I was reading your Background to the Daf for 54b on Shifchah Charufah and wondering how that situation occurs. I'm probably wrong because I don't know enough but all I could see was that a man and his son contributed to the shtar for a naarah, and designated her to marry the son, and the betrothal went through. Then the son was sold by the court for theft, his father bought his shtar and released his part of the shtar on the naarah. I didn't see this in the archived discussions so I'm probably the only person who ever wondered about this.
Patricia, greenbelt, md USA
According to one opinion, the "Shifchah Charufah" was a woman, not Jewish, who was acquired as a maidservant by two owners in partnership, and one owner freed his share, rendering her half-servant and half-free. She then was married to a Jewish servant. Since she is half-servant, her marriage is not complete, and if another man has relations with her they do not incur the death penalty (as is usually the case with adultery). Rather, the man is obligated to bring a sacrifice known as the Korban "Asham Shifchah Charufah," whether he sinned b'Mezid (intentionally) or b'Shogeg (unintentionally), and the Shifchah is punished with Malkus (lashes) (Vayikra 19:20-22).
(This is in contrast to an "Amah Ivriyah": A destitute father, under certain circumstances, may sell his daughter into servitude to a Jewish master as long as she is a minor. The sale is for a period of six years or until she reaches Jewish adulthood, around the age of 12, or until the Yovel (Jubilee) year (the year after seven Shemitah cycles), whichever comes first. See Shmos 21:7-11.)