SALINE COUNTY, Ark. – A Saline County woman says the system failed her daughter in order to ease prison overcrowding.
The man serving time for hurting a baby was released early.
Now this mom wants justice and answers.
FOX16’s Isabella Moller has the story–we do want to warn reader–some of the pictures are hard to look at.
“Her face scares me.”
It’s an image forever engraved in Vanessa Kelly’s head.
She was 3 months old, 9 pounds,” says Vanessa Kelly.
Coming home to find her 3-month-old daughter Karly like this in April 2017.
“It wasn’t just her face, it was her arms and legs and on her ribs,” she says.
Kristopher Kelly–Karly’s father–was arrested and charged with domestic battery in the 2nd degree.
In March of 2018-almost a year later, Kelly was sentenced to prison for 3 years.
“I agreed to do the plea deal on the account that it would be a guarantee he would go to prison,” Vanessa says.
But in August, after 3 months in prison—Vanessa heard this voicemail.
VOICEMAIL: “This offender has been granted early release under the Emergency Powers Act.”
“I had no chance to fight it,” Vanessa said.
Kristopher Kelly was released under the 90 Day Emergency Powers Act. That allows the Board of Corrections to move parole eligibility up for prisoners if there is overcrowding.
The Parole Board says there is no requirement of being a non-violent offender to be considered under the 90 rule, but there is under the one year Emergency Powers Act.
Karly, now 18-months-old, is all smiles. But her mom is angry. Vanessa says Karly took longer to recover than the time her dad spent behind bars. Serving a few months of a 3 year sentence, with no prior jail time credited.
“I don’t want to feel like I didn’t do enough for her because he didn’t get the justice she was supposed to,” she says.
But she knows she has to find justice for Karly.
To clarify, the one year Emergency Powers Act is different from the 90 day Emergency Powers Act and it’s up to the Parole Board on whether an inmate qualifies.
