I'm checking to see how array access is implemented, whether through deref to slice, or otherwise.

The use case that SQLite has chosen to optimize for is critical embedded software. As described in https://www.sqlite.org/qmplan.html, the standard that they base their efforts on is a certification for use in aircraft. If mission critical software on a plane is allowed to crash, this can render the controls inoperable. Which is likely to lead to a very literal crash some time later.

The result is software that has been optimized to do the right thing if at all possible, and to degrade gracefully if that is not possible.

Note that the open source version of SQLite is not certified for use in aviation. But there are versions out there that have been certified. (The difference is a ton of extra documentation.) And in fact SQLite is in use by Airbus. Though the details of what exactly for are not, as far as I know, public.

If this documented behavior is not what you want for your use case, then you should consider using another database. Though, honestly, no other database comes remotely close when it comes to software quality. And therefore I doubt that "degrade as documented rather than crash" is a good reason to avoid SQLite. (There are lots of other potential reasons for choosing another database.)