Does this woman deserve jail time? *Warning:Talk of death*

[amygwen]

https://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7463675.html

Here's the article so you don't have to click on link:

NEW BRAUNFELS — Police say a 6-month-old girl found dead in a vehicle in Central Texas was accidently left there after her mother drove to work that morning.

New Braunfels authorities say the baby was still strapped in her car seat Tuesday when her mother discovered her after work.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that it appears the baby was left in the car about nine hours.

Justice of the Peace Mike Rust has ordered an autopsy. Police are investigating.


The woman drove to work with her 6 month old daughter in the back, forgot to drop her off at day care and left her in the car for 9 hours while she was in work. The police thinks it's a bit suspiscous that she didn't have a lunchbreak that day either when she usually does. The car would've been 95C/35C inside. Do you think she deserves jail time?

FOB and I were talking about it, FOB thinks she deserves death penalty. I think it's so easy to forget there's a baby in the car, especially if they're asleep.. but for nine hours? What do you think???

 

[gemabee]

no i'm sorry but its not easy to forget where ur child is... awake or asleep!
she should definately get jail time... i don't believe in the death penalty.

 

[sjminimac]

i don't think it's easy to forget where your child is either! She definitely deserves jail time, but not death penalty. She'll have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life. Punishment more than the death penalty as far as i'm concerned.

 

[Lightworker]

What would be the point of her going to jail exactly? What would it achieve? If it was a mistake, for those that believe in punitive measures, surely the fact that her LO is dead is punishment enough. If it was deliberate, then maybe. Was she suffering from PPD? Was this a malicious act?

 

[Nibblenic]

I think she will be being punished for the rest of her life no matter what the state decides.

Horrible thing to read though

 

[pinkbow]

Jail!... i agree theres no way you can just forget you're child, makes you think what else has she forgotten to do??

What she's done wrong is killed her child through negligence, accidentally or not a life is lost!

 

[gemabee]

What would be the point of her going to jail exactly? What would it achieve? If it was a mistake, for those that believe in punitive measures, surely the fact that her LO is dead is punishment enough. If it was deliberate, then maybe. Was she suffering from PPD? Was this a malicious act?

the point of her goin to jail is that she commited a horrid crime... crime nd punishment... without it we'd live in an anarchic society.
if it was a mistake its still manslaughter... an imprisonable offence still... nd yes its punishment for her to not have her daughter... but she still commited a crime nd society must deal with it.
if she was sufferin ppd then she should be placed in a high security psychiatric facility.
we may never know for sure if it was a malicious act... whether it was or not she should still go to jail / psychiatric hospital.
imo any argument against that is ludicrous.

 

[Lightworker]

Ludicrous why? What is the reasoning behind prisons? I thought it was to protect society by keeping criminals away? If this lady forgot that she had not dropped off her child, and she is imprisoned, who is the state protecting? I hate punitive measures just for the sake of being punitive. If it is to protect others from danger then fine, but if its just to make her "sit in a cell and make her contemplate her actions and feel bad about em" to me THAT is counterproductive to society.

 

[Kimmer]

I'm not convinced it's an accident. How can anybody forget their baby is in the car? Okay maybe if you have a lot on your mind you forget to drop them off, but I couldn't imagine forgetting to drop him/her of at daycare, then leaving the car and not remembering at any point in the day.

I hate to think what that poor baby went through in that day

 

[Scamp]

I'm undecided on jail time. I can see both sides, but I completely agree that she will be paying for the rest of her life, how could she ever forgive herself. I don't agree with the death penalty either
That poor baby
x

 

[amygwen]

Kimmer, I feel exactly the same way. I thought maybe she could mindlessly have driven to work without remembering to drop her off at day care. But I don't understand how she could've gone her entire work day without remembering

 

[Lightworker]

I see loads of people talk about sleep deprivation as a recognized form of torture, could it not be possible she was severely sleep deprived ie a 6 month old, working full time, stressful job etc. I like the saying that "don't judge another man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins". Its always easy to say "how can she forget" if you havent lived a day in her life. Under the right circumstances and conditions, anything is possible, even forgetting your child.

 

[Nibblenic]

I mean obviously in no way is it the same. However, one night when lo was abou 4 weeks old and we were totally sleep deprived I forgot to put a nappy on her and put her back to bed after a night feed.

I never remember that I hadnt put a nappy on. She just woke up screaming and obviously wet.

I mean on one hand I could say I would never leave my baby anywhere and forget. But you hear about people leaving them on buses and all sorts.

There are lots of factors aswell as surely this was some sort of public paring place. How did no one notice a screaming/dead baby in a car?

There is a lot of factors to this story that simply dont make a great deal of sense.

 

[special_kala]

This happens alot more then it should

If it was an accident then no i dont think she should go to jail.

It seems when this happens its due to a change in the morning routine. So maybe the dad usually took the LO to nursery but couldnt that day or she was running late and got confused.

If she normally takes a lunch break and didnt then i can see why it looks suspciious. Maybe she realised what happened and was too scared to go to her car

 

[xemmax]

Surely if your 6 month old was in daycare you'd think to call them at some point to see if they're ok? No? Surely just the thought of your child would jog your memory and make you realise they were still in the car? Awful, tragic, that poor baby.

 

[marie73]

I find it hard to believe that you could forget that you had left your child in the car. I would seriously question her mental state - as a parent you always know where your baby is imo. Can't imagine what the poor baby went through that day. I think the mother needs a psychiatric assessment firstly before anything else.

 

[peanut56]

What an absolutely horrible way to die.
That poor baby. I'm heartbroken after reading that! Can you imagine how she must have felt when she came back out to her car after work??
How did no one see the baby in the car for 9 hours? It must have been a secluded lot or something. Nobody even heard the baby cry?
I also find it hard to believe someone could forget about their child like that. The daycare that I'm going to take my LO to calls if the child doesn't show up one day, unless you've let them know beforehand that the child won't be in that day, like a school will call if your kid doesn't show. It's too bad that daycare doesn't have that policy - maybe that poor baby wouldn't have had to suffer like that.
This is a tough one. If it was an accident, then I don't agree with giving her jail time. I work in law enforcement, and let me tell you, jails and prisons are scary, horrible places, and it's no place for a woman like that who just made a horrible mistake.
But I definitely think she should have some sort of assessment, because to forget about your child like that - there COULD BE something going on with her.

 

[gemabee]

Question to the people who are against jail time -
If this woman accidentally left ur child in the car too, your child then suffered in that heat for hours before passing away, would u still be against jail time?
And when anyone kills someone (murder OR manslaughter) then jail time is needed. And the actual point of prison is punishment and rehabilitation. If this woman is let off and it is an accident then all future manslaughter cases can use it as precidence to escape jail time. Society needs effective and consistent crime nd punishment.

 

[gemabee]

Ludicrous why? What is the reasoning behind prisons? I thought it was to protect society by keeping criminals away? If this lady forgot that she had not dropped off her child, and she is imprisoned, who is the state protecting? I hate punitive measures just for the sake of being punitive. If it is to protect others from danger then fine, but if its just to make her "sit in a cell and make her contemplate her actions and feel bad about em" to me THAT is counterproductive to society.

That's not the point of prison actually - its one of the positives about prison (keepin us safe), but not the reason we have prisons.

 

[Hayley90]

I do not think for one second a MOTHER could forget her child for 9 hours. Barely 60 seconds pass when i dont think about harrison, where he is, who he is with, what he is doing... so i dont quite believe that it was an accident. I DO work full time, and sometimes i am sleep deprived - doesnt mean i forget my baby!

I believe in guilty until proven innocent in cases like this, because to read its bloody awful.
That poor child died because her mother forgot her for 9 hours.... if i forgot to change harrison's bum for 9 hours, its neglect. forgot to feed him for 9 hours, neglect. She forgot her altogether and that in itself is awful.

If its PND or something causing her behaviour, then maybe severe mental help is needed rather than jail.. but she needs something. She cant walk through life forgetting everything. Cause and consequence.