Holly is my cousin’s best friend’s daughter.

Yesterday she had a hearing in which she was sentenced to six years in prison.

She is in prison because of me.

Before anyone says anything, let me explain.

I don’t feel bad in the least that she is there. This is why.

Holly has a daughter named Marrissa. One night Marrissa was being really fussy. Typical of a toddler. Holly chose to fix the problem by covering Marrissa’s nose and mouth with her hand until she passed out.

After she did this, she freaked out about what happened and carried Marrissa into the living room where her mom, sister and my cousin were. Her sister Brittany took Marrissa’s limp body and performed CPR on the child until she was amazingly resuscitated. They never even took Marrissa to the hospital afterwards.

A week or so later my cousin told me this story. That night I called Child Protective Services to notify them of the situation. It just had to be reported. I mean… what if something else happened? I would feel responsible for not having intervened in someway.

Marrissa was taken away and placed in foster care. Since then she has been adopted by her grandmother’s brother. She is happy, loved and well cared for with his family.

I don’t feel bad.

The fact the Marrissa was able to be resuscitated is a miracle. But ultimately irrelevant when you realize that she easily may not have been. That being the case, as far as I am concerned, Holly murdered that little girl.

It’s good. She needs to be in prison.

Eventually, someday, I will tell them that I was the one who reported. For now, I can feel peace that Marrissa is safe.