The girl in the window (warning, sad stuff)

[Liar]

Just stubled across an article and thought some of you might appreciate it.

I post it for two reasons. First of all because it's a remarkable story. (Although a major tear-jerker. You have been warned.)

Second of all, because it shows that the quality reportage isn't a dead art form just yet, despite the onslaught of cut-and-paste web snippets and infotainment news television.

http://tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article750838.ece

 

[Emerald_Dragon]

wow there is a special place in hell for people like that.

 

[SlickTony]

Florida. It fucking figures. The good old Florida Department of Children & Families let another one fall through the cracks. As a naturalized Floridian, I'm embarrassed.

 

[desertslave]

What IS it with Florida and kids???? I think the mother should be flayed alive, but the children's services people should be right beside her. It's sickening.

 

[oggbashan]

There was a similar case in the UK recently - except that the girl was found dead.

Og

 

[champagne1982]

Fertility is the only requirement to have a baby, unfortunately, it also gives the birth-mother a responsibility to parent, but doesn't provide insight into how. If the woman's IQ is really tested at 77, then obviously, her social development and child-rearing capabilities could very well be impaired.

<sarcasm=on>The only solution to preventing this kind of horror being visited on children is to reinstate eugenics as a popular plan of birth (and who births) control. Maybe mandatory IQ testing before you reach age 12 to decide whether you keep your ovaries or testicles or not... </sarcasm>

 

[Lisa Denton]

Again, I don't understand.

A plea agreement for the birth mother to give up her parental rights in return for no jail time? Her parental rights should have been terminated by the courts. This was not neglect, it was mental and emotional abuse resulting in severe physical and mental harm to the child.

A prosecutor should have taken it that way. Gone for a jury trial on severe abuse charges and shown them pictures of the child's animal pen and gotten testimony from the brothers on her food and lack of it. Doctors testimony on her malnutrition and physical handicaps, mental evaluations testimony describing the damage done and the prospect of what little hope remains after a childs mind retreated so far from the pain and neglect that it will probably never return.

Heck, in texas most of the jurors would prolly be screaming "hang the b...."

Then the judge sentences her, maybe her retardation should be no jail time. The judge simply states she is a danger to children, terminates her parental rights, orders that she can never have contact with children, any children, if she has more take them away at birth for thier own safety. Make an attempt to let the retarded woman know she did wrong with 7 YEARS community service.

The child protective personnel involved should be counselled on what they missed, and the courts should change the laws based on what the child protective personnel tell them, in particular the right to follow-up visits when something much less than this is suspected. Along with more personnel to handle the follow-up visits.

The boyfriend of this woman should probably be charged with something, maybe accomplice to severe child abuse for allowing it to happen in his home without reporting it.

They are called CPS in texas, and people wail about them having to much power, and people report false abuse and make false allegations of neglect and abuse to "get even" with someone they don't like. But the CPS or whatever they are called in any state should have more power to investigate, along with the manpower needed, and then let a judge make a decision based on evidence. In many cases, even this one, if investigaed early, and intensive counselling ordered for the birth mother, frequent visits by CPS, this retarded mother may have been able to keep her favorite pet without such severe emotional and physical damage being inflicted upon the child.

JMO.

 

[Varian P]

Fertility is the only requirement to have a baby, unfortunately, it also gives the birth-mother a responsibility to parent, but doesn't provide insight into how. If the woman's IQ is really tested at 77, then obviously, her social development and child-rearing capabilities could very well be impaired.

<sarcasm=on>The only solution to preventing this kind of horror being visited on children is to reinstate eugenics as a popular plan of birth (and who births) control. Maybe mandatory IQ testing before you reach age 12 to decide whether you keep your ovaries or testicles or not... </sarcasm>

<sarcasm off>Frankly, I struggle with the tension between the ugly slippery slope of allowing government/society to decide who gets to reproduce and who doesn't, and the results, ranging from unfortunate to catastrophic, of allowing anyone capable of conception to be responsible for the welfare of another human being. Some people really are incapable, mentally and emotionally, of being decent parents.

I'd gamely sterilize Dani's parents.</sarcasm off>

 

[rgraham666]

Sigh. Humans.

 

[champagne1982]

<sarcasm off>Frankly, I struggle with the tension between the ugly slippery slope of allowing government/society to decide who gets to reproduce and who doesn't, and the results, ranging from unfortunate to catastrophic, of allowing anyone capable of conception to be responsible for the welfare of another human being. Some people really are incapable, mentally and emotionally, of being decent parents.

I'd gamely sterilize Dani's parents.</sarcasm off>

The struggle with the morality of it, marks you as someone who could be allowed to sit on the board and try to decide. I propose that for many it wouldn't be a problem, since those are the many who condone state sanctioned execution...

Not that they're wrong, just that I am of the feeling that being a fallible human, I am not able to make that decision without doubting the choice, either way.

 

[jomar]

Sad. Seems like CPS really let the girl down.

 

[starrkers]

There was a case like that here recently too. One little girl was found dead, starved to death. Another was left with the parents - for about a week.
The public outcry was such that Family and community Services were forced to actually do something. The other little girl is in foster care now.

 

[TE999]

Another black eye for DCF...one of so many...that we know of.

There are many other cases in their files that are yet to be resolved. So much for the government doing anything better than anyone else.

That mother should have been locked in that same room that poor child was in until she died. What a piece of crap.

 

[rgraham666]

I dunno, TE.

I can't see much money to be made in child protection. Unless you wanted to make it a child 'protection' racket.

'Nice family you got here. Be a shame if something happened to it.'