“Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Phil Grant told the media during a press conference Saturday afternoon that the grand jury which indicted Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on Thursday considered Peterson’s discipline of his 4-year-old son to be unreasonable.
Grant said his office is limited in what it can say regarding the state jail felony injury to a child case against the NFL star and wouldn’t comment on the child’s specific injuries, but said the grand jury’s decision indicates the tree limb used to discipline Peterson’s son did not reflect the community’s standards.
The indictment accuses Peterson of acting either recklessly, or by criminal negligence.
Section 261 of the Texas Family Code excludes as a definition for abuse “an accident or reasonable discipline by a parent or guardian” that does not expose the child to a substantial risk of harm.
Other definitions for abuse in the code include mental or emotional injury that causes “observable” impairment to the child’s growth and development.
Peterson turned himself into the Montgomery County Jail about 1 a.m. Saturday morning after a warrant was issued for his arrest approximately 11 hours earlier. He was released on a $15,000 bond.
Peterson’s defense attorney Rusty Hardin said Friday that his client used the same kind of discipline that he experienced as a child. Pulling what is commonly referred to as a “switch” for a spanking is a familiar concept in rural settings like the one where Peterson grew up in Palestine, Texas.
Still, Grant said his office looks forward to taking the case to a jury at the appropriate time.”
But we want to know just who has define the “community standards” Grant speaks of? What standard is he using?
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