Sentences vary when kids die in hot cars

[proud2BlibKansan]

By ALLEN G. BREED
AP National Writer
Chris O'Meara


This photo, released by the Aiken County, S.C., Sheriff's office, shows Karla Edwards when she was booked in April 2006 in Aiken, S. C., on a homicide charge in the death of her 15-month-old son, Zachary Frison. Edwards pleaded guilty June 26, 2007, to leaving Zachary in the car for nine hours while she went to work. A judge sentenced her to 20 years in prison.


This undated photo of Leon T. Jewell was released by the Kentucky Dept. of Corrections. Jewell, of Lexington, Ky., said he was drunk when he left his 9-month-old son, Daniel, in a car in August 2005. He pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, but a merciful judge sentenced him to seven years' probation and ordered him into rehab. After becoming drunk on what would have been Daniel's second birthday, the distraught Jewell was kicked out of rehab. He is now serving out his sentence in a Kentucky prison.

Kevin Kelly is a law-abiding citizen who, much distracted, left his beloved 21-month-old daughter in a sweltering van for seven hours. Frances Kelly had probably been dead for more than four hours by the time a neighbor noticed her strapped in her car seat; when rescue personnel removed the girl from the vehicle, her skin was red and blistered, her fine, carrot-colored hair matted with sweat. Two hours later, her body temperature was still nearly 106 degrees.

What is the appropriate punishment for a doting parent responsible for his child's death? A judge eventually spared Kelly a lengthy term in prison. Still, it is a question that is asked dozens of times each year.

Since the mid-1990s, the number of children who died of heat exhaustion while trapped inside vehicles has risen dramatically, totaling around 340 in the past 10 years. Ironically, one reason was a change parent-drivers made to protect their kids after juvenile air-bag deaths peaked in 1995 - they put them in the back seat, where they are more easily forgotten.

An Associated Press analysis of more than 310 fatal incidents in the past 10 years found that prosecutions and penalties vary widely, depending in many cases on where the death occurred and who left the child to die - parent or caregiver, mother or father:

more. . .
http://www.kansascity.com/449/story/209161.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. what I noticed right away was that

the black woman got 20 years and a drunk white man got probation and only had to serve 7 years after he fell off the wagon.

Both were crimes, but to my mind race played a big factor in determining the punishment.

[Nay]

32. I also believe gender was a factor. Moms should never be so

distracted; dads, however, are seen as "busy" and "important" even if both wife and husband have responsible jobs.

[Jim__]

2. Are there any numbers available on the expected number of infant deaths

if infants still rode in the front seat? I think this: Ironically, one reason was a change parent-drivers made to protect their kids after juvenile air-bag deaths peaked in 1995 - they put them in the back seat, where they are more easily forgotten{,} is undeniably true.

Can the practice of putting infants in the back seat be more dangerous than the threat from air-bags?

[rubberducky]

3. How in the hell do you "forget" your child is in the vehicle??

I will never understand how these people are not charged with murder. We have all watched as case after case in the summer months is brought against parents. I would not leave my grandson or any child alone in my vehicle when I even go into a gas station to pay for gas. How could ANYONE "forget" they have a child in the vehicle? I wouldn`t leave my DOG in a hot vehicle.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Yeah I can't relate either

But it sure does seem to happen a lot.

[rubberducky]

7. Seems like every summer we go through this kind of defence.

I am a mom and a grandma, and I will never figure how people can say they "forgot there was another person in thier vehicle. Year after year we hear excuses from people who leave little people in thier vehicle to die in the heat. Sometimes the excuses verg on the rediculous, getting thier hair done, went to work, went shopping, etc. This is one of those posts that get my blood boiling, because so many times the punishment does not match the crime.

[Midlodemocrat]

25. I can't understand forgetting your child is in the car.

Don't these cars have rear view mirrors? Wouldn't they notice the car seat and think 'Oh, right, Johnny is in his car seat, I have to drop him at daycare"?

I don't get it. The first time I dropped my youngest one off at pre-school when she was four and looked back and saw the empty car seat, it was jarring.

I just don't get it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. My kids were pretty rowdy

They were great at getting lost when we went out somewhere. But getting left in the car? No way; they were usually jumping out of their car seats by the time we got to where we were going.

[pitohui]

11. try reading the article, your question is answered

memory is "cue dependent," as most of us who aren't currently college valedictorians have probably already noticed, you remember things based on cues in your environment -- this is why people have "to do" lists, blackberries, and calendars, no matter HOW important something is, even if it's a doctor's appointment or a crucial job interview, then it is just too easy to get distracted and forget if a reminder is not immediately in front of you

our brains were evolved for traveling in troupes on the savannah or in the jungle, with many eyes scanning for predators and watching for children, not for one person to be the end-all, be-all, we simply aren't made that way

once baby seats were required to be put in the back seat, where parents could not see the child, instead of on the passenger's side, where the parent would be cued to remember the child because he could SEE her right there, then the rates from this kind of death tripled

as one of the experts points out, of course, everyone thinks that THEIR brain is special and THEY would never forget a child, but it is this very complacency which allows people to be distracted and forget -- yeah, the word "complacent" is used

and rightly i think

the women getting their hair done, working at a job, playing video poker got harsher sentences because they DIDN'T forget, they deliberately left the child in the car -- we have two different kinds of offenses being compared here, one kind is truly an accident, the other is piss-poor planning

who among us has not forgotten something crucial in their lives? i think if people look honestly in their hearts, they would say "not too many"

there but for the grace of god, indeed

[AnotherMother4Peace]

15. Back when I had work, college, & kids to raise, my routine changed frequently

One morning I arrived at college, thinking about a presentation I was to give. I got out of my car to go to class, when I noticed my toddler was fast asleep in his car seat in the back seat of my car. I had forgotten to drop him off at the childcare center. I got back in my car, drove to back to his center, and returned to school. I was flabbergasted, ashamed, amazed that this had happened. I felt that I was a bad mom for forgetting to drop off my son. You're right about "there but for the grace of God"

[treestar]

19. That's true about the complacency

Sometimes the loudest mouthed about how perfect they are are the ones I think to be careful of - they don't even allow for themselves to make an error.

Though the kids in question must be rather quiet. Most kids make enough noise that you're not going to forget them.

People who do it on purpose because they think they are only going to be a minute probably still exist too. No matter how much information is out there, there is somebody who never got it. It's amazing how anyone can still fail to realize how hot a car will get.

[cynatnite]

16. I did...

I forgot to drop off my baby at the daycare and went straight to work. Got out of the car to go inside and then I saw her in the carseat. It rattled me so much that I barely slept for two days.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

23. Me too - See#15

[China_cat]

5. Some simple things that can be done to remind you

that there is a child in the back seat:

seat belt the child's favorite toy or diaper bag in the front passenger seat
put something you are going to need...purse, briefcase, wallet, etc...in the back seat next to the baby
put a piece of paper or card saying 'baby on board' on the sunshade
make a hang tag with the baby's picture on it to hang from the rearview mirror when the child is in the car

Accidents happen. These can be prevented.

[pitohui]

12. now china cat has actually offered some useful suggestions

these are great ideas, my trick for remembering anything in back is to put my purse in back because here is an automatic cue, step out of the car, keys in hand before i lock the door, okay, i am going to need the purse to put away the keys, where's the purse, AHA!

we need to work with the realities of our brain structure instead of kidding ourselves that we're special somehow

[Midlodemocrat]

26. Good ideas, but sad that it has come to this. You would think

the biggest something you would 'need' would be the baby.

[China_cat]

34. You would think so

but human memory can be tricky. I don't know of anyone who can't recount at least one time that they've forgotten something that is of utmost importance to them. It happens to us all.

Three things people think/imagine/say that are the height of hubris

It can't happen here
It can't happen to ME
I would NEVER

It can, it could, you might. Better to devise a way to help it not happen than have to remember saying one of those.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

6. It Would Be Interesting To Know The Facts Of Each Case In The Study. For Example, Karla Left Them

intentionally. I think when a parent leaves their kids locked up like that intentionally, the penalties should absolutely be a hell of a lot harsher then when it is done accidentally, wouldn't you?

The numbers in the study actually weren't that significantly different to me, but there definitely was a gap between fathers and mothers that on its face seems unfair. But I'd like to know the facts of each case to see if it just simply ended up being that the circumstances for the mothers more often warranted the harsher sentence, such as if they more frequently left their children intentionally rather than accidentally.

[Katherine Brengle]

10. Doubtful - my suspicion is that it is *assumed* that a mother could NEVER

forget her child (which personally I believe to be true of all mentally healthy non-substance abusing parents, mothers AND fathers) while men are somehow incapable to providing even the most basic level of care to their children and are therefore more likely to have an "accident" like this.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

13. Facts Matter. Without The Facts, Assumptions Are Worthless.

Each case had its own details and circumstances. It would be interesting to compare different circumstances of each and see if the discrepancy in sentencing has a legitimate explanation or if there was some difference in how each gender was viewed. Until those comparisons and details are known there really isn't any value to the up front numbers at all, since one can't make a determination if there were factors that caused the gap other than simple gender. Even above, we see that it wasn't gender that made the difference but intent. The one on top's act was intentional and selfish, whereas the one on the bottom was accidental though completely irresponsible (alcohol). There is most definitely a difference between those set of circumstances and using them in an apples to apples type comparison is just inappropriate.

[undeterred]

8. There was a case around here where the parents

were very stressed out because they had just decided to put a second child with a disability in a residential home- they could not care for her and their infant. The mother had been awake all night crying. Then she went to work- baby in the carseat in the back, and forgot to take the baby to day care. Baby died shortly, parents were devastated. I don't remember that she served any time, the whole thing was quite tragic. Grief can disable you from thinking straight too.

I've also heard of this happening at day care centers where they unload 9 kids from a van and forget #10. Shit happens.

[Katherine Brengle]

9. I don't think it's possible for an aware, mentally stable parent to

"forget" their child in the car. Perhaps for a split second, but not minutes, hours, the whole day.

It's absolutely criminal. It is my job, as a parent, to protect my child as well as I can - I would expect to be held liable for something like this.

Also, and this was said in another thread about this, mothers tend to get harsher sentences and less presumption that the incident was accidental than fathers do, which is bullshit.

[pitohui]

14. again it is always useful to read the article

it may be that you are superhuman and would truly never forget, however, the human brain as studied by science has known weaknesses, and the explanation given by the scientists that we need "cues" to spark our memory seems right to me

china cat's ideas are helpful

the idea that a good mother never forgets is not helpful since most mothers will be mere mortals with mortal brains

many of the women described in this study got harsher sentences because they DELIBERATELY left the child in the car, whilst working or getting hair done, the men described truly forgot, it is only right that a deliberate action if criminal should get a harsher punishment than an accident, it is open to question whether some of these accidents should have been punished at all, the last situation described at the very end of the article, it is a miscarriage of justice that this man was brought into court and given a criminal record at all

but we are thinly civilized and if something goes wrong a witch must be burned :sigh:

[davsand]

17. He admitted he was DRUNK.

His mind was altered, but I can't help but ask did somebody hold him down and MAKE him drink when his child was with him in a vehicle?

Yeah, I have a problem with leaving the baby in the car while you go get your hair and nails done, and I have a big problem with leaving your kid in the car while you go to work. I have an equally big problem with being DRUNK while you are driving that child around.

Am I sitting in judgment? Yep. I sure am. Parenthood isn't about making excuses it is about seeing that child as the gift they are and it is about protecting that child at all costs.

And before anyone asks, NO. My kid never got left in the car, I won't drink if I'm with my child in a car, and my kid still doesn't stay alone at the age of ten...



Laura

[MilesColtrane]

18. .

[pitohui]

22. leon jewel is the man who was drunk and he IS in prison right now

the poster above simply didn't bother to read before posting

[pitohui]

20. no he wasn't drunk, he was sitting 12 children, while mom was away seeing a relative w. cancer

again try reading the whole article, when i say the story at the end of the article, i mean the story at the end of the article, not the story at the end of page ONE of the article

for those who simply REFUSE to click and read on an article before opining about things you know nothing about here at least is as much of the story i'm talking about, that i can quote from, under "fair use" rules:

So what of Kevin Kelly? What did he deserve?

Would it influence your opinion to know that the day Frances died, May 29, 2002, the Manassas engineer was watching 12 children alone while his wife and oldest daughter were abroad visiting a cancer-stricken relative?

Does it matter that when he returned home that day, he'd asked two teenage children - both of baby-sitting age - to attend to their younger siblings while he went back to school for another daughter who was late getting out of an exam?

Or that during the next seven hours, he was accosted by an air conditioning repairman with news that he was going to have to spend several thousand dollars on a new unit? That he fixed lunch, did laundry, mended a gap in the fence that the little ones were using to escape the yard, drove to the store for parts to fix his air conditioner, took a son to soccer practice and fixed a leaking drain pipe in the basement?

this dude was fucking overloaded, there's no other word for it, plus he thought the two teens were on the job also

[davsand]

31. I'm quoting right here:

"...This undated photo of Leon T. Jewell was released by the Kentucky Dept. of Corrections. Jewell, of Lexington, Ky., said he was drunk when he left his 9-month-old son, Daniel, in a car in August 2005..."



Yep, it sucked to be Leon T. Jewell that day, and yep, he was probably overloaded with all the stress in his life. We ALL have stress and unless it doesn't get reported, not everyone leaves an infant locked in a car. I bet it sucked a LOT for that baby left in a f**king car by his drunk dad in August...

I'm sure those parents do deal with grief at their loss of a child. I do not think they are inhuman. I think they are culpable and should be held accountable. Leon T. Jewell is doing time and he's gotta live with this on his soul for the rest of his life. Meanwhile that BABY he was responsible for while he was drunk is still dead.

[LisaL]

21. The sentences should vary-if someone remembers a child was

in the car, but left the child in the car for whatever reason-go to work, get hair done, watching a sports game-as opposed to those people who truly forget. That said, if it was up to me, I would even lock up those who forget their children in the car-the child is dead just the same.

[pitohui]

24. i wish someone could explain the "logic" behind this

you say: if it was up to me, I would even lock up those who forget their children in the car-the child is dead just the same.


what is the rationale behind this? a child died, and there are no accidents, if something bad happened, a witch caused it and a witch must be burned

it would be nice if we evolved beyond this mentality

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

27. Yup. It's A Bit Unfair Of A Judgment. In My Opinion, The Death Of The Child Is Far More Punishment

than any parent deserves when it was sincerely accidental. In the cases of the accidental deaths, I feel for the parents tremendously. I couldn't imagine what living with that pain must be like.

[kurth]

28. Somebody needs to invent a "BABY LEFT IN CAR" detector/alarm

There is a fortune to be made.

[BlooInBloo]

29. They did. It's called a brain.

[WildEyedLiberal]

38. I literally just LOL'd

Thanks for that. :rofl:

[hedgehog]

30. A lot of people here are out of touch with what it's like to be living at the bottom.

The woman did not leave her child in the car so her son could die. She left him in the car while she went to work because she considered it her only option or the safest option among several. There are similar cases every year in which a single mother or working parents leave small children at home behind locked doors because they have no baby sitter and they must be at work. Most low paying jobs are very strict about attendance and tardiness. If you exceed the limit of days missed or times tardy, you're out of work. Now try to get the next job when you were fired from the last one.

[Bluebear]

35. k/r for American Justice.

[OzarkDem]

36. Moms get hard time, dads get probation

After all, no one expects the fathers to remember they left their kid in the car.

Doesn't seem fair.

[Bluebear]

37. 20 years for black and going to work, zero jail for being white and drunk.