On Friday, a federal judge will decide whether disgraced Theranos C.E.O. Elizabeth Holmes should be sentenced to prison for defrauding investors and endangering patients while peddling bogus blood-testing technology.

After being convicted of investor fraud and conspiracy earlier this year, Holmes’ sentencing represents a turning point in a saga that has been chronicled in books and on television.

The federal government is seeking a 15-year prison sentence for 38-year-old Holmes.

Holmes’ lawyers are arguing for an 18-month sentence, preferably in home confinement, because she is a well-meaning entrepreneur who is now a devoted mother with another child on the way.