The only positive this may serve is if other young women listen to these horrific details of what happened so they don't end up being the next national story! Maybe some moms would be more concerned with daughters walking home alone and keping closer tabs on them. I know younger women think they can take care of themselves or it won't happen to them but when I think back to the 70's hitching here and there with a friend I don't remember thinking about what could happen. The saddest part of these cases is this Smith animal won't die for years when sentenced to death. He'll probably outlive many of us! They should impose on him how he murdered Carlye-by choking. Very sad to see her family, I just can't even imagine hearing all of that.
HUH? I don't ~know~ of a time when parents were MORE paranoid and nervous about abduction than they are now. My friends don't even let their kids play outside any more. Do kids even own bikes any more? I don't know where they'd be allowed to ride them.
I can see both sides of this debate. On the one hand, when stories such as the rape and murder of a child comes on the news, I change the channel. I can't watch any stories about a child being victimized. I don't see movies where a child being raped, molested, kidnapped, whatever, is the central theme, and there's alot of those out there.
On the other hand, I do think the parents of children that let them run around unsupervised should see the news stories. I disagree with ya on this one, Hair. I see small children walking to school, riding their bikes, playing up and down the street, unsupervised, all the time. My parents live in an old neighborhood that isn't as nice as it used to be and it's crawling with registered sex offenders. A couple of weeks ago, my dad was sitting outside on the porch and 2 little girls were walking down the street, by themselves. Back aways following them, was a man. My dad watched the girls until they got home, the man following them turned down another street when the girls reached their destination.
One of the worst stories was little Amber Hagerman, the girl that the "Amber Alert" was named after. She was riding her bike, alone with her little brother, when she was kidnapped and subsequently murdered. This happened a few miles where I used to live years ago.