Trial Set for Mom Accused of Locking Starved Girl in Closet

FoxNews ^ | Tuesday January 22, 2002 | Associated Press

[FourtySeven]

DALLAS

[11th Earl of Mar]

society is what produced such a person to begin with.

"Society" did not produce this type of behavior. This lone woman is responsible for her actions.

Don't buy into the idea that people are basically good until an outside force causes them to misbehave. This is a liberal notion and has led us down the "Great Society" road.

All people are responsible for their own actions, rich and poor, black and white, conservative and, yes, even liberals.

[sinkspur]

Point taken, but my point is this society is what produced such a person to begin with.

Your implication seems to be that, because a woman like Barbara Atkinson exists, that "this society" is somehow worse than those that went before.

There aren't any "good old days" when it comes to the treatment of children.

Atkinson is ignorant white trash, whose mother is also white trash.

There's been no shortage of such people in any generation.

Who knows how much child abuse occurred before the bright lights of media exposure threatened these cretinous parents?

[Blood of Tyrants]

I look at my beautiful one year old (this Saturday!) baby girl and weep to think that there are people who could do this to a child. A tearful bump.

[AmericanInTokyo]

sorry to mix it in briefly with this thread, but it's true. Here's the story today:

---------"Man who held girl captive for decade given 14 years

NIIGATA -- A man who held a young girl captive for almost a decade was handed a 14-year prison sentence, a Niigata court ruled Tuesday.

"The victim was held captive and endured serious abuse for nine years and two months. The pain and humiliation she suffered cannot be described in words," Presiding Judge Isoo Sakaki said in handing down the jail term to the abductor, Nobuyuki Sato.

"Her trauma is so serious that no one is sure if she will ever totally recover from the psychological damage she has suffered."

----------

[Illbay]

Well, what I want to know is: Where is the Father in all this? Shouldn't he be "on trial" too, just like Russell Yates?

[FourtySeven]

I would say that an individual or a society is not wholly to blame, but both share the burden in what one becomes. I'm certain that this...

In July, after the girl recovered from surgery, she went to live with a couple who had tried to adopt her at birth. A court forced the couple to return the girl to her birth mother after their attorney at the time failed to terminate her parental rights.

...did not help this woman understand that this is errant behavior. I'm certain that our broken down, shoddy CPS (child protective services) that we have in this country allowed reports of abuse to go unnoticed as well.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for a second that this woman doesn't shoulder all of the blame for locking this kid in a closet for such a long time. My point is though that the society we live in today is conducive to such selfish behavior. Do I believe that we can change into a "perfect society"? No, but I think a criticism of our legal system is justified here. As a society we have chosen to be leniant on mothers for abuses; this is what I'm criticizing, and I think with enough criticism, change can come.

[FourtySeven]

That's an interesting question.

[He Rides A White Horse]

Heartbreaking.........and enraging.

[SerpentDove]

He was arrested and will (I think) be tried separately.

[stupid1]

I'm not sure if the scumbag that was living with her is the child's father, but he too is being held and will be prosecuted for the same crimes as the mother as well as sexual assault.

The two tried to pull of a trial where they would both be tried simultaneously, but the judge saw through that ploy.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I would say that an individual or a society is not wholly to blame, but both share the burden in what one becomes... Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying for a second that this woman doesn't shoulder all of the blame for locking this kid in a closet for such a long time.

Yes there are problems in society and with our judicial and CPS agencies.

But you have to also agree that there are contradictions in your argument as to who is responsible for this woman's crimes.

[xJones]

This society" is rightly telling parents they can't treat their children like dirt.

Who knows what all went on? My mother-in-law was raised on a farm in Nebraska. Her older brother, at age 10, was kicked in the head by a mule and then developed epilypsy. His father despised him as a weakling and used to beat the daylights out of him until the mother finally stepped in. She hauled out a shotgun and said that if he ever hit that boy again she'd kill him. The old bastard never did hit him again. Things were so bad though, in those Depression days, that my mother-in-law ran away at 14, like her two older brothers before her. Her older sister and mother stayed and were finally taken away to a county mental asylum where they stayed for the rest of their lives.

Meaning, all kinds of things go on and this is no different, we just hear about it know.

[Bonaparte]

Read the article --

"Atkinson's former husband, 34-year-old Kenneth Ray Atkinson, is awaiting a new trial date after a judge agreed to a request for a separate trial last week. He also faces a sexual abuse charge."

[Illbay]

I don't think the guy that was her husband was the kid's father.

[Illbay]

See No. 34.

[Delbert]

I live in Dallas and this sad sickening story got a lot of news coverage. The husband was not the girls biological father. They both deserve to fry in my opinion. It might not have been murder, but they were well on their way to murder. If the little girl wasnt rescued when she was, she most likely would have died.
The foster parents are launching adoption proceedings. The mom (Atkinson)is a fat pig to say the least. They need to starve her for about 8 weeks, then lock her in a cell with Andrea Yates and a full bathtub of water. Let Barbara Atkinson try to eat Andrea Yates while Andrea tries to give her a bath!!!!

[FourtySeven]

They need to starve her for about 8 weeks, then lock her in a cell with Andrea Yates and a full bathtub of water. Let Barbara Atkinson try to eat Andrea Yates while Andrea tries to give her a bath!!!!

LOL......this is why I love Free Republic. NEVER short on witty and, at the same time, derisive commentary here. hehe

[Delbert]

They can also televise it on Pay Per View , with the proceeds going to the little girl. I dont recall if the above story mentioned it or not, but the cops found out when the girls stepfather confided to a neighbor that it was going on, even though it implicated him. The couple had other children that knew "about the girl in the closet", but they never mentioned her to anyone.
I hate this story.

[Bonaparte]

"I don't think the guy that was her husband was the kid's father."

You're right, he's not. There are 6 children involved here. He's only the biological father of the 3 youngest. His only involvement with his 8-year-old stepdaughter was to sexually mutilate her (with foreign objects) so badly that she required major surgery to restore function. All told, there are 4 fathers involved here. The only other one who's been located is Billy Bowers, father of the 5-year-old. He's reported to be the single father of 4 other kids and has requested visitation rights for the 5-year-old he'd conceived with Atkinson, the evil sow pictured below.

[Bonaparte]

" I'm certain that our broken down, shoddy CPS (child protective services) that we have in this country allowed reports of abuse to go unnoticed as well."

Hardly. CPS workers testified and pleaded with two different judges in this case. They were ignored. The girl's adoptive parents (the Kavanaughs) lost custody of her due to an incompetent lawyer. After that, the girl was returned to these monsters. It sealed her doom.