Posted on 03/12/2009 12:09:05 PM PDT by Paved Paradise
CLEVELAND — Willie Robinson's parents claimed they couldn't afford medical treatment for the dying 8-year-old boy's cancer, prosecutors said, but they had enough money to pay a veterinarian to treat their pet pit bull for fleas. A Cuyahoga County grand jury on Wednesday indicted William Robinson Sr. and Monica Hussing for involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and felonious assault.
Willie died nearly a year ago, on March 22, shortly after he was admitted to MetroHealth Medical Center suffering from the final stages of Hodgkin's lymphoma, one of the most common and curable of cancers to strike children. The county coroner found that the child died of the cancer and pneumonia, but ruled his death a homicide.
Prosecutors said parental neglect was as responsible for Willie's death as the diseases.
"They never once took him to a doctor," said County Prosecutor Bill Mason. "It just is not right. This kid should be alive today."
Investigators said while Willie suffered without care, his parents paid $87 to have the pit bull, Petey, treated for fleas.
Assistant County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia worked on the case for the past year with police and family members. She said she is outraged by how the parents ignored a child who begged them to take him to see a doctor, but was rejected.
"There were some horrific symptoms," she said. "What weren't they seeing? Even a blind person would have known there was something wrong with him."
The parents were not arrested Wednesday, and have remained free since Willie's death. They will appear in court for an arraignment hearing in about two weeks, Faraglia said.
The newspaper had far more to say about this than this shortened version. For instance, the little boy begged his parents to go to the doctor. Shortly before he died, he was at a family graduation party and the aunt said he was not moving and cried and complained about pain in his stomach and legs. The aunt tried to help the boy but the parents refused; she finally called the Children's Services. In the meantime, the parents even gave the kid laxatives when his digestive system broke down.
He suffered in an agonizing way for a year before he died. Although he died a year ago, I think this is worth posting since the parents have been indicted.
I read where the parents are still in denial ....
I was going to show support for the family on this until I read the story...lol. They need to end up in jail...a dog over their own kid???? What is wrong with them?????
Yeah, it is very sad. But, when medicine becomes socialized and a kid isn’t treated because a government bureaucrats’ committee has decided it isn’t cost-effective, you’ll have the same situation but no headlines. There won’t be any individual to pin the blame on.
The "loving" parents could make $$$ off the pit bull.
The little boy cost them $$$.
An easy decision for monsters.
yeah, that was in the paper too. Unreal. Can you even fathom this at all? I can’t watch anyone suffer and that little kid had to be in agony. I thought the teacher should have reported it but they didn’t even have their children in school!
Parents indicted in death of boy with cancer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205078/posts
JETT Travolta ?
I think the media as it is should be the next to go ... bring back responsible reporting ... and responsible parents.
In April, a Juvenile Court judge found Robinson and Hussing guilty of medical and educational neglect. But he allowed the other children to remain in the home while the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services monitored them.
The parents underwent grief counseling, received drug treatment for marijuana abuse, and took parenting classes, court records show. Neither has a job. They have remained drug-free, however, and are complying with the court’s orders.
where were the teachers? The neighbors? the relatives?????
People, get real.
$87 for a flea dip vs $100’s of thousands and perhaps millions for this child..as if the two were comparable and/or it was either one or the other. Gimme a break. They may have saved the lad years of tortuous treatment at the hands of an establishment that gets paid to “drag it out” as long as they can...or at least bill as much as they can.
I went to the Hospital over 2 years ago for gall bladder infection. In and out in 3 hours. Doctors that I never saw are still billing, today, for treatments that I certainly dont recall receiving. Total bill for 3 hrs? over $12K.
You are seriously warped. Don’t even respond.
I can never understand how a human being could do this to an innocent.
Yes, our court system is no system for good, loving and moral parents.
Wihtout knowing every detail of the story here are my thoughts.
1. There’s a big difference in the cost of treating cancer and paying for a flea treatment.
2. If they couldn’t afford insurance for their boy, who should pay for his medical treatment? Are we advocating socialized medicine in this case because of the age of the cancer victim as opposed to if it had been his father who wasn’t treated?
3. I’m sure there is financial help/donations/free or low cost clinics for a family facing this kind of thing. Did they try to find it?
Oops that was supposed to be “...is no substitute for...” (not system).
Doesn’t wash, my friend. This child would have been eligible for Medicaid and would have received all the treatment he would have needed, including hospice care. NO EXCUSE!
I don’t believe they chose the dog over their own son, they chose THEMSELVES over the boy. Ever had a flea infestation? The bite EVERYONE, not just the dog. If nothing else, take the kids to a Shriner’s Hospital. They NEVER turn ANY child away for ANY reason. And 100% of the money they collect goes to the hospital. I always give at least $20 to them.
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