Responses
Same. I would also choose the mother, she could've properly raised her kids. That's 6 lives.
It weighs more against only 1 kid. And about the old woman, her explanation was justified on that one.
i wouldve chosen the old woman because I felt that one would save the most lives. But then again, fate can be changed, maybe what the Phoenix says was just one of the outcomes of their lives...
I know it is not a real trial, but I would choose the mother. She is the only person who can change life for better. Even if she dies later on, she can at least say goodbye.
In the end that was the worst combination: war, orphans with hungry and a villain.