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Yeah, but that's why being convicted on an online forum is completely inconsequential. And of course we all have a right to due process, but we also have a right to free speech and fair comment.
Like I said before, I do think that often the media is quick to convict people before they've had their day in court.
And I get what you are saying, EVERYONE has been negligent at some point in their lives, whether or not they have children. But sometimes there are just some characteristics that are just hallmarks of outrageousness, that elevate the negligence to its own level. When I read cases like that, only a few facts are enough for me. In this particular case, those characteristics were:
(1) the baby was months old
(2) the baby was left in the car for several hours
(3) it was 104 degrees outside and 124 degrees inside the car
(4) the baby died due to being left in a 124 degree car for several hours
To me, these factors separate a case like this from a case of someone losing her child in the grocery store or someone who glances away from the road for a second which causes an accident. To me, this is beyond negligence, this is complete recklessness. Unless this father is trying to dispute the fact that he did not have a child or he did not leave her in the car or that it was not over 100 degrees outside or that the heat didn't cause her death, I don't see what else could possibly mitigate his conduct. That's just my personal opinion.
On the star's web site is a nice article dealing with people who forgot about their children in the car. Apparently it's not as uncommon as you think. Saying a child dying from being left in a car vs say negligence while driving is saying one type of death is worse than another. Keep in mind careless driver deaths far outnumber what transpired over the weekend. One could argue those people as well really can't come up with any type of excuse that make sense. Again, its not pick and choose.
On the star's web site is a nice article dealing with people who forgot about their children in the car. Apparently it's not as uncommon as you think. Saying a child dying from being left in a car vs say negligence while driving is saying one type of death is worse than another. Keep in mind careless driver deaths far outnumber what transpired over the weekend. One could argue those people as well really can't come up with any type of excuse that make sense. Again, its not pick and choose.
Well of course all deaths are bad and all are equally bad. But the focus of my opinion is the conduct of the person who causes injury or death, not whether some deaths are "better" or "worse" than others. Obviously a death caused by a careless driver, a dangerous pet, or a defective product is not excusable. That's why there is civil and criminal liability for that kind of conduct. But some types of conduct, while still bad, are not nearly as bad as other types, such as someone who murders another person - even though the result (death) is the same. It's a sliding scale not based on the result but the means.
And unfortunately you are probably right that leaving a child in a car unattended is more common than I or many people would like to think. But you can't just look at that conduct categorically. Here there are a lot of aggravating factors. The extreme conditions, the infancy of the child, the duration the child was left unattended, and of course the tragic result.
Pretty sure those parents can care less about your forgiveness. Others affected by those mistakes, yes, I'm sure they would want some semblance of forgiveness from those people, you, me or anyone else who does not have a dog in this hunt, no. You're not that important.
As I stated earlier, there are three sides to every story. Your version, their version and the truth. As usual, what we are only hearing is one version of events. There are still two others to go in which it will be up to a judge and jury to decide on. If a judge and/or jury doesn't buy their stories, they will pay for their crimes. It may be severe, a judge can may very well think it was a severe lack of good judgment and sentence something less harsh or they may even be found not guilty but that's up to the Indiana court system to decide, not public opinion, not vigilantism.
Contrary to popular belief, this past weekends events are not the first time someone has literally forgotten their child in a car. Luckily for those other parents the consequences didn't turn out dire. Parents forget their kids in Walmart, at home, at after school care (many of which will call CPS if you are not there by end of business). As bad as it sounds, it happens. I had a co-worker who actually did forget her kid in Walmart. Is she a bad parent? On the contrary, I'd put her up against more than half the loud mouth killer wannabe fb posters any day of the week and guarantee she'd come out on top. She just made a mistake and fortunately for her, the consequences wasn't dire. Just this morning when I left to get gas, passed by a house with two small children (7:30am) riding their bikes, parents nowhere to be seen and one of them almost rolled right in front of me as I was driving. Kicker, a house is being built across the street so there are all kinds of strangers coming and going in that area. If someone were to snatch one or both of those kids and something bad happened, would that make those parents bad parents (I don't know them personally) or could they have been good parents that made a horrible mistake by allowing small children outside unsupervised if only for a few minutes while they finish getting ready for work knowing full well people have been trying to snatch children like penny candy as of late.
Trying to rate bad situations is pointless. It's already bad and doesn't need additional fuel to the fire. Let the people in charge of handling this do their jobs like you would want if you were in a bad situation. It may not be a child left in the car but there are situations where anyone can get caught up in and would want the same privacy and due diligence as these people. And before anyone says otherwise, remember, there are a lot of people in prison for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and guilty by association.
First of all....how do you know I am "Not That Important"...? You have no idea who I am, what I do or where I live. Yes, I am retired but beyond that you have no right to pull ME personally into this very controversial subject. Next...Leaving your kid in WALMART is a far cry from leaving your kid in a car to die and receive 3rd degree burns because the car is so hot?? No comparison and shame on anyone who leaves a kid behind in a department store. Yes, this should be decided in court and the competency of the Mom decided there and NO I am not trying to add more fuel to this fire....the Mom has done that all on her own and I have to say your choice of words "fuel to this fire" were quite appropriate..the car was as hot as a FIRE. Sorry, no sympathy for ANYONE who can't watch their kid. They are God's gift to us and should be treated as such. If you can't take care of them appropriately, DON'T HAVE THEM.
On the star's web site is a nice article dealing with people who forgot about their children in the car. Apparently it's not as uncommon as you think. Saying a child dying from being left in a car vs say negligence while driving is saying one type of death is worse than another. Keep in mind careless driver deaths far outnumber what transpired over the weekend. One could argue those people as well really can't come up with any type of excuse that make sense. Again, its not pick and choose.
AGAIN...babies who die in car wrecks are a far cry from infants who die from being left in a HOT car, the two can't even compare. People have to drive every day and on hot days have the AC on or a window open, baby has, hopefully a bottle of water or juice. Doesn't matter how "uncommon" leaving a child in a car may be, doesn't make it ok. This child literally COOKED. I cannot imagine the pain it was in or how it cried and there was no one there to comfort her/him..so sad that some negligent parent thought this was ok? How is this justified with the number of children who are killed in car wrecks?? No comparison.
Last edited by Pammyd; 07-11-2012 at 05:23 AM..
Reason: repetitive statement made.\
First of all....how do you know I am "Not That Important"...? You have no idea who I am, what I do or where I live. Yes, I am retired but beyond that you have no right to pull ME personally into this very controversial subject. Next...Leaving your kid in WALMART is a far cry from leaving your kid in a car to die and receive 3rd degree burns because the car is so hot?? No comparison and shame on anyone who leaves a kid behind in a department store. Yes, this should be decided in court and the competency of the Mom decided there and NO I am not trying to add more fuel to this fire....the Mom has done that all on her own and I have to say your choice of words "fuel to this fire" were quite appropriate..the car was as hot as a FIRE. Sorry, no sympathy for ANYONE who can't watch their kid. They are God's gift to us and should be treated as such. If you can't take care of them appropriately, DON'T HAVE THEM.
Again, if you have no dog in this hunt, YOUR forgiveness is not needed. I understand the need for humanity to deem itself important in every situation there is in life but the fact of the matter is, if you are not involved in the situation, you are not important to the families involved. They have other issues to worry about than some stranger not offering them forgiveness (anti-christian btw).
I really feel for those who have forgotten that their baby was in the car and then had tragic consequences. This happened to a father where we used to live, who did not notmally drive his child to daycare, so he went to work and did not discover the baby until it was too late. It is loving careful parents who do this, so it is frightening to think that it could happen to any of us.
This is just so criminally STUPID it defies all logic.
Un-educated un-caring illiterate trash should NOT have children, PERIOD.
There simply MUST be the harshest crack-down on child-abuse, child-neglect and child-endangerment.
If you cannot dedicate 100% of your time and your life to your kids....then do NOT have them! Find some "other" way of getting your gross sexual needs scratched...Do NOT do anything "sexual" that might even remotely result in you, or someone else, having a baby.
Clearly we've reached the point, after decades of baseless amoral social decline and rot where humans cannot manage their own affairs.
They've, way too many of us, have lost the ability to take care of even the most basic tasks. The government (no doubt chock-full of really "smart" people) should manage all aspects of peoples heath, education, finances and reproductive "habits" to prevent us from making this earth a living nightmarish hell.
And to think, there are some out there who cannot have kids but would love to have them to cherish and nurture.....and yet the mutants breed like ABSOLUTE ANIMALS and leave their young to DIE. I've seen better "parenting" from rabid dogs....
Thank you! I am shocked at the LACK of outrage here. This particualr thing happens way too often for me to think it's some kind of normal accident. I am really not sure why this incident happens over and over, year after year, in different cities all over the country. Are people so self-absorbed and busy that forgetting their children is the new normal??
OMG, One thing that irks me is the so called holier than thou crowd, usually so called christian on Sundays only and full of it every other day of the week and you sound just like it. As I said earlier, every parent has made mistakes. Fortunately for most, the consequences aren't dire. You know how many parents, leave their child for mere seconds to do something as simple as answer the house phone while their child is outside playing. Guess what can happen in those few seconds and the same crowd you are now a part of will be the same crowd that turns on you and calls you unfit, should be sterilized, killed, etc. What do you think can happen within the mere seconds you are talking on your cellphone while driving not paying 100% attention with a child in the car?
No parent can devote 100% of their time to their child. It is physically impossible as people have jobs and yes even parents need downtime away from their children as well. Again that holier than thou BS attitude people have is sickening. You weren't there, you do not know 100% of the circumstances, you do not know what the parent(s) are going through. Both cases could very well be mistakes. How many parents at times think their child is with the other parent and end up being with neither?
I pray you never have children. Leaving your kid to die is a mistake to you??
This particualr thing happens way too often for me to think it's some kind of normal accident.
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