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Quote by: ruksak  No. She never made a conscious choice. Tinybear posted an example of a parent making a conscious choice to leave their kid in the car unattended. In this case, the women just "forgot", however awful the outcome of her forgetfulness. |
Well, yes, she did make a choice. She chose not to make sure she didn't forget anything. "I forgot" doesn't cut it!
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Yes, hence my citing of her behavior as negligent. Which is why I thought this would make good debate fodder. There are two kinds of negligence; Voluntary and involuntary. Some people choose to be negligent. Sometimes the negligence is spawned from no choice being made, or no conscious awareness that a negligent act is being committed.
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Voluntary or involuntary is really irrelevant: parents have a unique responsibility that does not allow for negligence.
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Thats one of the first things that stuck in my craw. I suppose it makes it easier to hate her. No doubt the prosecutor will rely on this during the trial.
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Hate has nothing to do with it.
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I believe this is why I have so many dreams in which I lose track of my daughter. Because I am always thinking of her. I cannot fathom just up and forgetting my daughter.
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No half-way normal parent could!
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For the law to address this, is not surprising to me or unwarranted. What is unwarranted is arresting her immediately and jailing her when she should at least be allowed time to grieve. She is not a menacing criminal. Not a danger to herself or others (an exception being made for her child care skills).
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She's not entitled to grieve: she caused her child's death!
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Prison is as much a punishment as it is a deterrent. In this case, neither applies as functional. She, or others, will not be deterred from committing an unforeseeable act; See 'Shit Happens' bumper sticker for this conformation. Why punish someone for a mistake? As I said earlier. Hitting a baseball throw a window is negligence. Is it negligent vandalism? Forgetting to salt your icy walkway is negligent. Is it negligent battery? Why are these examples not prosecutable crimes?
Is it because there isn't a parallel emotional response as we see when a child gets injured?
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I could care less about the deterrent factor: this is all about punishment, about society exacting revenge.