Crack Candy
| October 24th, 2008 by Robert | Word Count: 667 | Reading Time 2:43 | 2,152 views |
Following up on the heels of yesterday’s smorgasbord article describing some of the recent news detailing our advancing “survival of the dumb” society I just couldn’t pass the following story up. Some things just deserve full attention for the absolute ridiculousness of the situation. Let me preface this by saying that I’m not making any of the following up… A 23 year old mother brings her 8-month old child to a party, a party which involves several of the attendees partaking in crack cocaine and opiates. The child proceeds to eat some of the illegal drugs and immediately falls ill. Thankfully, the child was taken directly to the hospital and received emergency care which saved its life.
That is the premise of the story as tragic as it is. The problem I have is what happened afterwards. Of course the mother was arrested for child endangerment and she pled guilty to the charges. Custody of the child now belongs with the grandmother. What consequences does a guilty plea draw in this case? How about zero jail time and one year of probation with an added requirement of submitting to “scrutiny” by the local drug rehab center to deal with her marijuana “issues.”
I am all for not breaking up families and doing our utmost to preserve the integrity of the family, but sometimes, things just need to be done to protect our children from their parents. It’s sad yes, but it’s a reality. Why did the judge decide that the young mother did not need jail time as part of her transgression? He believes her “evidence of remorse” was enough to outweigh her need for jail time.
Unless the criminal is a psychopath or sociopath, they ALL display remorse… some more than others, but even the absolutely insane criminal can even fake remorse. I’m not saying she was faking by any means, I’m sure she was absolutely distraught by her mistake which could have taken the life of her child. However, the one person in charge of the well being of the child endangered the life of that child as a result of her actions. Mistake or not, mistakes sometimes bring dire consequences because of the results of those mistakes.
In this case, the child almost DIED! She had better show an overabundance of remorse. What other kind of reaction to this situation would be acceptable? A simple “I’m sorry” or “I’ll be a better parent” would never be good enough. This isn’t a case of forgetting to sign your child up for summer baseball league. This is a mistake that almost took a life.
The judge in this case is being far too lenient in my opinion. Maybe all of our criminals should take this “remorse” defense into account. Plead guilty, but make sure you cry your eyes out and try and turn your life around because hey, if you’re sorry, that’s good enough right? Accident or not, mistake or not, wrong time and wrong place maybe, but you still must pay for your mistakes under such drastic circumstances.
So, with all things being relative, this particular case makes several crimes below it much more “palatable.” Why should people receive a speeding ticket if they are sorry? Why should someone be arrested for assaulting someone if they made a mistake and shook hands afterward? Why should someone who steals a shirt from the store be arrested if they are too poor to buy it but are very sorry they have resorted to such measures? I’m sure you understand. If you can almost kill your own child by your own neglect and not face any real punishment, what crimes under that theoretical line are deemed ok by being “remorseful?”
Remorse is a guarantee for any rational wrongdoer with or without punishment. But sometimes, punishment is necessary because of the gravity of the situation. The mother received the equivalent of a “time out” in this situation. She deserved her consequences and she pled guilty, case closed.
Citation: http://www.foxnews.com/
on October 24th, 2008 at 3:28 pm:
What a horrible story! Consequences exist for a reason…if nothing drastic happens a person is more likely to go back and do the same thing over again.
Like an obese person who has a heart attack. That heart attack is the consequence and the something “drastic” that will get the person to take better care of themselves.
The justice system is really sad anymore. I hear stories of punishments that doesn’t fit the crime, because a judge was “having a bad day”. Or stories like this when all you can wonder is.. what were they thinking? The way the law is laid out, it gives too much leeway for things like how the judge is feeling that day…or some ridiculous loopole…etc.
on October 24th, 2008 at 4:15 pm:
Yes, at times there is no rhyme nor reason to how punishments are given to offenders. The lucrative lawyer business has distorted our law and justice system beyond recognition these days.
We see rapists set free, murderers plea bargained out, drunk driving deaths not effectively prosecuted, and the list goes on.
I know we all make mistakes and there is leeway for that in our justice system, but please, make the leeway at least comparable to the situation. Is that too much to ask?