i don t know how i can have two. after reviewing the evidence, the district attorney decided to charge newell separately for the femur and clavicle injuries. perceived things happened, you know, with everything. my court date s not for another month. yeah. i can t be back here for another month. i won t with able to do it. i want to see my daughter. and i can t. it s not fair that i m being here when i didn t do anything. but at the end of the day, we just kept wondering, how was this baby harmed so severely. but two days later, jessica was bailed out of jail, so we never learned the truth. after fighting her case for more than a year, newell took a plea deal for the charge of child abuse by bodily injury and received a 15-year prison
what i should do and she told me to take her to the hospital. so i took her down there and they did x-rays on her and said that she had a broken femur. doctors also found a fractured clavicle and determined that the force used to cause these injuries indicated child abuse and they notified authorities. i told them i couldn t possibly have pulled on her leg too hard when i was changing her or picked her up too hard or sat her down too hard. i was tired. i didn t really think about it. i didn t think i was doing anything to hurt her. newell is married, but says being an 18-year-old mom feels nearly as restrictive as her current circumstances. it s been hard. i have no friends, because everyone that s my age is not married or have kids. no one understands me. i m stuck in the house taking care of her all the time and i never get to go out.
the visit made an impression on our production team, because of the one topic never discussed. as soon as i get my break on work, i ll come over and see you if you are home. if not leave me some cigarettes. i will leave you some cigarette. i don t even recall her talking with her husband about the baby. didn t discuss the baby at all. that was a little surprising to us. i love you. i love you, baby. i ll see you tomorrow, okay? the next day, newell was in the jail s video courtroom for her arraignment. where a judge would formally present her charges and accept her plea. i m very nervous. i don t know what s really going to happen. my lawyer said that he thinks he may be able to get the case dismissed, because he doesn t think there s enough evidence to actually say that it was abuse. he said i shouldn t be getting any jail time at all. he said, minimum, probably three year probation.
i never get to do things an 18-year-old should be able to do. i guess no one believes me. everyone thinks that i purposely hurt my daughter and i didn t. it s always tough being part of a story that involves children. i think that s the hardest story to tell on lockup. and of course, all of these crimes are alleged. this is a jail. so, you know, you can t rush to judgment. so, you know, we re listening to her. you know, i have a little girl, i ve changed a billion diapers, you know? some half-asleep. did you feel angry at all? no. in any way, about being woken up, anything like that? i wasn t angry at all. i was just tired. was there anybody else with you when she started screaming? my husband. but he was laying on the bed, halfway asleep. newell was in jail for four days when her husband, daniel barnette, came in for a visit. why didn t you shut up, listen.
better probation than being behind these walls. oh, yeah, which would be awesome. just kind of ready to get it over with. i m kind of scared to be in there with my court, because everyone else is going to be in there and they re going i m scared i m going to have someone attack me as soon as they hear what i m in there for. jessica newell. good morning, miss newell. you re being held on two charges of child abuse by injury. $50,000 bond is set on each case. not guilty plea has been entered on your case. we re setting prelim for march the 25th at 9:00. somebody will be out to see you before that time. okay. not only was newell s case not dismissed and going to trial, but the news of two charges came as a surprise. they told me i only had one charge. i don t know how the hell they can say i have two when i was only booked in with one.