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The lead investigator was shot while allegedly robbing a bank? That seems odd. The juror were, apparently, too stupid to figure out that they were convicting him of 5 counts of rape. I have no idea what they thought they were doing, but half the jury seems to have changed their minds. And this guy isn't a judge. I mean, he is but come on. New Mexico has some screwed up laws. I had no idea this was going on. "The city council appointed a 33-year-old X-ray technician with no previous legal experience (municipal judges in New Mexico aren't required to have law degrees) as an interim judge."
Seriously? An e-ray technician is a judge? Man, next thing you know, the kid pumping my gas will be presiding over a murder trial.
However, considering the quality of judges they seem to have, and considering the fact that for those particular crimes, he could have gotten 50 years, I think the fact that he could be out on the streets in 18 months is so horrifying as to be amusing. Remind me that I never want to go anywhere near New Mexico.
quote: A 12-year-old girl was beaten into a coma by a group of other girls and women after she kissed the boyfriend of another girl on a dare, police said.
Three adult women and two teenage girls have been charged in the beating of Nicole Townes, who remained in a coma Wednesday more than a week after the attack at a February 28 party.
posted
If this had only involved teens, I would be horrified enough. But there were two adults (and I used the term in the chronological sense only) involved?? In beating a child? Over a kiss?
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The world would be a much better place if I was given a flame thrower and license to use it as I saw fit.
Posts: 5383 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Someone please tell me how a woman could be 7 months pregnant with twins and not know it. Did she think babies are born knowing how to swim?
Posts: 399 | Registered: Sep 2002
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You have to seriously wonder about the sanity of someone like that. The alternative is too depressing. Posts: 1996 | Registered: Feb 2004
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My cousin claimed she didn't know she was pregnant until the baby was born. The really sad thing is, I think she may actually BE that dense.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I just don't even know what to say about that, it is just so far outside of my ability to consider that someone could do that.
Posts: 472 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Supposedly, after she found her newborn dead, she started drinking steadily. That's one way to react I suppose. The other boy reportedly died shortly thereafter. I wondered (because this story has been on the news here locally heavily for several days) if the boys had fetal alcohol syndrome considering the obvious alcoholism of their mother. I can't understand how it got to the point that it could happen. Someone *had* to know about the boys neglect since they were all three chronically malnutreated.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Stories like that hit me so much more now that I've got a kid. It makes me sick to my stomach thinking of it. My wife can't even watch the news anymore when they do a story about things like this.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I wonder why she even bothered to name her children.
I always look at the names and think, "Was this random? Did she actually care about the children so much that she wanted to bestow these particular names, or did she just throw out the first thing that came to mind?"
Zan: I know. A few months ago a 16-year-old boy drowned in Tucson while he was fishing and when they showed his face on the news I just freaked. And that wasn't even a case of abuse or anything.
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Stories like these are part of the reason I no longer watch or even really read the news anymore. It makes me too sad. So, my sources for news now basically are my husband and Hatrack.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Sorry to prevent you from avoiding it then, Ludosti.
I don't watch the evening news either, and sensationalistic, horrific stories are a big reason why. I still keep informed, but not that way.
Zan, this made me sick to read, too. Stories like that just bring tears to my eyes.
She let one kid die so she drank herself into a stupor. Never mind the other two kids in the house. F*cking evil. Did you see her picture? She sure wasn't malnourished.
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It is fun naming things, just like it is fun dressing up cute little dolls. That is probably about as much thought as she put into it.
Posts: 438 | Registered: Apr 2004
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If you were the attorney that had been provided by the state in a case like this, how would you not just go, "You're pretty much screwed. Let's just try to get jail time instead of The Chair."
"On the other hand, nevermind. Let's get you that Chair."
(You'd at least have to think it.)
Posts: 7600 | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted
Remember, too, that Social Services had apparently visited her on a number of occasions. From the sketchy details in the story, one of the visits sounded like it had been somewhat recent and that all of the children had been suffering from malnourishment for some time.
They also mention that they were having problems finding the report in question. Could this incident have happened because one social worker lost the paperwork on their desk because of either laziness or too heavy of a workload?
From Florida to Illinois to this one over the last year, we're beginning to see some problems with our social services system. Is it at the breaking point, or has it come to a place where apathy is not rare among the employees anymore?
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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At least you can hope for the chair. Canada doesn't, and it pisses me off. And I can think of a whole lot of people who deserve to die a bloody painful long drawn out death. Like these people.Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I'd say overworked and not apathetic. Most social service case workers have caseloads three times what they should be. New Hampshire has been on a hiring freeze for years and so has not had enough social service folks for a long time.
Please don't blame the workers themselves. Blame the system, as the system doesn't place enough value on the lives of children to give enough funding to employ the proper amount of some of those who are supposed to protect them.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Children with reactive attachment disorder are not always as severaly disordered as some of those described in this thread, but even those who are can be healed. It's a difficult process because therapy is usually dependent upon trust, at some level, and this is the very thing that these kids don't have. radkid.org
Posts: 7 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Why, oh why, do these people have foster children if they think they themselves are a danger to them?
Posts: 399 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Police said no charges had been filed against the parents. "Basically, the parents thought they were providing for the protection of the children from themselves and from each other," said Sommers. "They thought there was circumstances with these children that warranted the cages at night," Sommers added, but he would not go into details of what those circumstances were.
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I would like to know how they managed to get their hands on ELEVEN innocent children? Did they never get home visits?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I found this quote in an AP story on AOL News:
quote:"We're still trying to figure out what happened in that home," Dumbeck said Tuesday. "We don't have any indication at this point that there was any abuse."
Dumbeck is identified earlier in the story as Erich Dumbeck, director of the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services.
Isn't making kids sleep in cages, by definition, abuse? And why cannot the director of Family Services figure that out? Seems fairly obvious to me.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: I would like to know how they managed to get their hands on ELEVEN innocent children? Did they never get home visits?
I have a friend who is a foster parent. She says that the caseworker is supposed to visit at least once a month. Besides the initial pre-placement visit, she has never had a visit.
She is constantly getting called by the caseworkers, begging her to take in another child, always last minute, always in a desperate situation. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment, and has said that she can not handle more than one baby at a time.
She is a wonderful, loving, and responsible woman. But honestly, how can the caseworkers know that? They never supervise her. I worry about foster parents who may not be as able as she is.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Don't get me wrong. I am more than aware that caseworkers in most areas are completely overloaded. And I don't doubt that many foster parents are as wonderful as your friend. But clearly, not all are.
Another sad comment on where we, as a society, spend our resources. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
There were several stories in the news in TX last year about children dying either in foster care or being placed back with parents. Reportedly, in all the cases the social workers weren't checking in, and in a couple, the parent/foster parent had left repeated desperate messages with the social worker that never got answered in the weeks leading up to the death.
Another indication that we really need to make it possible for social workers to do their jobs effectively.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I just read another article. Apparently, the parents now claim that a psychiatrist recommended that they make the kids sleep in cages. >_<
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'm still stunned what the first guy calls 'a mistake'. And his disassociation with parts of his body, blaming that part of his body for the 'mistake'.
The mother was hardly more than a baby herself when she had her daughter. It makes me wish we still had a strong social more for young unwed pregnant girls having the baby quietly ("she's off visiting her aunt while she recovers from a bad case of mono...") and giving it up for adoption.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:He told police that while changing her soiled diaper, a part of his body "made a mistake" and he had intercourse with the toddler. Turner said he ended the assault by kicking the child in the head, because she wouldn't wake up.
What? WHAT!? Just...WHAT!?
I'm in some kind of cyclic state of disbelief. That level of cruelty and stupidity is simply above and beyond. Definitely a good candidate for a particularly severe ass kicking.
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Never mind the other two kids in the house. F*cking evil. Did you see her picture? She sure wasn't malnourished.
