Well its official

I'm going to have another damn kid. When I found out about it I went straight over to Buckys to tell him as they is a good chance he might be the father, considering how drunked up I was on my birthday. Some guy answered the door and told me to go away. After I broke the windows I got arresteded and now Bucky has got a restraint order against me. Is that any way to treat family? Crap with feet. He aint never seeing this baby I tell you that! The state has already told me they are taking the baby as soon as its born anyhow which is fine by me I don't have the time to raise another kid. You mommies out there, Lake, know how it is. Hows a mommy supposed to have any fun when she has got a brat screaming he wants food, he thinks he needs a bath, he has a cough, he wants to be changed. Damn!

Becky,

Are you sure you don't live in some of the neighborhoods I patrol? I swear I've met you. [img]confused.gif[/img]

Maybe it's just really bad gas Becky! [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/gulp.gif[/img]

Quote:

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Originally posted by Becky Eliza Potter:
I'm going to have another damn kid. When I found out about it I went straight over to Buckys to tell him as they is a good chance he might be the father, considering how drunked up I was on my birthday. Some guy answered the door and told me to go away. After I broke the windows I got arresteded and now Bucky has got a restraint order against me. Is that any way to treat family? Crap with feet. He aint never seeing this baby I tell you that! The state has already told me they are taking the baby as soon as its born anyhow which is fine by me I don't have the time to raise another kid. You mommies out there, Lake, know how it is. Hows a mommy supposed to have any fun when she has got a brat screaming he wants food, he thinks he needs a bath, he has a cough, he wants to be changed. Damn!

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Becky, just forget your kid in your minivan on a hot day and that'll solve the problem. It's perfectly legal.

<font color="#CC6600" size="1">[ August 22, 2008 01:12 PM: Message edited by: The Big Sexy ]</font>

Oh, Big Sexy!

I think we are on the same page on this one.

All day yesterday I heard all about how "stressed" the woman was and how her routine changed. BS!

I have three children and I do not remember the 80s or the 90s because I was so exhausted. BUT I NEVER FORGOT A CHILD IN THE CAR.

I'll be honest here. There were many, many times I would have sold all three to traveling gypsies (am I still allowed to use that word?) just to get a little peace and quiet, but that's just me.

I've been stressed, I've been exhausted, I'm probably crazy -- but how does a sentient human being leave a child in car?

Hell, even Becky wouldn't do that.

Quote:

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Originally posted by gae:
Oh, Big Sexy!

I think we are on the same page on this one.

All day yesterday I heard all about how "stressed" the woman was and how her routine changed. BS!

I have three children and I do not remember the 80s or the 90s because I was so exhausted. BUT I NEVER FORGOT A CHILD IN THE CAR.

I'll be honest here. There were many, many times I would have sold all three to traveling gypsies (am I still allowed to use that word?) just to get a little peace and quiet, but that's just me.

I've been stressed, I've been exhausted, I'm probably crazy -- but how does a sentient human being leave a child in car?

Hell, even Becky wouldn't do that.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeah, yeah, I don't have any kids, so how could I know any better? It seems incomprehensible to me that someone would not think about their kids - not one time - over the course of over 8 hours. I think about my dogs more than she thinks about her kids.

This one smells. Not that the Slaby incident didn't (got time to buy the donuts and unload them from the car but too overwhelmed to notice the kid?). I said it back then: We've found a way to legally kill your kid in Southwest Ohio.

Oh my!

We agree! Does the world end soon?

Like Reason, I am not a parent either. But every parent I've spoken to about this phenomena has told me it can happen. They've told me that you can walk inside your home and then it hits you like a ton of bricks that there's a human being (namely your child) in the back of your car. They've told me you can be in line at Kroger, look away for what seems like just a second, turn around and your kid has run off and is out of sight.

Fine, I'll accept that- it evidently CAN happen a lot, because it apparently DOES happen a lot.

Well, that's all fine and good, but it still doesn't offer us any guidance here.

You're speeding down the street (let's say 40 in a 35). A kid runs out in front of you and you hit and kill him.

Did you mean to kill him? No. Are you going to have to live with this the rest of your life? Absolutely. Does this mean you're some terrible monster? Not at all.

But have you committed a crime? Maybe. The essence of what constitutes a criminal act is the intention (and actions) that lead up to act in question, both before and during its execution. What happens AFTER the fact, while it does play a bearing in sentencing, has absolutely zero relevance in whether a crime was actually committed.

In this case, I'm sure she feels devastated by what happened. I can't even begin to comprehend how she feels. Same thing as we discussed about Brenda Nasby. I don't have a child, I can't begin to imagine how I would feel if I killed my own (or any child, for that matter).

That still doesn't mean she couldn't be guilty of a crime. You let the grand jury decide if there's enough evidence to go forward. And if they do, you let the jury decide if a crime has been committed. As Reason and I discussed in the Nasby case, I have no problem if a jury comes back with an acquittal. Hell I don't have a problem if the grand jury doesn't return an indictment.

What I do have a problem with is when these a-hole prosecutors decide to not even bring the case in the first place. Sorry, Gae, to let my closet socialism show again, but I don't think Joe would be having such moral qualms if this case involved a different race.

The Nasby case was worse because there you had her lawyer being the de facto boss of the prosecutor. At least we don't seem to have that issue with Joe in this case, but that still doesn't mean charges shouldn't be brought.

Most people assume the mother "will have to live with this the rest of her life." We assume that she won't be able to live with herself.

Should we assume this?

I don't think we should assume anything. We assume because she's a highly educated counselor at a Bible college that she's this good person who is simply overwhelmed?

People do crazy things. People do crazy things for crazy reasons.

Quite frankly, I don't care how the mother feels. What I *do* care about is that justice be brought to the deceased child.

<font color="#CC6600" size="1">[ August 24, 2008 12:49 AM: Message edited by: The Big Sexy ]</font>

I saw this post on the Enquirer forum and think it's a very good post. I cut and pasted to share:

roseonthehill:
I am amazed at this discussion, and by any expert's opinion that excuses a parent forgetting a child in this way , making such an event even seem reasonable. Forgetting a child in this manner is a lack of due care; our children deserve our first, highest, and best consideration, always. Failure to provide this care by allowing other things to distract us is not acceptable, reasonable, or excusable. If this woman had spent her day in a bar drinking, at a mall shopping, or even in her own home cleaning, and claimed she had "forgotten" her child in the back seat of her car to die of heatstroke, I have no doubt none of these excuses would be made or accepted. Why is it different simply because the mother went to work? If society is willing to accept forgetfulness, for ANY reason, as an excuse in the death of a child, the smallest and weakest, the one who deserves the greatest care and concern imaginable, then we must accept forgetfulness as an excuse for everything and anything.

Mrs Edwards didn't just harm her daughter, her family, and herself... she harmed us all. She broke her contract with society; the one that said she would be responsible for her child's safety and well being. She bahaved irresponsibly and her irresponsibility cost Jenna her life, and all of us our peace of mind. Now we all live with the terrible image of a blistered baby crying in a locked and lonely car, and each of us wish we could have done something to keep Jenna safe. But we couldn't. It was her mother's job, and her mother failed. Poor baby. She deserved so much more and so much better.