Do you think this woman just "messed up," when she allowed her children to be severely abused?

I am not excusing her. Yet the dynamics of an abusive environment can lead people into inexcusable behavior that they would otherwise not take part in.

Bear in mind the framing of your question carries much judgment within it: asking if she “just” messed up, The attorney did not say she “just” messed up, that would be minimizing her acceptance of responsibility.

And saying she “allowed” her children to be abused implies full ability for her to exercise discretion, yet does not describe what dynamic was going on in the house. She is accepting responsibility for her part in it, and going to jail. She is not getting away with it.

What @zenvelo said.

What gets me the most is that the Children’s Division was called to this house numerous times and fifteen open cases with this family. If the State is willing to settle her abuse charges for 2½ years behind bars things in that house had to be noticeably bad and to not intervene on behalf of those kids sooner to me is the more abhorrent crime here.

People can and do change but this is not some modest amount of neglect, this is a case of severe abuse. The children should not be returned to these morons, ever, IMO. I agree with @Cruiser the lack of intervention is as bad as the neglect/abuse.

”Kaylah is a good person. She messed up.”

To say she messed up is an understatement.

Hopefully the kids are receiving some good therapy and are in foster care.

I’ve seen all kinds of stuff like this before. Luckily for these kids, they didn’t end up dead.

I don’t know how people like this can live with themselves.

Messed up? The following is what I called messed up?
I forget to pay a bill one month.
I didn’t think to salt my icy walk way because people are more careful in icy conditions when walking and someone slipped and got a bruise or twisted a wrist. (broke a hip then that was a major mess up. Died from injury to the head, negligent) But it’s never anyone’s intent to hurt someone.
I forget to lower the iron temperature and so I burn the fabric.
You get my point. What she did was either injure those children and permit someone else to injure them as well. She didn’t mess up. She is a pathetic person not worthy of any sentiment. She is a cruel person.
This is the problem with people today. Oh, I messed up. My bad.
A good person. A really truly good person. Would never allow any of this to happen.
I almost got into a fist fight with my brother-in-law for messing with my sons feelings and making him cry. I gave him two choices. One was to leave my home of his own volition after apologizing or the other was to have me kick his ass first and then he was to leave.
And I am not so great of a person. But I protect the helpless. I do not prey on them.
She is no where near being a good person.

^^^^^^. That.

This is disgusting. You don’t just let shit like that happen. Pardon my language but they’re both as bad as each other.
I’m also surprised at the fact there was intervention involved and still all of this bs continued… why didn’t alarm bells go off when a family member took the infant to the hospital? Neglect from all sides.

Suppose the kids had died. Would “messed up” be a defense to murder?

Charles Manson messed up too you know.