed intent, though the actual violent clipper pass followed the table bump.
No severe injury.
No scalp wound.
Still:
adult forcibly shaving a seven-year-old.
Her lawyer sought diversion too.
The state treated the child victim and retaliatory humiliation as aggravating.
No instant prison.
No sensational felony.
Process.
Then Lenora.
Her criminal exposure depended on evidence of solicitation or conspiracy.
Did planning a haircut equal planning a criminal battery if she expected Sebastian’s eventual consent?
That was contested.
Her messages:
“And if Ivy refuses?”
“Children survive haircuts.”
Not explicit:
Hold her down.
Cut anyway.
Prosecutors hesitated.
Good.
Evidence determines charges.
Anger does not.
Civil protective boundaries were easier.
Lenora’s contact with Ivy was suspended pending review.
No unsupervised access.
May you like
No decision-making role.
That alone changed the family.
