The two boys who nearly killed real estate broker and avid volunteer Marion Salmon Hedges last year by tossing a shopping cart from a fourth story walkway just before Halloween may get off without a stop in jail. Surely helping their fate is forgiveness on the part of Hedges.
Still, assuming that Manhattan Family Court Judge Susan Larabee agrees with sentencing recommendations for the 13-year-old and 12-year-old boys (who pleaded guilty to reduced felony charges already), they won't exactly be getting off scot-free. The 13-year-old, for instance, has been recommended for a single-parent foster home for at least a year (if he stays out of trouble) while his mother takes parenting lessons. "It’s a calculated risk, but I have faith in this kid," Shahabudden Ally, the boy’s lawyer, said in court.
As for the 12-year-old. He reportedly was "extremely remorseful" about the incident, according to a probation officer. The court has suggested he be sentenced to probation. The boys are due back in court for sentencing in the next week.
Recently Hedges, who was put in a coma by the errant shopping cart, reportedly told friends she "bears no ill will" to the boys. According to the Post, "The troubled Harlem kids are, after all, the very people Marion Hedges has spent her life trying to help, the source [said]... 'Her concerns are more about the economic conditions that created that situation — what’s going on with these moms?' he said."
