My first Smallville story since 'A few seconds'. Honestly wasn't sure I'd ever write Smallville again. But been rewatching it recently and this was something that came to me as I was watching 3x14.
Metropolis General Hospital
Afternoon
Ashley Baker was in the hospital room where her husband, John, was asleep; fighting for his life from the blow to the head their daughter Alicia had given him. The only comfort she took is that Alicia was in custody and couldn't hurt anyone anymore.
Hearing the door to the room open, Mrs. Baker looked up, expecting to see the doctor. However, she was surprised to see it was actually Sheriff Adams and she didn't look pleased.
"Sheriff, what can I do for you?" Mrs. Adams asked, wondering if this was about Alicia.
"My deputies just searched your house Mrs. Baker. They found a room, laced with lead. Now, according to the statement given by Mr. Kent after your daughter was arrested, lead is what cancels out your daughter's…abilities," Sheriff Adams said pointedly and Mrs. Baker grew more pale with every word. "As I recall from Mr. Kent's statement, he learned about that from you."
"You don't understand; we tried to teach her she couldn't do that. We tried to discipline her," Mrs. Baker said in a panic.
"Discipline?" Sheriff Adams repeated, disgust coloring her voice. "You locked your daughter in a room she couldn't get out of. We call that child abuse. Stand up, put your hand behind your back."
Mrs. Baker sat there, stunned at what was happening for a moment. Then, almost robotically, she stood up and did as Sheriff Adams had requested.
"You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," Sheriff Adams said as she pulled out a set of hand cuffs and placed them around Mrs. Baker's hands.
Outside the hospital room, Clark watched this with an emotionless look on his face. He knew he made the right choice when he told Sheriff Adams about the lead room. Alicia was sick, and what she did to her father and Lana was inexcusable. But it was a result of her parents' treatment of her.
"You locked Alicia up and then expected her to come out sane!?" he wanted to shout at them for their stupidity.
Just like with Byron, Clark wondered if his parents would have done the same thing to him if they had known about Kryptonite when he was little. However, he knew rationally they wouldn't have, as his parents loved him. He just hoped that Alicia could get the help she needed now that she was away from her parents.
The writers of Smallville were so busy trying to do a psycho girlfriend episode, trying to make Alicia into a monster; they failed to see the story they had right in front of them.
It was clearly established that Alicia's abuse by her parent is the likely cause of what made her crazy. Yet that is completely brushed aside in order to make Alicia seem like a monster. And Clark, in a move that seems really strange and OOC, has no empathy for Alicia, nor does he note the parallels between himself and Alicia the way he did in season two with Byron.