Quote:
Originally posted by lawyer_princess In my opinion, this man had no criminal intent. Prosecution and jail time would not send a message that we need to pay more attention to our kids. This man knew that already; it was a mistake. But, people are ready to stone him.
What do you think?
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I would want to take it case by case - obviously this was a mistake and in this case, I would want the law to show him some mercy, but this is an instance where the laws are undoubtedly inadequate.
We had one here a week or so ago, except it was the daycare that left the child in the van. I guess one question is should a daycare worker be held to a higher standard than a parent? Of course the daycare worker has a clear duty and is being paid specifically to care for the child (and perhaps should have had safeguards in place to prevent this) - if one is going to prosecute a caycare worker, should one should also prosecute a parent for the same acts, absent extenuating circumstances?
We had one last year where mom went out - got drunk (left kid in the car at night) and stumbled home leaving the baby to die in the heat the next day - obviously much worse than just forgetting, but the same result. I was hoping she'd be stoned.
We get a lot of these here (Texas) and each time I just think, what the hell - how did you not notice your infant/child missing for hours?
Along similar lines (keeping in mind the very pro-gun attitude down here), we had a 7yo child killed with her dad's gun while being watched by a babysitter. The father was a police officer and had several guns out within reach of his several children. That father is being prosecuted and arguably being held to a higher standard than others in the same situation becuase he obviously knew better. Many folks disagree with this, and I'm not sure jail time will serve to prevent him from committing the crime again - I'm sure the tragedy is enough to do that - but you can't exactly let him off can you? - but for his obvious disregard for safety, his child would still be here.
-TL
