Phelps family avoids child abuse charges

This Monday, Shirley Phelps-Roper struck a deal that stopped her from going to trial on charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse. Losing the disturbing the peace thing, that I can live with. But, oh, how good would it have felt to finally – finally – have an excuse to get child services involved because negligent child abuse is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Phelps-Roper avoided the trial by doing what all psychotic or wealthy or good-lawyer-having people do: treat the justice system like a business deal where criminal charges are just offers to be negotiated.