If the jury can’t unanimously (or majority if allowed) find
both CM and MG guilty of cruelty then they are instructed that neither can be guilty of GNM or causing/allowing death.
I hope that this isn’t where they’re stuck. I hope they’ve found guilty on cruelty, and are in discussion between GNM and C/A
‘if the jury found the defendants not guilty of child cruelty, they have been directed to also find them not guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and gross negligence manslaughter. In other words, the two most serious charges in this case.’
---
This is my uneducated guess based only on my understanding of the sentencing guidelines.
Perverting the course of justice
I think they could be
culpability B, harm 1 (but I don’t know if they can actually rely on the death being serious harm, if they are found NG / no verdict reached on the more serious charges - this could make it lower if not)
So really they could have served 16 months on remand and then be free.
There’s also an argument that a non-custodial sentence could restrict their liberty enough to not meet threshold for a custodial sentence. Eg if they have to present to police daily.