Sentencing

We prepared ourselves the best we could in the month between the plea deal and the sentencing.  It was assumed by Nathan's lawyer that he would be sentenced to just time served.  The original charge carried up to 50 years in prison.  The plea charge carried 0-5 years in prison.  Nathan had already served 7 months.  In true Doug Warner fashion, the county attorney here in Scotts Bluff County failed to get me a victim's impact statement.  I had to repeatedly call his office to ask for it.  He finally had his office drop it by my house the Monday before sentencing.  I returned it to the courthouse on Tuesday.  His office called THURSDAY to see if they could pick up my statement.  I told them I was proactive and had already returned it, assumed they would have it.  No one from their office told me when or where to be for sentencing.  Nathan gave me that information.  And the time he had was wrong.  Thankfully, it was earlier than the actual time.  The sentencing was hard.  I had to sit and listen to Nathan's attorney say what a hard spot everyone else put Nathan in and it was a lot to ask of the man to care for infant twins.  No one forced Nathan to do it.  He was a fully participating party to the decisions that brought our family to Nebraska and left me working and him as a stay at home parent.  He had my mom over her 3, 4 maybe even 5 times a week helping.  I was helping with night feedings and took over completely on weekends and after work.  It was hard to hear the excuses from his attorney.  There is NO excuse for traumatically injuring a defenseless infant. 

Nathan was sentenced to just 5 years intensive probation which includes no unsupervised contact with Darius and Brenner.  The judge said his reasoning was that a max sentence of 5 years jail time would leave him in jail (supervised by the state) for 2 years.  Probation would allow the state to supervise him for 5 years.  I see the logic in it.  But it all just seems like a great miscarriage of justice for Brenner. 

I want people to look away from the sentencing.  Let that go.  That is a different fight and one I intend to help with once I have secured a life for me and my boys.  Focus on Brenner.  Focus on every child that has been injured at the hands of a parent and is fighting every day.  They are heroes.  They deserve our love and support, not our hate and anger directed to their offenders.  Fight the fight for the children effected by child abuse.  But please remember to do it with the love, respect and honor that these children show every day as they fight the good fight!