An Oakland County judge has released a fifteen-year-old girl from probation, in the apparent last twist in the controversial case of the girl known as “Grace.”
It was a probation violation that landed Grace in juvenile detention in May. Grace is the girl’s middle name, used to protect her privacy.
Grace’s case sparked a national outcry because Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ordered her jailed for violating her probation. The violation was not doing her online schoolwork for Birmingham Groves High School.
Brennan initially denied Grace’s attorneys motions to free her last month. But the Michigan Court of Appeals stepped in and freed the girl, releasing her back into the custody of her mother on July 31.
Grace had been on probation for assaulting her mother and stealing electronics from school. A case worker said he believed Grace and her mother are ready to start repairing their relationship.
Brennan says the higher court’s decision effectively tied her hands, and she terminated Grace’s probation.
