import json


def _is_prefix(parent_path: str, child_path: str) -> bool:
    return child_path == parent_path or child_path.startswith(parent_path + "/")


def normalize_deleted_paths(paths):
    normalized = []
    for raw_path in sorted(set(paths)):
        if not raw_path:
            continue
        if any(_is_prefix(existing, raw_path) for existing in normalized):
            continue
        normalized = [existing for existing in normalized if not _is_prefix(raw_path, existing)]
        normalized.append(raw_path)
    return normalized


def load_deleted_paths(raw_json: str):
    parsed = json.loads(raw_json)
    if not isinstance(parsed, list):
        raise ValueError("deletedPaths must be a JSON array.")
    return normalize_deleted_paths(parsed)