Phil Grant, a Montgomery County, Tx., prosecutor, said a grand jury decided Peterson's treatment of his son was “not reasonable.'' He added, “Obviously, parents are entitled to discipline their children as they see fit, except for when that discipline exceeds what the community would say is reasonable…the mental state that's reflected in the indictment is that he did so with criminal negligence, or recklessly.” Peterson's cooperation with police, and his lawyer's statement that the running back was treating his child the same way Peterson himself was disciplined at a young age, seemed to suggest an emerging legal defense. He reportedly whipped his four-year-old son with a “switch,” a tree branch stripped of its leaves.