There is nothing to be gained from sending her to prison. She’s not a threat to the general community. She’s not going to learn anything. I don’t think women are going to say “I better not leave my child in the car because I might go to prison”.
We may have to imprison every mother who accidentally suffocates their baby while nursing. I can’t see the purpose in it.
We may have to imprison every mother who accidentally suffocates their baby while nursing. I can’t see the purpose in it...
I can see that we are talking past each other. It's not just a difference of opinion...I disagree with your premises, not just your conclusions.
Number one...she is not a victim in this incident. Let me repeat, she is NOT a victim in this incident...SHE IS NOT A VICTIM. The victim is a child who died a horrible death. Your assertion that she has "suffered enough," is not just beside the point, it's inane. Her mental state at this time is, to put it bluntly, irrelevant.
Number two...a crime has been committed...A CRIME AGAINST A CHILD. If the local prosecutor couldn't find a way to charge her with a crime, he should be impeached. If the local child welfare officials have done nothing to investigate, and REMOVE THE OTHER CHILDREN FROM THE HOME WHILE THEY ARE DOING SO, they should be fired. It puts the lie to the notion that everything we do is for the benefit of the child.
Those of us who have been at the business end of the child welfare apparatus understand that it's not about the best interests of the child...it's about preserving sacred cows. No more
Three...parenthood is not a license, it's an obligation, a trust. We set the bar high. Children are by definition helpless. By any objective standard, she fails.
Another poster noted she was doing appearances to try to educate others, to try to prevent it from happening again. To say that's a cynical approach is to come nowhere close to describing it. You've asserted that putting her in jail will deter no one. I say her "education" campaign will accomplish no objective benefit, other than being therapeutic for the "mother.".
There are consequences to putting her on trial, even if she is acquitted...even if she is convicted and paroled. THAT is an education program that will educate...and will help us to identify those among us who defend the child-killers, minimize the deed.
THAT is an education program that people, mothers especially, will talk about. It will make an impression.
So, I can't find anything in your posts to agree with, and I can understand why you see no purpose in it.