I've been having trouble writing a post this week and I finally realized that it's because this has been on my mind a lot. I guess this is a break from my personal/life/mommy posts, but it hits me right in my heart.
It's big news here in our average city with a small town attitude. MOTHER CHARGED. Prosecutors announced that they will charge a local woman (EJ) with vehicular homicide. EJ's three-month-old daughter sustained traumatic brain injuries when the car EJ was driving hit another vehicle. The child was restrained in an improperly installed rear-facing infant car seat placed on the front seat of EJ's vehicle. The baby died ten months after the accident as a result of her injuries, caused when the front passenger seat air bag employed during impact.
This is the first case of this kind brought in Washington State. The Washington statute states that a driver commits vehicular homicide if he or she 1) drives under the influence of alcohol or drugs OR drives recklessly OR drives without regard for the safety of others; and 2) a person is killed or succumbs to their injuries within three years of a resulting accident.
The Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor says that the death of EJ's daughter "fits the criteria" for the charge under the statute.
If I phrase my reservations in lawyer-speak, trying to be objective, I'd say that homicide without an intent element bothers me on some level. The crime often referred to as murder one or first degree murder requires, as an element of the crime to be proved before conviction, that the accused intended their victim to die. Regardless of the actual facts of the case, for at least a second of time, there has to form in the mind of the accused the intent to kill the victim.
Negligent homicide is far murkier. The intent to kill is absent completely, even the intent to harm disappears. A driver hits and kills a child on a residential street while over the legal limit. That's classic vehicular homicide, the scenario most of us accept as chargeable under vehicular homicide statutes. The intent is to drive while impaired. In Washington, as in most states, that's specifically set forth in the statute as "reckless enough." Most of us accept these homicide charges as deserved.
What about hitting a child on a residential street while talking on a cell phone? The driver is going the legal speed limit, but is at fault. Talking on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle is illegal in the jurisdiction. Vehicular homicide? Is this "recklessly driving" or "driving without regard for the safety of others?"
How about this one. A mother of three young children is in an accident on a major interstate. She's at fault for failure to keep a safe following distance. Her youngest child, a four-month-old boy, is killed when his head strikes the dashboard on impact. He was in a properly installed infant car seat, but she had neglected to buckle him into the restraints. It is illegal to transport an improperly restrained child in a motor vehicle in the jurisdiction. She and her two properly secured two-year-olds survived. Reckless enough? Vehicular homicide?
What if I told you that mother was me? What if I told you that it was a bright sunny morning and I took my toddlers and four-month-old Quinn to a Jump and Bounce party 45 minutes from our house. The baby sat, properly buckled into his infant seat throughout the activity, but I had to nurse him just before we left. Saige and Garrett got restless and hungry. They threw fits as we tried to leave. Matt called on my cell as I was getting everyone into the car. I properly secured the baby's seat back onto the base, buckled the other two into their seats and drove to Arby's. We ate on the interstate ride home. A truck in front of me slammed on its brakes and, scarfing my sandwich, I almost missed it, but I stopped in time.
When we got home and I unloaded the car, I realized that I had never strapped the baby back into his buckles under his blanket in the car seat. Then I cried, for like an hour.
If I had rear-ended the truck on I-90 and my precious baby boy had died, would I have committed vehicular homicide? Driving recklessly or without regard for the safety of others, resulting in a death within three years of the accident. It "fits the criteria" as the prosecutor stated in EJ's case. Doesn't it? When do carelessness, distractedness, the mistakes that we all make in life, cross over the line into criminal negligence? No one who knows me would ever, I truly believe, think for a second that I could intentionally hurt my son, or even recklessly endanger his life by intentionally leaving him unrestrained while driving. But, is failing to check the buckles reckless? Would a careful parent check every single time?
I'm a lawyer. Of course I can understand that there are levels of negligence and negligent intent. I can understand that at some point, negligence becomes criminal, even murder, but where? Where exactly? It's the job of the system to make the determination, and the people within it. Prosecutorial discretion. Juries. Judges. Appeals. There are protections built into the process. I know that.
If I were in the prosecutor's office, I could probably even make a solid argument for prosecuting this woman, distinguishing her case from mine on facts. The infant seat was improperly installed in the front seat. That might imply a pattern of carelessness rising to reckless if she allowed the child to ride like that for some time. Perhaps her actual driving that day was reckless. Perhaps she was often careless in restraining her children. She did, however, care. Her baby was in an infant seat. Her intent was clearly not to harm her child.
My brain can wrap itself around the possibility that to some, to this prosecutor, her actions feel incredibly reckless, reckless enough to constitute a crime called vehicular homicide.
But my heart. My heart sees the mother of a dead child. A child she killed. Through her own negligence. Not intent. Not murder. Carelessness. Grievous carelessness, perhaps even reckless carelessness. But how many of us can say we've never fallen below that red line? Ever. What accident in the history of the world wasn't the result of some level of carelessness by someone?
Are we are judging criminal intent here, or are we once again judging parenting, holding it up against some shiny example of perfection that doesn't allow for human error?
I'm not sure I understand the goal in charging this mother with homicide. Is it because she deserves to be punished and the child's life should be avenged? Certainly, that baby can't speak for herself, and the State has a role, but I can't imagine a worse punishment than the one this woman is already enduring. It's a life sentence. Is it deterrence? Do we want to make a point to other parents? To tell them that society is serious about the car seat laws and that failure to obey them is punishable in this way? Because, honestly, I'm deterred. You had me at "her baby died of traumatic head injuries."
I've heard many arguments on the other side of this case. Many people believe that putting such a small child in the front seat of a car without disengaging the airbag is outrageously reckless. That no parent could fail to know how dangerous this is. Unforgivable. Beyond sympathy or empathy. Criminal.
I see that. I still feel...sympathy and empathy.
In the end, my objection is simple and it's not objective or based on rational legal arguments. It's just this. I can see the difference between myself and someone with criminal intent. Intent to kill. Intent to rob. Intent to harm. Intent to drive while impaired. My finger pulling the trigger. My hand striking the blow. My drunk ass getting in a car.
All I really see between myself and this woman, this mother of a dead child charged with murder, is luck. And I have to wonder if that's enough.
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So what do you think? Truly. I'm open to both sides of the argument. Just remember, there are two sides. True discussion requires respect for that fact.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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88 comments:
I agree with you on this one! I am heartbroken for her.
Here's my story, I ran over Tylon when he was four years old in the front of the school. He took off his seat belt, opened the door and climbed out while I was driving. I went right over the top of his legs. IT. WAS. THE. WORST. FEELING. EVER. I shutter to think about it. I left my car and rode with him to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, He was unhurt, not a broken bone, his organs untouched, it was a miracle.
While we were still standing in the ER waiting for the final report, two cops came over and ticketed me for not having my child in a seat belt. He was in a seatbelt, but a child with special needs is too dumb to leave it on, so they ticketed me for not having him in the proper restraints that would keep him in the car.
I my defense, having ran over my child, and knowing the outcome could have been 100 times worse, was punishment enough. I still have nightmares about that day.
When I went to court for the ticket, the judge read over everything and dismissed the case. He never even called me to the bench. He said, How is Tylon doing? I answered "fine." He dismissed me. I pray the same thing happens to this mother. I hope she gets a wonderful judge.
We are mothers, and we are human. We make mistakes and we will continue to do so. I am sick for that mother.
I have heard about this story. I don't think she did it intentionally....and I don't think she should be facing jail time.
When Keith was five, his baby brother was killed in a fire that was caused by his father's negligence. He placed gas in a kerosene heater and used it to heat a tent while the family was camping. The heater blew up! His sister suffered burns over 90 % of her body. It was a horrible accident and I don't know if he KNEW that what he was doing was dangerous.
Even though it was an accident and he didn't mean for it to happen....I tend to judge him a little. I suppose I would feel like he has been punished enough if he didn't act like the baby had never lived....
We all make mistakes and we aren't perfect but when should you be accountable for your mistakes? I don't really know the answer.....I guess this one hits too close to home for me.
Sandi - Oh god. What an amazing miracle. And, what a great judge. I can't help but think, reading this, that if EJ's baby hadn't been hurt, she would have walked away with a ticket as well. I'm not comparing you, just thinking out loud. Thanks for sharing your story.
Connie - I understand, it does hit close to home. That is exactly the right question, that and what is accountable? I can't imagine how Keith's family recovered. I can see how it would be hard not to judge him. I wonder if he just could not face his pain and guilt.
When I was 5 my dad neglected to close the car door properly (no seat belts) and I fell out and was run over.By our car. My dad at the wheel. Fortunately, no sustaining injuries. shit....truely, horrible shit...happens. I'm sure it freaked dad out...it certainly did me..
Wow. I couldn't agree more with so many things that you said.
What is the point of "punishing" this Mother, when she is already enduring the worst punishment of losing a child - at your own "hand"?
I too, am thinking harder about thinking harder every time I get in the car with my kids, or rush to get somewhere. I'm deterred just hearing about this poor woman's tragedy.
I feel nothing but compassion for this Mom.
You are the lawyer, so I may be speaking incorrectly here, so feel free to set me straight...
Negligence does not refer to intent but rather responsibility. My husband has said, "People don't have to be stupid to be negligent." What he means is, whether a person is well-meaning or not, whether they do the right thing 999 times and the thousandth time they do the wrong thing, they are still held responsible if they break the law. They may be a perfect parent, they may care more than anyone could ever know. But if they break the law, they must be held responsible for their crime.
And, I do understand your deeper question: is the definition of negligent homicide clear enough to have a distinct dividing line on cases. "Yes this qualifies as NH" and "No this does not qualify as NH"
And, I hope this doesn't make you upset, but I would say Yes, all the situations you described would be ruled as Negligent Homicide. Even your own (but thank God it didn't turn out worse). Not because I think you don't love your kids - I know you do. But rather, if your son had been killed, it would have been your job to protect him and if you didn't then you were negligent. Your intent was not to harm, but your actions did not match your intent.
It is really hard to make a break between facts and feelings. That's kinda how I see the law: the rules that we are set to follow and figuring out if we follow them or not. Feelings don't really have a good place in the law, unfortunately. We can measure people's actions but we can't measure their feelings. That's why we have to make decisions based on their actions, not their feelings.
That's just my opinion.
And, for the record, it's a lot like the story about the baby left in a car in the summer, who died, in St. Louis in 2007. Her parents were a pediatrician and a medical researcher. Obviously they were very caring adults but they were negligent in their responsibilities. And they were charged (I think they pled it down, though).
Okay I just reread my last comment and I realized that it does kinda come off as hard-lined and no sympathy. What I mean to say is, when we are adults (AND parents) we have to step up and take responsibility for everything we do. Sometimes it sucks to take responsibility for things we've done that are painful, but we have to be strong enough to do the right thing. We have to stand up and say, "It was my responsibility to do the VERY BEST I could to protect my child. If there was a simple solution to protect my child better, and I KNEW the solution, and I didn't do it, then I am responsible for what happens." That mom must have known that carseats can't go in the front seat (It's on the padding of the infant seat!) That issue is up for debate and maybe she did not know. But if she COULD have protected her baby well, but failed to (whether it was an accident or on purpose), then yes I think she is responsible.
Think about all the people who go to jail for their crimes. They probably feel really bad too. They really regret what happened. But regret doesn't release a person from their obligation to obey the law and face punishment if they fail to obey it (with or without intent).
Hope that I sound maybe 1% less bitchy now.
What a horrible, tragic situation.
I think I fall in the camp of "she has to live with killing her own child", that in itself is already the worst punishment she could ever face. What good would it possibly do for either her family or society to put her in jail now?
I think homicide is harsh. And my feeling in all of these horrible situations is "there, but for the grace of God, go I". I could happen to almost any of us, and I hate to hear sanctimonious people trashing the parents in these tragic situations.
I'm on your side, as I have a story that's similar. When the twins were around 6 months old I had to take Jaiden to the doctor. I was just as distracted. Usually we have the bases in the car so you can just snap the carrier in and go. For whatever reason, Frank had to take the bases out over the weekend. On the way to the doctor's office, I properly used the seat belt to secure the car seat. On the way back, Frank called me just as I was getting Jaiden into the car. I sat the seat down but FORGOT to use the seat belt. I blame distraction and force of habit.
I didn't have any almost run-ins with cars, but there's a wickedly sharp curve a few minutes from home. I took the curve at regular speed, but it was enough force to send Jaiden's carseat careening to the side of the seat. I was able to crank my arm around in enough time to keep his seat from flipping on to its side, and I held it stead until I could pull over to the side of the road. I snapped him in properly, then sat in the front seat and cried for 20 minutes before I could settle down enough to drive home (at 15 mph).
No parent is perfect and even those of us with only our childrens' best interests at heart make mistakes. Sometimes the cost is high and the damage great. Cases like the ones you wrote about are the extreme, and I also see a grieving mother. No punishment the judicial system could ever give her could compare to her being responsible for the unintentional death of her baby. Why punish her more? She will never be pardoned or paroled from the grief and guilt she will feel, and I think it's a travesty to punish her.
This is an intersting one.
I guess my main take away is to be super careful. We all have bad moments and sometimes it good to be reminded of the importance of all the little things we do.
The short answer to 'what do I think?' is: This woman is being punished in ways far worse than anything the courts could ever dish out.
I remember all too well pulling over on the highway, heart racing, realizing that while I had correctly snapped the infant carseat into the base, I had not actually buckled the child into the seat.
Mommies are the ultimate multi-taskers. We remember the important stuff 99.9% of the time. But we're human. And we're tired. And we're distracted.
I do question why the child was in the front seat. We've never ever done that. Period.
Here's my take on it. It could be any one of us. (Yes, Texan Mama, even you ;-)
Parents of very young children are especially vulnerable, for obvious reasons (lack of sleep, distractions...). Every summer here in Houston there is at least one child forgotten in a car in a parking lot in 100 degree heat - and it always turns out the responsible adult has been distracted by a change in routine.
The laws are there for a reason - they are an incentive to follow safety rules that usually weren't around in our parents time. But: thank goodness for judges and juries discretion! Although technically the law may be right in this case, compassion has to come into it. Unless it can be argued that this woman meant to kill her child, what good does it serve to punish her?
I did once forget to buckle in my baby. I also had a 2 year old break away from me in a parking lot and come face to face with a truck. And only last week I left the trunk of my SUV as I went up the drive after unloading. When I got to the garage I realized my 7 year old had gotten out of his belt and was hanging off the back. He thought it was funny :-(
It's a fine line we tread.
My heart just aches for that woman. I had heard, not sure if it's true, that her baby had some breathing difficulties and she wanted him in the front seat to keep an eye on him. That resonated with me. My older daughter vomited frequently, and my doctor (over)stated the need to be careful in situations where we couldn't see her. I frequently put her in the front seat, weighing risks. HOWEVER, there were not air bags then. That does make a huge difference. I don't see the point of prosecuting this woman. Also, what does that do to her remaining children? It also makes me crazy because while they are going after this woman, there are people abusing and hurting their children INTENTIONALLY. I wish they would put the resources into going after those people.
I'll also be honest enough to admit that this opinion is based on the assumption that in general, she is a good, caring, involved, engaged mother trying to do the best she can. If I found out that wasn't the case, my opinion would most likely change. Similar to the sympathy and good will I felt when I heard a woman had had 8 babies at once, which then shifted quite a bit when I learned the facts of the case.
I think we all just need to be thankful for that small percentage of time when we do screw up, most of the time, nothing bad happens and we don't have a life sentence for our stupidity.
As much as well all like to live like we're in total control of all the variables around us, we're not. We're not God, we're never going to be perfect. (not even Texas) I too nursed someone, put them on their carseat, covered them with a blanket and put them in the car - only to discover safely and uneventfully at home that the grace of God covers me! I nearly died of shock and fear myself. It was pre-cell phones, I don't remember any distractions other than she was already covered with the blanket and looked "ready".
This dear woman has to live with herself. I feel so badly for her. I cannot imagine. I'm sure her punishment of herself is more than anything the judge could even dream up for her. I think homicide should require more intent than this case seems to provide.
Like the woman driving her car over her cheating husband dozens of times, if this poor girl gets a jury of her Actual Peers - who have been there, done that - she'd be fine.
I hope she finds peace.
Anne
Oh I'm so hopeful for this woman that she gets a kind-hearted judge who throws out the case. I'm too sad to write more on this.
It's an incredibly sad situation. I, too, have been horrified to find, upon returning home from someplace, that the baby hadn't been buckled, or that the carrier hadn't been properly locked into the base. Those are horrible, absent-minded mistakes, that luckily for you and me and probably thousands of other moms, did NOT result in a tragedy. Mistakes like these DO make me more aware and more careful for next time, though.
I think the difference is that this wasn't some rushed mother who, in a flurry of activity getting kids out the door, forgot to buckle her infant in. This was a mother, who KNEW the risks associated with having an infant in the front seat and decided to take the chance anyway. You can't install a car seat WITHOUT reading the warnings about proper placement in the vehicle. For whatever reason, she took the chance, and her actions resulted in a grave tragedy.
First degree murder? I'm not sure about that, but I do think this mother should be charged with something. If for no other reason that to make the circumstances more public, so that more mothers are aware of the risk associated with having an infant in the front seat. I hope a compassionate judge doesn't actually sentence her to jail time for this, but I do think some kind of criminal charge is appropriate.
The really sad thing is that there is no good answer. Everyone who is, or will be involved in this case is going to suffer. The family, the judge, the jurors, the attorneys...can you even imagine being the ADA is assigned to the case? Yep, the mom was wrong. And she's paying. But for our society to make an example of her? Also wrong. And really, a public flogging of the mother is not going to slow the next mother who is in a rush and whose children are screaming and whose phone is ringing...it's just not.
Oh, that poor woman. I can't say anything that others haven't already said. I'm positive she's punishing herself beyond what anybody else could.
There's no way to punish this woman more than she's already being punished. She lost a child.
I would hate to be a juror on this case. On the one hand, it infuriates me when I see parents pull up to school with their kids improperly buckled in and climbing all over the car. On the other hand, I pulled away from the house without buckling my daughter into her seat more than once. Fortunately, she'd yell from the back seat that I had forgotten.
And then there was the time one of the car pool kids unbuckled the base of my son's seat and I didn't notice.
We all suffer from lapses in care, and this woman seemed to be trying to do the right thing. I think there's no prison sentence that can even come close to the punishment she's already serving.
I think prosecution should be reserved for the parents who are truly negligent - like not having car seats at all.
you absolutely could make a case for negligent homicide in this situation, but i hope that's not what happens.
my feeling is that she's been punished enough. my heart breaks. we've had several cases lately of dads driving to work and forgetting kids in car seats are in the car...coming back to the car after work and it's too late.
a life is lost, lives and marriages surely ruined; i can't imagine what doling out more punishment through the courts would do.
It would be pretty much impossible for me to be an attorney because I am way to emotional for this kind of thing.
The lady lost her baby. And for all anyone knows in 3 years time, her second child will die of the same thing, injuries chalked up to an injuries sustained in an accident. And for all this time everyone will have though the baby died because of a weak brain cord or some genetic issues, not because she didn't read the owners manual.
Which clearly, she didn't.
BUT hello!? She lost a baby.
She lost her child. What is worse than that?
In cases like this I really think the mother is being punished enough by losing her child and prosecuting her is serving no purpose whatsoever. I think the mother has already 'learned her lesson' or whatever prosecution is supposed to result in.
I think that as parents it's impossible for us not to sympathize with her and ache for her. I get that.
But for god's sakes, she placed a car seat in the front seat of her vehicle? I can't believe that people still do this.
I have no doubt that she had the best intentions towards her baby and of course it doesn't minimize the the tragedy, but what about her conduct. What about that front seat placement?
And I'm clearly in the minority on this in commentland here, but yes, we've all had close calls with our kids and it's terrifying. But that kind of personalization just reminds me a bit too much of "what if it were Kitty, Governor Dukakis?" and I don't think that it makes for good law.
And ultimately, I think that the fact that this woman is so sympathetic is what will help the jury acquit, especially if she "looks the part". If I were the district attorney, I don't know that this is the case that I would bring. And yet, I'm not outraged by it.
Really interesting post.
She didn't accidentally forget something in a moment of absent mindedness. She put the child in the front seat - on purpose - which lead directly to the death. It's sad but I think she's in the wrong here. Also, I don't have kids so what do I know?
Overseas you see A LOT of parents putting their kids in the front seat... sometimes in car seats, most of the time they're lucky if they're wearing seatbelts.
When driving in the States, I do feel strongly about kids being in the back seat - in specifically designated car seats. Overseas? I have a different standard of rules.
Hell - here in India, you're lucky if you see one kid all day in a car seat. Usually they're hanging off their parents bicycles or motor bikes.... 3 and 4 of them at a time!
My opinion of the mother... negligent - but not an intentional murderer.
I, too, have been guilty of forgetting to buckle a baby in. I was horrified when I realized it driving down the road and immediately pulled over and buckled those straps. I agree that the death of her baby is the worst punishment she could endure, but I do have issues with a rear-facing car seat in the front seat. That needs to be addressed, but not to the extreme of negligent homicide.
This is a heavy subject and there really isn't a 'right' answer. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and opinions.
Texas Mamma - It's not bitchy to think these charges are justified. It's a close case. I personally strongly disagree that 'breaking the law' should be the standard for a homicide charge.
The question isn't responsibility. She's responsible for her child's death, no question. The question is did she commit murder. That's a big question, there are probably ten other lesser crimes she could be charged with. For instance, the 'traffic violation' of failing to properly secure a child is punishable by a simple fine.
Saying yes, she's a murderer because she broke the law is problematic for many reasons. Sure, it seems convenient and clear, but it's horrifyingly harsh. Every single traffic accident involves some kind of traffic infraction - breaking the law. Yet, every time someone dies in a car wreck, we don't scream murder.
Intent is incredibly important, it's everything. The statute doesn't say, if you break any law while driving and someone dies, it's murder, it says if you are RECKLESS (a mental state) while driving and someone dies, it's murder. And that puts us right back where we started. What is reckless?
It's valid to say that you believe failing to follow the child restraint laws is reckless enough for murder, but I disagree. I'm not saying it isn't enough in this case, but I do believe it is case by case. It has to be.
Mom 24 - I think your point about the mother's character is a really interesting one. Knowing more facts about this woman and her general level of care as a parent might make a difference. One of the things I struggle with is how subjective this is - I suppose I have to assume that the prosecutor is not a cruel person, just as I assume that the mother isn't, and that she has good reason for considering the actions in this case 'reckless to the point of homicide.' But, my inclination is to give the mother the benefit of the doubt. It seems close on these facts.
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I do feel emotional about this issue, but the reason this case is interesting is that it is a close call. I could write facts that most of us would agree rose to vehicular homicide and few would say (as I did here) this mother is punished enough. It's easy actually. If she placed her four month old infant on the passenger seat wrapped in a blanket and drove into the back of a car, killing the child. Reckless, disregard for the safety of others.
This one is hard because she made some mistakes, but she didn't completely disregard her baby's safety.
Marinka and Dee have the most compelling arguments for VH, in my opinion. She placed the baby's seat in the front of the car. That's not just a simple mistake, an oversight or an accident, that's reckless.
I don't agree, based on what I've read, but I feel the pull of that logic. My problem is, this case is close to the line (the reckless line, I mean) and I would err on the side of not charging someone with murder in such circumstances.
Blah, blah. Dear god. Someone call the lawyer off.
I too once removed my infant son from the car to discover with horror that I'd forgotten to rebuckle the straps after I'd changed his diaper at the store -- so that he'd ridden home in a properly secured seat into which he was not buckled. Because he came to no harm, and because I am a mother who cannot fathom the horror of losing a child, I strongly sympathize with the "there but for the grace of God go I..." response to this tragedy.
At the same time, I think Marinka and others make an excellent point about buckling that seat in the front in the first place, where it so clearly did not belong.
On the other hand (can I have three hands in this argument?), there are plenty of older vehicles whose airbags cannot be disabled, plenty of light trucks that do not have back seats, plenty of ways, in short, that this very same thing could happen again in circumstances slightly more unavoidable than this woman faced. If she is convicted of negligent homicide, does that mean that people whose only vehicle is a small pickup truck built in 1999 will have to stop driving their children around all together, in order to avoid a similar accident? Then, of course, they may face charges of negligence for not getting their children to/from school.
In short, it worries me that this case is being used to set a precedent that may be untenable in future. Are there not ways to charge her with *something* that might make a point about the responsibility we have to do our very best all the time (even when we are tired) for our children's safety, while not actually making it vehicular homicide? Of course, I'm not a lawyer, so I may be wishful thinking here.
This just reminds me how happy I am that I am not a lawyer or judge.
By definition she is probably aptly charged.
If we're appalled perhaps we should do something to change the law? Although I have no idea really. I just know that when the drug mom rolled over on her baby because she was stoned out of her mind (a local case) there were a lot of people saying "she didn't INTEND to hurt her baby. Isn't she punished enough?". I didn't think so. (And I do recognize that this is different, so don't holler at me)
Wait, I just read this part: Witnesses also told police Jensen was driving erratically just before the crash, according to the court document.
Jensen said she was sleep-deprived, which may have contributed to her blacking out, court documents said
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That does make the story a bit different. And probably if I were to read the charging documents I'd come back even angrier. But I won't. I'll leave now.
I have to admit that when Giggles was in a carseat I did put it in the front seat. But we did not have a vehicle with airbags, and she screamed bloody murder when she couldn't see me. And since I single mommed it for a while (when hubby was in bootcamp and deployed) I couldn't focus on getting us where we needed to be if she was shrieking.
Now this was over 14 years ago-we didn't have an airbag in our car & there were no warnings about it anywhere in our car (that was older than 14)
Do I think she should have placed the child in the frontseat-knowing what I know now, probably not. And if she routinely did it, why didn't she get the airbag turned off on the passenger side.
I just don't know on this one. My heart aches for her and it also aches for those other little ones who may be without a mom if they stick her in jail. I am hoping that she gets off with probation or something-she has been thru enough.
Stacey - Reading this post (almost) made me wonder if you are aching to get back to brief writing! Very persuasive. So much so that I forgot about the fact that the baby's car seat was placed in the front seat (until reading Marinka's comment and Dukakis reference). A difficult case, no doubt.
I lied. I read the charging documents.
The seat WASN"T EVEN PROPERLY SECURED!!! There were NOTEBOOKS under the SEAT!!!!
Unfortunately, most of ya'll will probably miss this because there are so many comments, but you really should go read the charging docs.
Prompted by Meadowlark, I went back and read the Charging Documents and I'm seething. She was speeding, driving recklessly and she put her daughter in the front seat because her older daughters wanted to sit together in the back seat? Good grief. Either put them all in the back seat (I don't know how old her oldest are, but I'm betting that none of them is old enough to ride in the front) or don't go.
Seriously, I get that it's tough on mothers, that we have to juggle many things and that we, like everyone else, makes mistakes. And maybe I have a cold hard substance where my heart is supposed to be, but my sympathy for this mother is entirely under control. No need to seat me on that jury.
When I think about this I come back to one thing. If the death of her own child is enough punishment, truly punishment to her, then her actions will change, her thought process will change. But there are so many people (killers, chronic drunk drivers, etc) who kill or hurt and don't change their actions and do it again and again. How do you distinguish between the two when you dole out the punishment? I have no idea. I've made my mistakes, and I make changes to avoid them again. Even if this women was driving irratically, and didn't install the car seat properly, is she making changes to reduce the likelihood something like this will happen with her other children? Should that be taken into consideration?
Just a few weeks ago there was a story about a mom who passed a truck in a passing lane but lost control and her 4 year old in his car seat died. They reported he was secured properly. I know I'd feel awful. But I have no idea how that person feels...Know what I mean?
You two are thorough. I have to point out that she was ALLEGEDLY driving recklessly - a fact which, if proved affects the basis for her negligence. It certainly helps the prosecution's case to phrase it that way.
As far as putting the child in the front seat because there were two other children in the back. I just did this, for three months. The third child seat wouldn't fit across the back. Although, we did check the airbag issue. That is the more reckless failure, in my opinion.
The notebooks are confusing, which is why I didn't mention them, specifically, however all articles do mention that the car seat was not properly installed.
It's tough. It's close, I agree. You are tough critics, but even knowing all of this, murder isn't the answer for me.
It's easy to seethe and stomp about the failures to follow the seat safety laws, but other, equally dangerous actions, we pass off without a thought. Take a mother who smokes three packs a day. In the house, all the time. Her three month old dies of SIDS.
There's no law against smoking in your own house w/an infant present, but it's just as dangerous, if not more so. Is this smohicular homicide?
It's not whether the mother was in the wrong, or whether she's an idiot, or whether we would be her friend, or whether we are angry at her - it's whether she committed MURDER.
I agree--the question is, is it murder? And if it is a close, tough call, what's wrong with leaving it to the jury? I'd be more concerned if the prosecutor "looked the other way" because charging a blonde, blue eyed mom is unpopular.
MommyTime - That's not wishful thinking, that's exactly the issue. There are other laws, other crimes even, that she could be charged with. If she were charged with reckless endangerment of a child, I probably wouldn't have written this post at all.
It's the murder part that is over the line for me here. Yes, even with all the facts described exactly as the prosecutor wants you to understand them.
Remember that the charging document is a legal argument, it's persuasive writing, it's not proven fact. Just like my post ;-)
I can't say it any better than Marinka did.
Very thought-provoking post.
:^) Anna
Touche, Marinka. I would present it exactly the opposite way, if it's a tough, close call, why charge this mother with murder, her child is dead, there's no coming back from that, why expend valuable resources, why not charge her with a lesser crime?
Would you be 'more concerned' if you found out that the prosecutors passed on ten similarly close cases because the mothers involved had a higher standing in society? Because they were better educated and wealthier, because they could afford a top defense attorney? Because they were better spoken and cried harder at the scene?
Socio-economics play both ways in these scenarios.
And hey - thanks for making this a really, really interesting morning. Maybe I do miss the law a little, Hey There, but in this instance I'm so grateful to just be able to say, I feel for her, murder is too much.
I bet you are a fantastic lawyer.
(By the way, I've done that -- gotten home and realized the car seat was unbuckled. It is one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced.)
I'm gonna go read the comments now.
I must entertain my recklessly screaming children for a while. I'm not ignoring further thoughts, I'll be back!
Its not safe to put a carseat in the frontseat of a car.. and I think that's fairly common knowledge. If you put your kid in the front seat like that, your negligent. You should know better. You should know how to use a carseat properly if your going to have a child.
I don't know if she intentionally murdered her child, but she was most certainly negligent in her bahaviors and should be punished as such.
Okay, here's a question for you:
Let's say your mother-in-law, who you really trust and truly does love your children, did the exact same thing as that mother. She feels HORRIBLE about the child's death.
has she been punished enough just because she also suffers the loss of that child?
I can only speak for myself, but I know that I would not feel okay with letting her just get a slap on the wrist.
And, I apologize if my comments earlier led to some confusion. I may be confused too, here. I thought you explained in the post that she was being charged with negligent homicide, NOT murder. Am I wronge? And I thought you explained that murder involves intent (which I agree, this mom did not intend to harm her child) but homicide does not include or exclude intent. I am so sorry if I have gotten this all mixed up.
And I just want to clarify one thing: In this situation, this mother DEFINITELY deserves our sympathy. It is a very sad case. But, does she escape prosecution? I thought that was the question. I don't have a heart of stone, folks. I was just trying to stay on topic of the question asked.
Okaaayyyy... going to go hide now, I guess.
I would think that a parent would
So is it our aim to punish her or rehabilitate her? The expectations that our society has for the criminal justice system is to punish and rehabilitate individuals who commit crime. Punishment and rehabilitation are also two of the four acknowledged objectives of the criminal justice system, with deterrence and incapacitation being the
others.
Because if it's "punish" hasn't she been punished enough? Or are we sending a warning to others that this is serious?
I know it sounds like I'm now arguing the other side, but I just wondered.
My head is about to explode.
I totally get where you're coming from, Stacey, but I'm TOTALLY with Marinka on this one.
lord knows, I've been there, done that when it comes to absent-mindedly improperly securing my children in their properly placed car seats.
HOWEVER, the "I was never in a car seat mentality and I survived/my kids didn't sit in car seats and they survived" mentality DRIVES ME NUTS. And letting people continue to ignore the laws and recommendations at the expense of their children's lives has got to stop.
It makes me sick when people don't take car seat safety seriously, and as bad as I feel for the woman for being responsible for her child's death, she acted recklessly, KNOWINGLY, and should be punished.
Okay, I'm done.
Love you.
Like someone above said, I would not want to be on that jury.
I had a huge shopping bag in my hand and my son in the other. I managed to set him in his seat before tossing the bag into the front passenger area. I walked to my door and drove off totally forgetting I hadn't strapped him in. I drove off, turned a corner and he rolled out of his chair.
HEART.ATTACK.CITY.
I immediately pulled over, jumped out like a mad woman, grabbed him and launched into horrific, crying spasms. I lost my shit on the side of the road. My son? Unhurt and looking at me like I'd gone mad. He must have been about 2+ (thank goodness he wasn't a small infant)and I still feel bad to this day even though he didn't hurt one hair on his little head. The idea of someone possibly hitting me and the confusion of why did my kid fly out of the windshield when he "was" strapped in, was enough to break my heart. I could barely tell my hubster the story without choking, sputtering and crying about it.
Lesson learned. Big time! I haven't made that error ever again and he's 6 now.
This woman? Others who have had similar experiences to her and their kid died or sustained serious injuries? I'm speechless and saddened.
I feel the same way that you do. I have had a similar moment of forgetfulness. It was a cold, snowy morning. While I was strapping Izzy into his carseat, Porgie climbed into her carseat. I pulled out the scraper and set to work clearing the snow off the car. I was FREEZING. I jumped back in the car to thaw my frozen fingers. After a few minutes, we pulled out of our driveway and began venturing to the bookstore. Ten minutes later, I noticed Porgie reaching toward the passenger seat. I glanced back and seen that she wasn't strapped in. She was just sitting in her carseat. I flipped out. I cried. The possibilities of what could have happened terrify me.
Marinka brought up the point that keeps sticking in my mind: the baby was in the front seat. Two days ago, I was looking at the visor over the driver's seat in my minivan at the warning to NEVER put a child seat in the front. The big, bright yellow warning that can't possibly be missed. The warning that is in EVERY car and on the installation instructions for EVERY car seat I've ever owned.
I can sympathize with not restraining your children. It's happened to me. But missing every warning not to put a child seat in the front seat of a car with air bags? That smacks of negligence to me.
My heart goes out to this woman. Many have said there is no worse punishment than knowing that your own carelessness was responsible for your own child's death. I can't even begin to fathom that kind of devastation. And yet, I can't help but feel a little contempt.
Add me to the chorus of I've forgotten to buckle my child. Fortunately (blessedly, luckily) without incident. But I have never felt worse.
I don't think she should be charged with homicide.
Honestly, I feel two ways about this. It angers me when I see children not buckled, riding in cars. But I also can remember when I was a kid and car seats were unheard of. We buckled up, but laws weren't what they are now, and sometimes I wonder if we've gone too far. Doing more to educate parents about that particular danger seems a better use of resources in this case than spending money on prosecuting this woman.
Yes, child safety seat laws save lives, but we can't prevent every tragedy. And if it's true that this mother blacked out before the crash, that's an uncontrollable factor that just seems like a cruel twist in this case.
She's been punished enough.
(And I have no idea of any of this sounds cohesive...)
I have neglected to buckle the infant car seat straps at least twice (and always with George - what does that mean???). Usually due to a blanket being over him, or I THOUGHT I had buckled him in but the snap must not have taken...
And there have been other non-car related things that I'm too embarrassed to write about.
I have this theory that we almost kill our children all the time - sometimes without even realizing it. And the numbers go up as the number of children go up and the number of hours of sleep go down.
I have also heard terrible stories like the one you mention. The worst was one my daycare provider saw. A woman with a walking toddler and a baby in a stroller accidentally killed her baby. Her toddler let go of the stroller and ran for the street. In an effort to push the carriage away from the street and run after the toddler, the mother shoved it onto a lawn. She was able to grab the toddler, but the baby who wasn't buckled into her seat, was knocked forward out of the stroller and hit her head on a tree. And just like that - life could never be the same. That mother didn't lose a child, she was responsible for the death of her child. I think of her often.
Every time I "almost kill" one of my children I thank god (and I'm not religious) for making it *not* happen one more time. I don't ever want to be that woman with the toddler and the stroller. And I check buckles like they are sentient creatures who are liable to snap open at will.
First of all, brilliant post. Kudos. I admire your ability to write eloquently and smartly about issues you are passionate about - I tend to get all heated and emotional and resort to profanity. :)
Second, it's really gratifying for me to read so many compassionate responses. I feel like I encounter many more viewpoints along the lines of "do the crime, do the time" (partially maybe because I live in Texas? I don't know) and am always left feeling a little wounded and dejected that so many people are so dismissive of the human element. I get so tired of the sanctimonious speak (I'm honestly not referring to commenters on here, but what I read on message boards and hear from colleagues)when tragic accidents happen. Babies accidentally left in hot cars. Children accidentally run over. Children drowning when parents don't know they are near the water, etc, etc.
There but for the grace of the universe goes I.
I understand the counter-argument. I do. I understand that you can feel compassion and empathy for this woman, but still believe in the stance that she bears responsibility for the death, so she therefore must be punished. I get it. But we do not live in a black and white world. We just don't. Intent DOES matter. It matters every day, not just in our judicial system, but in our everyday life. And yes it is convoluted and messy and a grey area, but to view the world in such stark terms absolutes amazes me.
I do not believe a mother's remorse and pain automatically exempts her from the consequences of her actions, but I also believe that, if we are a thoughtful, compassionate, "big picture" society, we cannot automatically hand out "justice" without thinking about what purpose we are trying to serve.
I agree 100%...we all think about the things that could have ahppened when we had an err of judgement and are just ashamed. I'm sure she is so gut wrenchingly sad and blames herself each and every second of every day and would do it over in a heartbeat. My heart aches for her.
my oldest is 12 and i still won't let her sit in the front passenger seat.
my kid was racing her scooter down a steep alley, and flipped over carving a hole in her forehead. she wasn't wearing her helmet. i felt like an absolute failure,my kid got hurt because i was lenient about her wearing her helmet. i knew she should wear a helmet, yet i let her go without one. it was that "nothing bad will happen" attitude that kills lots of people. this time we lucked out, she walked away with stitches and a new appreciation for scooter safety.
i walked away knowing that if my kid gets hurt because of something i knew was irresponsible, but still allowed it to happen, then it is my fault and I should be the one held accountable.
Wow, there are definitely people on both sides of the fence all throughout your post.
My thoughts are that we are human. We make errors in judgement. Sometimes these errors have devasting effects. That doesn't mean we don't care or we don't love or we are not remorseful. And it certainly doesn't mean we intended harm.
When my daughter was almost five she had taken off her seat belt while I was driving. She was in the safest spot... in the back seat of the Suburban in the middle...unbuckled. I stopped abruptly, her face hit the seat in front of her and knocked out her two front teeth. I was horrified. Her adult teeth grew in and life went on. Had she suffered a head injury and died would I be guilty of murder? Was it her brother's fault because he didn't tell me she unbuckled? (He was nine at the time).
I understand the carseat was in the front. The mother was in control of that aspect. I do not believe she put the baby in the front seat with the thought of murdering her. There are far easier ways she could have murdered her baby if that were her intent.
Guilty of ignorance? Yes. Guilty of an error in judgement? Yes. Guilty of Reckless Endangerment? Possibly. Guilty of Murder? No.
It is so easy for people to point the finger...until it happens to them. Then they have an excuse for their error in judgement.
Don't think you'll have make that "dangerous of a mistake"? Wait a little while. We all do..some with worse outcomes than others.
We might as well draw this out to the next logical conclusion.
Let's say every single thing was the same. The oversight, the hurry, the blacking out.
Now let's say it was YOUR child in the seat. Would everyone who thinks she's "suffered enough" and "it was just a mistake" feel the same way?
Who knows. But it's something to think about.
I think that prosecuting this woman constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
I agree with your assessment. She is suffering for her mistakes, she is exhibiting remorse and I can't even fathom what she will have to live with for the rest of her life. For the courts to make an example out of her, to take her away from the family she has left is cruel in my opinion.
I know that when Max was still in a pumpkin seat we once neglected to buckle it. I do not remember all of the specifics but we are not negligent parents. Unfortunately, everyone makes mistakes...doctors, lawyers, Mommies... Being married to a doctor you hear the term "negligence" used frequently. It's such a broad term. We are all people and people make mistakes. None of us know this woman's true circumstances and it seems a bit judgmental to chastise her. She has to go on for the rest of her life and think about the child she lost.
This is tough one. What a sad story. We have all done things accidentally and sadly in this case, the punishment is life long. Of course the baby shouldn't have been in the front seat. But it happens. You try to educate parents on proper placement of an infant seat, but does everyone remember/listen? of course not. I am sad for her. What a terrible situation.
I think, if I were the one prosecuting this case (or on the jury), I'd want to know if there was a pattern of negligence. It would be the only way I could go after ANY parent because you're right - what worse punishment could there be than being responsible for your child's death?
The fact that the carseat was improperly installed is a bit of a nonissue for me (although I wish it wasn't) because the majority of car seats are improperly installed. That's just a sad but true fact. Riding in the front seat, though - it's seriously hard to miss ALL of the warnings about it on the carseat itself as well as on the seat belts and visors. But circumstance changes everything - maybe she was desperate and thought everything would be ok, "just this once".
We've all made mistakes - who knows how many of us have come so close to harming our children without any intent? They are called accidents for a reason!
I will come back to read the other comments, but I will add that we have all had horrible close calls. My own was when Justin was a new baby. I thought Pat had buckled the car seat base into the car. He thought I had. I drove for an hour with his infant seat unbuckled into the car.
Literally, I fell to the ground and cried. And then swore at both myself and my husband for being so careless...
When my daughter was an infant, I had recurring nightmares of seeing headlines that read, "Teenage Mother Accidentally Kills Baby." Then, when I was 50, I was suddenly given custody of my 16-month-old step-granddaughter. You'd think with so much more life experience under my belt it would have been less frightening, but the first day I returned to work I asked my 8 a.m. meeting to change the agenda so that the first topic was, "Did you drop the baby at daycare?" because I was so afraid that, unaccustomed to the new routine, I'd forget and leave her in the car or at home.
My heart reaches out to that poor woman, because I know that it's only by God's sweet grace that I'm not her.
This woman made a mistake and will have to live with the consequences for the rest of her life. I'm with you on this one. We're human and we fail. It's bad enough living with our failures, we don't need and/or deserve to be condemned for them.
I put my child in the bath before checking the temp. Only because she was so excited to have her first bubble-bath with her new duckies. Her little butt was red for days afterwards. Did I burn my child on purpose? Of course, I was simply trying to make her smile, laugh, and have a good time taking a bath. In my hurried-state, I failed. Simple as that. Thank goodness it wasn't more serious. But still, it goes with what happened here. My heart breaks for this woman and family.
Luck IS the only difference here. Pure and simple.
When our daughter was about 6 months old. I put her in the infant car seat strapped in, but did not buckle the seatbelt. I was horrified when I got to my destination. I never told my husband. When she turned one I cam clean and so did he. Turns out we both goofed but were afraid to tell the other person.
I was here two times before, but didn't have the proper words with which to respond.
For me, I feel that she will carry not only this terrible terrible loss with her for the rest of her life- but also the indescribable burden of the knowledge that SHE did it. In my mind, and heart, that is more of a punishment than any court could hand out.
That's a terrible story, I hadn't heard about it before now. I'm with you, that poor mother has suffered enough without being charge for murder.
All I know is that if I were to ever do something that led to the death of someone I love from negligence, carelessness, whatever, I wouldn't need a trial. I would want to sit in jail and feel punished.
I wonder if every parent has not, at one time or other, accidentally forgotten to strap their child in to their perfectly installed, age appropriate car seat? I did. Once. Scared the @#$% out of me and for weeks, I was afraid I'd do it again (never did).
Accidents happen and I worry that we are losing compassion as a society when we forget that.
I certainly couldn't charge this woman with anything involving intent. Is that what you're asking? I actually have read all the comments and that's left me confused.
On my first Mother's Day as a mother, my own mother, husband, and I left the restaurant where we'd gone to dinner, placed 2m old DS's carseat back in its base (DS therein), and drove home, discussing a dreadful incident (but one with a happy ending) involving a parent driving down the road after having left a child in a carseat on the roof of the car (disclaimer: Snopes confirms this happens). You guessed it, we arrived home to realize I had undone DS's harness while we sat in the restaurant and had not done it up again. Yikes.
More recently, DH, who is not allowed to be in charge of car seat safety in our household, stuck our older don't-like-it car seat in DS's (adult) sister's car (she drives him rarely) without getting it in there securely (tightly) or repositioning the shoulder straps to fit DS's increased height. I fixed it, but not until after it had been used at least once (and maybe more). I know DH doesn't take this stuff seriously enough ... was I negligent (the seat has been fixed, since, by me and with input from the expert in our local fire station).
Well, I'm not a mother or even a parent. I am, in fact, 56 and male, no children. So I don't know much of anything about safety seats and harnesses and such. However, I'm a gun owner and active shooter, and so I have a very good grasp about safety procedures and personal responsibility.
The arguments that I see revolve around your own feelings for your children - who are lucky to have you, by the way. None of you can really conceive of a mother who doesn't love her child, or that might be somewhat relieved if her child were somehow taken away from her. Intellectually, maybe you can entertain that situation, but not emotionally. Good thing, too.
None of you have come to grips with the fact that you cannot truly know how this mother who just lost her child actually feels. You presume she feels much the same way you would, but in actuality you can't know.
Discount the mother's feelings, then decide if you'd see her tried for any crime.
I'm sure ya'll will kick me, but Mad Jack, that was brilliant. Mostly because you hit the nail on the head. We're all ascribing our feelings to her.
Very interesting. Shame you don't have a profile because I'd love to read your blog!
You know, maybe I'm seeing this as a somewhat jaded criminalistics educated single 20 something...
But if it were any child but her own, you'd see posts SCREAMING for her head on a platter. Why is it any different because it was hers?
Woman places baby in unsecured carseat, on top of other items in the front seat of a car with airbags. Baby dies as a result of her stupidity. Her actions caused loss of life. Innocent infant life.
I'd throw the book at her, but maybe I'm a b!tch.
There is no one answer. Each situation has be looked at from a lot of angles. If a mother has been reckless with her child intentionally and over and over again, I do feel she should be charged. If a mother has a forgetful moment (don't we all in the exhaustion of motherhood), I don't feel those are grounds for prosecution.
No matter what, there are a lot of sad situations out there.
And you shouldn't continue to feel guilty. All mothers make plenty of mistakes.
I agree with you. I've done what you did- realize I never buckled baby and cried and cried- it's especially easier to do when you are a sleepless, hormonal, nursing mommy and out of your mind.
Poor baby. Poor Mommy. :(
On this one, I am with you. I truly have nothing but sympathy for her. Did she make a mistake by putting the child in the front seat? Yes. Does she have to live with that regret THE REST OF HER LIFE? Yes. Honestly, in this case I think it is enough punishment. There are cases that truly should be charged as vehicular homicide, or what you want to call it, such as drunk driving, but not this one.
In our area, we have a man charged with murder because he "accidentally threw his 6 month old son against the wall". That is the type of neglect/abuse that should be charged, not something that is truly an accident.
Agree.... and I can empathize with an hour (or longer) of crying when you realize your precious cargo wasn't buckled-- so easily done when you have more that one kid with you. Sad thing is, remember as a kid riding sprawled across the back seat with your feet out the window, or in the back of a truck? Now I freak out if the harness on the car seat isn't just snug enough for two fingers to slip under.
I find these cases so sad. I would HATE to be a jury or judge on anything involving anything like this.
How awful. She lost her child. She will suffer for a lifetime. My heart goes out to her.
When we bought a new car seat for our most recent baby, the instruction manual said explicitly that babies should be buckled into the back seat UNLESS they had health issues that required them to be visible to an adult at all times. So buckling a child into the front seat is not unheard of.
I am in total agreement with you here! I'm sure we can all think of times we have narrowly averted disaster... and when you have more than one child - you are operating under distraction as a rule ;) and it has nothing to do with negligence or intent to harm.
I find it completely ridiculous that they are even thinking about charging this woman. I agree that she has suffered plenty already and will for the rest of her life.
How very sad for that mother to be living to life with all the regret and to be punished. Just makes you realize that life is too short and we must slow down, we don't know how to slow down anymore.
I've been thinking about this post all week, and was about to post a link to the Gene Weingarten story in the WashPost Magazine today, but I see you already did. I'm with Marinka here too. While my heart breaks for anyone who loses a child, there are pictures of babies being hurled toward the seat by the airbag ALL OVER my car . . . first degree murder might be a bit much, but seriously people - they place these warnings for a reason.
As far as the Post article goes (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.html?hpid=artslot), THAT's something I have far more sympathy for. Unfortunately they don't put images of peacefully sleeping kids in the backseat in our cars to remind us they're back there . . .
Interesting post and very thought provoking comments.
I can't help but think how far we've come. When I was born in 1980 car seats weren't even the norm. I was held on my mother or brother's lap in vehicles that didn't employ a quarter of the safety features that are standard now.
So I prompt this question... with the increased technology and prevention methods has personal responsibility increased?
I feel sick about this. I think that the woman was doing the best that she could and hasn't she received the ultimate punishment?
I know of at least one instance when I put my son in his properly installed carseat and when I got home realized that I had failed to buckle him in. It heart my heart and scared me to know that I had done this. But it happens.
I do feel for this woman, however, it is one thing to ACCIDENTALLY forget to buckle the straps on the car seat, and another thing to INTENTIONALLY buckle the child in the front passenger seat, when you know it is dangerous and illegal and can cause death. Maybe by charging this woman, other babies lives will be saved. The warnings all over car seats and visor mirrors about not buckling a child into the front seat with an air bag are there for a reason. You cannot tell me this woman didn't know it was unsafe. I just read an article of a Mom that was arrested for breast-feeding her baby and talking on a cell phone while driving. That baby is fine, but that woman should go to jail, as she not only endangered the life of her and her poor innocent baby, but the lives of other motorists and pedestrians along the road. Intentional acts like that should have consequences.
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