Outrage--Woman Leaves Her Toddler in Car for 8 Hours on Hot Day While at Work, Child Dies, She's Not Charged
September 6th, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
Could one find a clearer example of gender bias and the female sentencing discount than this? Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby is not being charged with any crime. Let's review:
1) Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby left her toddler daughter in her car (in heat which reached 100 degrees) for eight hours while she worked.
2) According to police, the dead girl, Cecelia Nesselroad-Slaby, had been left in a hot car on at least three other occasions.
3) Security video shows that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby was able to remember--twice--to unload the doughnuts she brought for meetings at her job, but nevertheless left her daughter in her car seat. The event is pictured.
4) According to press reports, she previously "had been told by a former administrator at her 5-year-old daughter's preschool that the younger sister shouldn't be left in the car by herself."
5) Clermont County prosecutor Don White, who will not be prosecuting Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, was asked whether the woman's other daughter--the 5-year-old who she hasn't killed yet--should be allowed to remain in the family's home. He actually replied--with a straight face on national television--"I have no reason to believe that she won't take care of this child."
To learn more, click here and here, and see below. Thanks to reader Neil Steyskal for sending me the story.
No Charges After Toddler Died In Car
Associated Press, 9/4/07
BATAVIA, Ohio - No charges will be filed against a middle school administrator whose toddler daughter died last month when she was left in the back seat of her mother's SUV during a heat wave, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Leaving the child in the car for the work day was "a substantial lapse of due care" but did not meet the definition of reckless conduct necessary for prosecution, said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White.
Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, 40, is assistant principal at Glen Este Middle School, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati. Authorities said she left her 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia, strapped into a car seat for about eight hours on Aug. 23 while she was at work at the school.
Temperatures outside reached about 100 degrees.
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September 6th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Glenn,
I went to the link for the AP article and it actually said:
Leaving the child in the car for the work day was "a substantial lapse of due care" but did not meet the definition of reckless conduct necessary for prosecution since everyone can see she has no Y chromosomes", said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White.
Try to get it right next time. (Just kiddng.)
Mike
NH
September 6th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Just disgusting, simply disgusting.
I have to wonder where she'll tell her other child it's sister has gone?
Yet more proof that women can get away with murder.
September 6th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Callum,
Its NOT like she killed her dog or cat. We're talking about a child. If it were a cat or dog, she would be facing a criminal prosecution afterall.
Mike
September 6th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Even if this was a tragic accident, you don't start with that conclusion.
At the very least she should wind up with her driver's license revoked, and a parole stipulation against leaving her children solely in her care.
And I don't think I'd let my child keep attending her school.
September 6th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Did you pull this one off the Onion, Glenn?
If not, then it's a fine example of how parody is sometimes out-performed by reality.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
I disagree with prosecuting people for this crime... that goes for a man named Lucien, in another case on Glenn's blog as well. If she does not learn from this, prison will not help her either. It is a good example of gender bias, though.
But I still advocate mercy in preference to double-edged justice.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I went out and looked around for some stats.
http://ggweather.com/heat/ap_sentencing.htm
Here are some stats. If you look carefully you will notice it says that mothers were jailed more often and and for longer periods, but it doesn't mention if they were charged more often. I wonder if this is an intentional omission to hide something.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I tend to agree with Andy S. I can understand charges in extreme cases and repeated offenses, but I think what is more important is to make sure that the existing children are protected. (Extreme being when some jackass leaves the kid in the car intentionally so as to visit a brothel or go gambling or even just go to work in lieu of finding daycare.)
In the many of these cases it does seem as though stress and forgetfulness lead to an awful conclusion.
If people are leaving kids in car seats all the time, and it seems to happen quite a bit, maybe are cars and carseats are unsafe. It's probably not too difficult to make carseats with weight sensors, a thermometer and even a motion sensor. If it detects weight and the air temp rises too high, or if it detects weight but no motion for more than 20 minutes, it sets off the car alarm. It wasn't that long ago that we required car seats. Now we require car seats but the cars are like SUVs that make it hard to see someone is in the seat. Cars now have alarms and computer systems, it's time to integrate the car seat into the car protection system.
I think this is similar to the pool sensors people can now buy that raise an alarm if they detect motion in the pool.
That said, it is in fact true, that dog owners are charged for this specific crime. Here it happens to a cop:
Chandler officer may be charged in K-9 death
Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 5, 2007 04:15 PM
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies arrested a Chandler police sergeant in the death of a K-9 left for more than 12 hours in a hot patrol car.
Sgt. Tom Lovejoy was booked Wednesday at 3 p.m. into an East Valley jail facility on suspicion of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. He was released at 4:50 p.m. on his own recognizance.
The death of his K-9, Bandit, touched a nerve with the public, and the story circulated through the media and talk radio. When Chandler police announced that Bandit's services would be private, members of the community organized their own memorial that drew nearly 200 people.
Lovejoy's arrest was the culmination of several weeks' investigation into the death of Bandit, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois of whom Lovejoy had been a handler for at least three years."This was a difficult decision," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "I am certain Sergeant Lovejoy has suffered greatly from leaving his dog in a sweltering car. I do not relish the idea of compounding his sadness. However, Lovejoy must be treated like anyone else in similar circumstances."
September 6th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Perhaps the father will be held accountable for not being there for his children and providing Ms. Slaby with enough money to afford Daycare.......
Shouldn't 2-year olds already be in pre-school? I know I was :p
September 6th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
'Bandit" the Dog gets a 200-person memorial.
This 2-year old child wasn't even f@cking named in the article relating to her death.
September 6th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I heard the prosecutor discussing this issue this morning and he actually said that he could find no reason that the mother shouldn't be able to continue caring for her other child. No reason!?!? How about the fact that she left her one child in the car to die of heatstroke? Isn't that enough? That woman has no business maintaining care of her other child whatsoever. As crazy as life can get sometimes, I can say with absolute certainty that I have never forgotten that a child of mine (or someone else's for that matter) was in my car, strapped into a carseat. If she can't function on a high enough level to remember something like that, she cannot function on a level high enough to take care of the other intricacies of parenting. What a ridiculous farce...
September 6th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
How in the hell does anyone "forget" their child is in the car?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, got that out. Now, the scariest part is she is a school administrator. A child development professional, for pete's sake. Her other child, for her own safety, should have already been removed from her mother's care. Anyone who is that careless has no business raising kids and she should be locked up.
AND she was parked right by the building (in a no-parking zone, according to the picture above). Can anyone explain to me why no one else noticed this child left alone in the car? Oh that's right, most people won't stick their nose in anyone else's business anymore for fear of retribution. What a crock.
September 6th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
This father (Danny Takemoto) left his child in the car all day and he is not being charged:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/26/MNGPER76GR1.DTL
"An 11-month-old boy died in the back seat of the family car in Concord on Wednesday after his father apparently forgot to drop him off at day care and instead left him locked inside the vehicle while he spent the day at work, police said. (Father is Danny Takemoto)"
There are men and women who have left children in cars, men and women who have been charged with crimes and men and women who have not been charged with crimes. Some of the people were not terribly bright, some were drunk, some were busy getting their nails done, and some were busy partying at brothels.
Instead of making blanket statements related to gender, each case should be evaluated individually, just like should be the case in family court...
September 6th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
"Police questioned the father at police headquarters and booked him into county jail in Martinez on suspicion of manslaughter, Chilimidos said."
At least Takemoto went to Jail :p
September 6th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
It was a mistake, but it was a stupid and costly mistake. If it wasn't a mistake, then she was an evil, sick woman. I think it was a mistake, because if the baby's sound-asleep and you don't hear it, then you automatically assume you've dropped it off at the baby sitter's (it was a baby sitter's, right?). People were sending in reports saying she was a good mother, so I think she could've already thought she had dropped her baby off. I honestly don't know what to think they should do with her. It was an accident, but all accidents happen for a reason. She's going to have to live with this grudge for the rest of her life.
September 6th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
but we all know it if was daddy, daddy would be in jail..
September 6th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Reportedly on Fox News, they said they couldn't prosecute unless there was malice or something due to the way the laws are written in Ohio. Meanwhile, I heard that a police officer or sheriff deputy in Arizona is being prosecuted for animal cruelty for doing the same kind of car overheat with is K-9 for like 9 hours. I lived in Arizona, and its more than slightly warmer than Ohio in most places there.
Fox News said she was warned about this like twice in the last week (about leaving babies/kids in the car) and the school even subsequently sent out a memo to all of the employees at the school about being careful to never do this. However, this obese assistant principal was reportedly preoccupied with getting four boxes of donuts into the school that she picked up on the way to work. (I'm obese as well, but give me a break.) Personally I sometimes see my children mom as seeing our children as being her trophies as opposed to being blessed gifts from God, and I'm not terribly religious. I understand she has another daughter and with her record, I don't see they'd let a father get away with that and not lose the other child, much less not get prosecuted. Somehow I think she'll be 'supervised' by social services for a several months and all will be wonderful again, even if their is the biological dad at home.
I don't own a pet because I don't want the responsibility or future potential cost for some 'pet support' scam if my second marriage goes sour or something. If easy enough, I sometimes catch and release bugs, even as a former 'steely-eyed killer' (sp?) of the U.S. military. Needless to say, I feel terrible about toddlers and dogs, even if I do do enjoy a good steak.
Mike in NH
September 6th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Mike that was an interesting letter.
If easy enough, I sometimes catch and release bugs, even as a former 'steely-eyed killer' (sp?) of the U.S. military.
I thank you for your service and I wonder if you use barbless hooks.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
If it's at all possible, I agree with all the sentiments above. There's the act itself - either neglect or a terrible accident - the media response, and then the justice system's response. Given the first, the responses of the media and justice system are shameful.
The media: they don't even give a name to the dead daughter - a _female_ child too, not merely one of those disposable boys. Does the reporter subconsciously think of children as their mother's property?
The justice system: She had beeen warned beforehand, she returned to the car multiple times, it was all caught on camera, there's another child in potential danger - the case for the prosecution couldn't be better! It's almost as if they refused to prosecute BECAUSE they might win...
September 6th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Unbelieveable!!! That is just terrible the lady remembers to get her STUPID DOUGHNUTS but can't remember her helpless child in the car.... Her kid was 2 years old im sure she just forgets to grab her out of the car. Also she doesn't get sentence for this CRIME i just don't understand how she goes back to the car twice and doesn't notice her child i think she should be in jail right now sooo many other people have done the same thing and there kids are alive and they got time for it and Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby gets nothing just terrible....
September 6th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
As an assistant principal of what appears to be apublic school, such disregard for her own children should cause her to be fired from her job.
Also, the other kid needs to go to dad, until she can be evaluated.
Mark, former school board member (13 years)
September 6th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
This mother needs to be charged for her crime. I understand that we are humans and make mistakes. However, she should have enough common sense to remove her children from the car when the temperature soars over 100 degrees. According to the reports, she had been 'warned' to not forget her kids in the car. How many kids does she have to leave in the car to be consider reckless with them? She is an administrator at the local middle school. Can she honestly resume her position there if she is unable to properly care for her own children? I hope and pray that the clermont prosecuter wakes up and charges this mother. If ,by some chance, I ever move to clermont county and have kids, this woman will never be responsible for my kids in my absence. If our laws and society dictate an officer be charged with animal cruelty for leaving his canine in the car to die, then this mother needs to be charged for her negligence. In addition to be charged, she needs to lose custody of the other child. The prosecuter needs to realize now that this mother will just do the same thing to the other child if no one interferes. Our society should make some effort to raise awareness about this horrific crime. We need to set an example with this mother. This is not acceptable treatment of a helpless child.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Why isn't anybody in this forum calling for this mother to be hung like they did for the father who left his 2-year-old daughter in the car while in a brothel (who did not die)? I don't have much of an opinion about whether these parents should be prosecuted. I simply ask that they be treated equally, including by us. I saw much more anger among us at the father at the brothel in Nevada than this mother. Nobody said the father should not be prosecuted but some here say the mother should not be prosecuted. If someone had said that in the father forum others would have reacted angrily. So where's the call to hang this mother? I don't recall who but I recall at least two people called for the father at the Nevada brothel to be hung. What's going on here?
September 7th, 2007 at 12:49 am
This woman, Brenda, should be prosecuted for child abuse - if this guy, Clermont County prosecutor Don White, is not going to prosecute than someone else should...!!!
There's a guy, cop, in California I think. that's in the news today - he's being prosecuted for leaving his police dog in his car - which died due to the heat and this is a child that the mother is not being prosecuted for - this child could not take care of itself...
And these families that belong to that school are leaving their children in the care of this 'assistant principal' who couldn't even take care of her 2 year old child... This woman, who is 40, should have her 5 year old removed from that home immediately AND BE PROSECUTED...
September 7th, 2007 at 1:17 am
I think this woman couldand should be prosecuted on the theory of reckless endangerment. She was warned multiple times not to leave the child in the car. Very few non comatose adults could say they have not seen, heard, or read stories about children dying when left in a car. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, always horribly. She remembered the doughnuts, which tells me she knew the daughter was in the car. Mercy I can understand for a terrible mistake. This was not a mistake. This was a deliberate selfish gamble with her daughters life, the daughter lost. She gambled on saving money, or time, or avoiding inconvenience. This is no different than killing someone while street racing. Selfishness and callousness leading to death are as evil as "malice", She should be punished and the other child should be in someone elses care for the time being. Last of all is where is their dad, he should be the first custodial choice.
September 7th, 2007 at 1:23 am
First of all, that fat sow with the doughnuts should be seat belted into the back of a car in sweltering 100 degree heat with the windows up all day. Then she should be taken and locked in solitary confinement and put on bread and water for about 5 years for forgetting her 2 year old in the car. She's a disgrace for a human being. She also should not be referred to as a mother, because she isn't one. That other idiot police officer, should be debadged, and left also in a sweltering car with the windows up. He would probably also have heatstroke before he goes to jail like that other lard*ss hauling the doughnuts into work. I think one of the reasons for the uproar on the dog, is that this is a police officer for godsake! Don't you keep a working animal in the forefront of your mind when it's a crucial component of your job? FIRE HIM! FINE HIM! Shame! Send him to jail with the rest of the incompetent idiots! And back to the mother, that was not a mistake. She did it deliberately. Maximum jail time. She took an innocent life. Just think how that child suffered because of that lady's blatent disregard.
September 7th, 2007 at 6:24 am
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams ran this story too. They reported that women are MORE likely to be charged with a crime for this kind of experience than men. As I recall, they said that women are 22% more likely than men to be charged with a crime. I really doubt that is the case and would like to know their source.
While I like Brian Williams, I've discovered over the past year or so that NBC Nightly News is dominated by feminist dogma on gender issues.
September 7th, 2007 at 9:20 am
If the laws state that they have to prove malicious intent, and they don't think they can, then so be it, although they might think about how that slippery slope will play out. Did the drunk driver that killed a family four have malicious intent? I doubt it. But he or she probably knew that getting behind the wheel while intoxicated had that potential, just like this mother knew that leaving the child in the car had the potential to cause death. Ignorance of the fact that her child was in the car should not be an excuse, any more than the alcohol should be an excuse for a drunk driver making poor decisions. I'm not sure that her serving time would do anyone any good. However, if she's so clueless that she can't care for one of her children, then she ought to have her other child taken from her and she ought NOT be able to have any more. Same for the father at the brothel, or any parent, regardless of gender, that causes the death of one of their children by their own action or lack thereof.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
"Why isn't anybody in this forum calling for this mother to be hung like they did for the father who left his 2-year-old daughter in the car while in a brothel (who did not die)?"
I can't speak for everyone, and I personally don't believe in the death penalty. But I think the difference is that first and foremost, whether we like it or not, people care more about women than they do men. That is why this woman is not being prosecuted. Secondly, and understandably, this is a father's rights blog. Most of the people on here are fathers who have lost their kids or suffered because of their gender. I think the hanging responses were more anger for 'giving dads a bad name'
And of course, he went to a brothel. Sex makes people uncomfortable, and that probably played a part in the response.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
"This father (Danny Takemoto) left his child in the car all day and he is not being charged:"
Annie, this link comes up with a blank page. Now I'm sure this is just technical problems as frequently happen on the web. But could you repost the link just so we can be sure it is a real story?
Thanks
September 8th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Callum, he was arrested for felony manslaughter. Type his name in a search wohoo media frenzy has several reports from different papers. Annie's link would have led you there. His name is real she just left out the part about the serious charges that could land him in prison. Another report says "suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment." - San Francisco Chronicle - prosecutors have not filed charges but it was said that they may in the future) He was arrested and released pending further investigation.
"(District attorney Mark) Petterson said it did not appear to be abnormal for police to arrest the father." San Fransico Chronicle is where you need to go to find her source. Selective isn't she!
September 8th, 2007 at 1:34 am
I live in the SF Bay Area and the local news reports had been saying he would NOT be charged. Here is a copy of the article I had read that is headed "Father won't be charged in Benicia baby's death". If something has changed, I was not aware of it at the time I posted the link. I was not "selectively" doing anything except posting what I believed was an example of a father that was not being charged for his baby's death in a hot car.
Father won't be charged in Benicia baby's death
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 26, 2007
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Arial
(07-26) 14:44 PDT BENICIA -- Authorities today decided not to file charges against a Benicia father whose 11-month old son died Wednesday after the man apparently forgot to drop him off at day care and left the boy in the car for most of the day.
Danny Takemoto, 46, was released from Contra Costa County jail in Martinez at 1:50 p.m. today, said Jimmy Lee, spokesman for the sheriff.
Sheriff's officials allowed Takemoto and his family to exit the jail from an area reserved for inmate transport to avoid reporters, Lee said.
He could still face charges pending the outcome of the investigation, which will include toxicology tests on the boy, named Ian, said Concord police Lt. David Chilimidos. But after an inconclusive autopsy today, Chilimidos said, investigators met with a deputy district attorney, who decided not to file charges at this point.
Takemoto had been held at the jail on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment since Wednesday. Chilimidos described the father as distraught and said he was not considered a flight risk.
"We wanted to expedite this case as fast as possible," he said this afternoon. "This certainly doesn't preclude any potential charges in the future. We have investigated for the last day and a half or so and while we had probable cause to arrest him for the crime, we are still looking at other evidence, checking statements and looking at forensics."
Chilimidos said police wanted to have the district attorney's office weigh in, partly because their burden of proof is much higher than the probable cause threshold that allows police to arrest someone on suspicion of a crime.
"We also just wanted this thing resolved somehow," he said. "This is rotten -- from every angle you look at it, it's terrible and tragic."
The child was strapped into his car seat when Takemoto left home early Wednesday and went directly to his office at a medical equipment company in Concord, Chilimidos said. His wife called him at work shortly before 3:30 p.m. to ask why the child care facility had phoned to report that Ian was not there. Takemoto ran outside and found his son dead in the back seat of the car, Chilimidos said.
He was arrested after being questioned at police headquarters, Chilimidos said.
The lieutenant said the tragedy has weighed heavily on investigating officers, and that he has set up psychological debriefings for all of the firefighters and officers who responded to the scene.
Toxicology results could take weeks, said Chilimidos.
Chronicle reporter Henry K. Lee contributed to this report.
September 8th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I can not believe this woman is not being charged. She should be strung up. How do you leave a child in a vehicle like that, I don't care what the temperature is. I have seen them prosecute people for leaving their dogs in vehicles and she gets away with leaving a child in one. Be it man or woman it's the same. These people should be prosecuted!!!!
September 8th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
They decided not to press charges against her "despite the fact the child had been left unattended several times before."
"White replied that under Ohio law, he would have to find that Nesselroad-Slaby had knowingly left the girl in the car in unsafe conditions to be able to find her actions reckless."
The sweltering sun could kill a toddler and she didn't know. Kidnappings take seconds and she didn't know.
September 8th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
This will have a long Statue of Limitations to it. Vote the bonehead out of office specifically on this issue so the incoming prosecutor understands the mandate for justice.
DanH
September 9th, 2007 at 12:28 am
This is insane. Leaving a child in a car for eight hours, regardless of the whether, is disgusting. And this lady works in a school! On top of everything else, she gave up a huge point to homeschooling.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Weather, not whether.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:33 am
This women was more worried about her job and eating doughnuts instead of her daughter. I don' t see how her other child could be safe. I hope the parents at the school raise hell and make sure she at least looses her job. How can she make decisions regarding several children when she could not use common sense with her own child? Do we have to have classes on common sense? Who leaves a child that age in the damn car all the time with people out there who abduct kids as well as it just being inhumane? My take on this is that in the back of her mind she didn't really want this child. Give me a break. I am the mother of two grown children now and I never forgot where my kids were for any amount of time. In fact I accidentially locked my baby in my car when it was very hot one day and I broke out the wing window with a ball bat to get my baby out. I didn't go call the police or fire department because it was so hot and/or act like a complete ass and just forget about it. Why do people have kids!!! If all you want to do is feed your fat ass doughnuts and act like a big career women then don't have kids for christ sake. Give me a break. She should be prosecuted and so should the Dad for leaving the kid in the car all the time.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
As a mother of an 11 month old child, and a woman who exchanged her lucrative and rewarding career at a University to care full-time for our child, I am enraged, disappointed, and astounded by how the Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby case has played out, in addition to the sympathizers who feel that "guilt" will be punishment enough and that this was an accident brought on by a woman who was too preoccupied, but clearly alert enough to get $60.00 worth of doughnuts out of her Mercedes SUV. Being a parent is no longer a privilege and honor and child advocacy has been an afterthought as demonstrated in the devastating, heinous, untimely death of Cecilia. Both have now been exchanged for fancy legal terms like "Reckless Conduct" and "Substantial Lack of Due Care." As a taxpayer and citizen of Ohio, I am ashamed by how this case has been investigated and handled. I am appalled that Slaby has been on paid leave since the death of this child and that she plans on returning to her $77,000/year contracted job. For those of you who may not know, Slaby may legally be entitled to return to her job overseeing and caring for other people's children, an abuse of the Law and ridiculous by all standards and means. I guess finding her lifeless child who was blistered by the extreme heat, isn't compelling enough for her to resign her position. Shameful and disgusting.
September 10th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
' Wouldn't mind her getting fired. As a taxpayer, though, putting her in prison would not help much either.
Guilt is not her punishment, although it will punish her whenever she may feel it. Losing her child is her punishment. (What would hurt you more? Being in jail, or missing your dead child?) Losing the trust of her other child, and her husband, and her family, and her colleagues (however long they remain so) for who knows how many years, all will pay her back. I don't sympathize, but I wouldn't prosecute, either.
September 10th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
I know how my tax dollars are spent as I was employed by one of the largest state funded institutions in Ohio possibly even nationwide, so to rebuke my next statement is senseless...I'd rather my taxes be used to reinvestigate and carefully comb this case (i.e. pattern of established conduct, child endangerment..the list goes on, you don't need a Juris Doctorate to figure this one out), rather than support someone to be on paid leave, pay for the $60.00 worth of doughnuts, and be employed in a position where they may endanger other children--yes, that last one may be considered speculation in legal semantics, but there's evidence to back that one up. I also find it interesting that Slaby is being represented by none other than Clermont County Commissioner, Scott Croswell, who is (and the drum roll please) a minion of Don White, the Clermont County Prosectuor who found no evidence that Slaby was reckless or endangering a child, thus didn't forge ahead to prosecute or reinvestigate. I hate playing the race card here, but let's see if this situation would have been handled similarly if let's say the offender was a woman of color and/or someone from a lower socioeconomic background.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:46 am
I don't understand how they can view this as an accident, when the mother had INTENTIONALLY left this child in the car a few times before.
It looks like the car was shaded by the building when she parked it there, and she may have thought it would stay shaded, but it did not. How could somebody not see the child in there when the car was right by the door?
I don't believe this was an accident at all. If it was a father in the exact situation, especially if it happened in the past, he'd be called all kinds of no-good and never get out of prison.
If they won't lock her up for this murder, they should at least protect the other child.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Let's not forget the day Cecilia was left in the sweltering heat, Slaby returned to the car at least FIVE times, and even moved the vehicle to a different parking spot during that same 8 hour period. Last I checked, you need to use a rearview mirror, sideview mirrors, and look behind you before you back a vehicle up (notice the vehicle was backed into the loading dock at the school)--still "forgot" she was in there, come on. Got too preoccupied, don't buy it, afterall she arrived to school earlier than usual. "Losing her child" isn't punishment.....afterall, she FORGOT her child was dying in the sweltering heat, left badly blistered. What makes people think she won't FORGET the memory of this innocent child again, especially if she's allowed to resume her "so-called" hectic schedule of being an Assistant Principal. Also, how many think she intentionally left this child in the car while picking up her precious doughnuts..exactly....
Remember, she was caught at least five other times leaving her child in the car days prior to this death and in extreme weather conditions, I wonder how many times she left that child in the car and didn't get caught.....this is disgraceful, egregious, and despicable...think again before feeling this shouldn't go to a grand jury. We're talking about a child, not a Blackberry or iPod.
September 12th, 2007 at 5:55 am
AnnieM has a point. Charging a parent for leaving a child in a vehicle is a lose - lose situation for everyone. My ex did it. She got away with it. No long term harm was done, except that she abducted our children, fled across state lines, and has never been charged with kidnapping under the PKPA.
Still, what this Assistant Principal did seems NOT out of ordinary forgetfulness but clearly and plainly is within the context of knowledge of potential harm and crosses into the arena of intent to harm. This event should be front page news without excuses.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I know it sounds crazy that someone could forget the child in the backseat, but I personally know a mom/coworker who nearly did the same thing. She's a good mother, but she totally forgot to stop off at daycare before heading in to work. She said she was running late, thinking of the tasks of the coming workday, and didn't realize the situation before parking at work and retrieving her purse from the back seat: her daughter was still in her car seat!
Personally, I think the rise of this type of tragedy has come about because we're now told (required?) to place the child's car seat in the back -- not in the front seat next to the driver/parent. Out of sight, out of mind -- even the precious things!
September 13th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Think Don White shoudn't prosecute Slaby?--check out this site. Granted all the details aren't disclosed and it's a tragedy as well, it just proves that Clermont County prosecutors are biased and are prejudice when interpreting the law.
http://massdiscussion.blogspot.com/2007/09/clermont-county-prosecutor-prosecutes.html
Eat your hearts out, for those who feel Slaby has been given her sentence.
September 13th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Jennifer- I won't vindicate this person's actions in any way. In general, I think our society is overly vindictive, and rushes to punish. In some ways, we reward people with anti-social behavior, by having their children raised by caring individuals. It messes many parts of the social contract--- any parent whose children are forcibly removed eventually gets their emotions atrophied, and can be expected to have more children and care about them less. And others in the society who desire to be charitable, and provide a good environment for those same children, end up with an ever-increasing need to intervene in response. And we end up with bigger government, getting more involved in everyone's life. And I don't like it. CPS (Child Protective Services) and associated government entities were born from the best of intentions, but now, along with many who try to do their best, there are well-documented cases of baby-stealing and selling carried out by government employees.
I don't mind entrusting this one to the jury... the multiple visits to the car look pretty bad. Other specifics of the case could convince me as well. I admit I did not look at all the newspaper articles, but I am generally biased against intervening in family affairs. There is a point at which what you do in your family is your own business, and society needn't be involved. In general, I think if she is a fool, no matter how idiotic, even with deadly results for her child, she should not be prosecuted. If she is a menace, then she should be removed from society. And locals are better than determining that than newspaper readers. And in general I think that jail won't really help. But you could be right on this one. And, alluding to the link you posted, if this prosecutor, or any prosecutor, determines which case to prosecute based on the resources of the defendent instead of the crime, they should be recalled at the very least.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
The problem with America is that we like to think that certain people in our society are better than others and that's crap. When you commit a crime, you should be doing the time. This little girl is dead. If somebody dies because of a mistake or on purpose, there is no sympathy, who cares if there is no previous criminal record, everybody should pay for their crimes. It's not right that some people get off and some don't. That's why people don't trust the justice system. There are plenty of people in jail, right now, serving 20 or more, for mistakes. You know if this lady did this in China should be dead right now. And there would be nothing wrong with that in my eyes.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:33 pm
[...] To learn more about the case, see my blog post Outrage--Woman Leaves Her Toddler in Car for 8 Hours on Hot Day While at Work, Child Dies, She's Not.... [...]
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Some social worker will find a way to blame it on the child's father. (Why wasn't he watching the child? oh yeah, because he works 65 hours a week financially supporting his family while wifey-poo is buying donuts for her coworkers). SHEESH! Look- I saw the video of this woman in the Police Interrogation room, there was something really wrong with her facial expressions and her voice/intonations. I can't quite put a finger on it but something was unnervingly wrong with her (besides just killing her daughter). If this was a man, the other child would immediately be taken away by CWS. Period.
"Men aren't worthless as parents-Society just treats them that way".
October 12th, 2007 at 12:58 am
Time for one parent to be at home full time and raise the children. Time to go back to the old fixer upper house in a blue collar neighborhood and forgetting about the boat, the big house, the credit card debt, the new car every year and start putting the kids as top priority. Also time to start taking a little time on Sunday and take the kids to church and worship Jesus Christ and God.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:39 am
I have a 2 year old grandson - I have no comment to make other than to say that this is unbelievable - accidents happen, but your own child? and this? http://viewmydeath.com/News/Killers/838.html
September 30th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Just FYI, this child killer is going to be on Oprah on Wednesday 10/1/08. I assume from the title of the show something like "overwhealmed mother makes deadly mistake" that Oprah is going to make her out to be less than a murderer. I actually live in the same county where this happened (same school district).
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
It would serve no purpose to imprison an otherwise good parent, who made a horrible mistake. Multi-tasking, trying to please everyone on the job, the home, the community..... a setup for disaster.
It's only the grace of god none of us has gotten so frazzled we left a baby in its carseat, forgotten he was in the bathtub or riding the tricycle behind our car! Don't be high and mighty. Just when you think you are perfect, that you'd never be careless, that is when disaster will strike. You will suffer shame and crushing grief the rest of your life. You will wish you yourself had been killed or paralyzed, not an innocent little one.
For some reason, these tragedies of shame and grief always strike good people. Perfectionists. Clean, neat, educated, refined ladies -- who suddenly fall from grace and the howling mobs crucify them.
Want to really HATE a bad mother? Hate the late Joan Crawford, a mean drunken woman who brutally beat and psychologically crucified her adopted children. It''s a wonder Mommie Dearest didn't leave kids in the car after driving home drunk.
Another bad mother - Nancy Reagan. Mean, demanding to both servants and her children. Constantly slapped her daughter in the face (dumb) and verbally abused her. Nancy Reagan was a bad mother who misued her authority for selfish purposes.
Throughout history, there have been nasty mothers and fathers (Bing Crosby, John Fedders, etc.) who made everyday life a HELL for their families. Mrs. Slaby, in contrast, was a kind lady whose carelessness that stressful day, resulted in tragedy.
I am sorry the toddler had to die. If such a tragedy is predestined to happen, the perpetrator of such shame and crushing grief should NOT be a kind, innocent lady like Mrs. Slaby.
Instead, I wish fate would let bad guys perpetrate such tragedy.
Consider these overpaid bullies: Coach Bobby Knight, Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus, racist talk host Bob Grant, Mike Savage, LoveSponge Bob, John Fedders, Peter Ruckman, John Lofton, David Duke, Joe Petcka (brutal cat killer), and thousands of other scum who have never suffered.
Let THEM fall from grace after carelessly maiming or killing your child.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Did you get that opinion of her from the Oprah show?
A few facts they either glossed over or didn't talk about on the show;
Both parents (I use that term loosely with them) had been told on several/many occasions to not leave their toddler in the car unattended by the older child's daycare and other parents (I think on the show she even admitted to leaving the kid in the carseat with the car running on occasion "because she was in a hurry", I guess if a criminal passed by and stole the car, not realizing there was a child in the back seat and either crashed the car killing the kid or simply tossed the kid, then we would all be consoling the mother as well??? Are you freaking kidding me, I would never think of leaving my kid in the car, I don't even like leaving them in the car while I pump gas standing right next to them and paying at the pump never leaving their site or being more than 1 foot from the car).
Here is the factual story;
The day Cecilia Slaby died wasn’t the first time her mother left the 2-year-old alone in a car, according to police reports made public Wednesday.
Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby was warned by a former administrator at the preschool attended by Cecilia’s 5-year-old sister, Allison, not to leave her toddler in the car by herself.
A parent had complained about seeing Cecilia left in a car last winter.
A teacher at the Compass School in Loveland told police that twice in the two days before Cecilia’s death she heard Nesselroad-Slaby describe leaving the child unattended in a car.
Teacher Tara Phillips told police that on Aug. 21 Nesselroad-Slaby arrived at 5:10 p.m. to pick up Allison.
“She told Allison to hurry up because the baby was in the car,” Phillips wrote. The same thing happened the next day, Phillips said.
“We were acting out a story when Ms. Slaby came to pick up Allison about 3:05,” Phillips wrote. “Allison asked Mom if she would stay to watch her part. Mom stayed, and they both left at 3:15. Mom didn’t go to check on the baby.”
Debbie Wolf, a former Compass School administrator, told police that after the parent expressed concern last winter about a baby left in a car, she told Nesselroad-Slaby “that her child should not be left in the car alone. Mrs. Slaby apologized.”
Wolf told police the incident prompted the school to warn parents in its newsletter that “no child should be left in a car unattended.”
If there was any sort of pattern that led to her forgetting about her kid, it was a pattern of leaving her child in the car A LOT, imagine, these were only the times she was warned about it, it probably happened ALL THE TIME for her to have been told on so many occasions. Who keeps doing something even after suffering the embarrassment of having someone else say something to you???? Your answer is someone that doesn't really care about the child or what people think or say to them. I divorced a woman like that, if she received criticism she would go out of her way to keep doing whatever it was and doing it more if she could just to snub the person that was pointing it out to her.
They also glossed over the fact that she was ready to go back to work a few weeks later and was shocked that her job (being in charge of other peoples kids) wasn't waiting for her with open arms at the same place where she had previously cooked her child in the parking lot????? If something tragic had just happened to my child (never mind something that I inflicted on them) there is no way I would be able to even think about working, definitely not going back the scene of the crime on a daily basis.
They make it sound like they disrupted her normal pattern on this particular day. Made it sound like every day of her life she got up, bought doughnuts, went to work. Next day, got up bought doughnuts, went to work, next day, got up bought doughnuts went to work. Then all of a sudden her normal (think Rain Man) pattern was disrupted and she had to drop the kid off at the sitters before she went to buy doughnuts. This was the first day of school, there was no pattern, she just wasn't thinking of her kids first. What kind of supermom forgets about her kid??? You will never sell me on that.
Another thing that bothered me was when watching the video of her while she was at the police station right after this happened (I watched the entire unedited tape), she was very concerned with her purse, she didn't know what car it was in or who had it. She cried very little (I think the small part they showed on Oprah might have been all of it), I will admit she did seem upset, but who thinks of their freaking purse when her 2 year old just died due to her own stupidity and carlessness??? I put this woman on the same level as those people that put their babies to bed and then go out to the bars thinking they are responsible because they locked the doors and left the dog to supervise. These people should not be allowed to have kids and her other child should have been placed with another relative or foster parents (or given custody to the father if he divorced her, although now that he feels the need to not put the blame on her either I question his ability to be a parent as well).
And also using your examples, anyone that would leave a small child in the bathtub unattended is in the same class as this woman.
I don't think any of those people you mentioned murdered kids. I am sorry, but you can't compare someone that kills cats to this woman either, not even in the same ballpark (not that I think that's ok either, but a child's life is worth a hell of a lot more than an animal and if you don't think so then it's because you don't have children).
October 6th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
"Otherwise good parent"
AHahahahahaha..... You are freaking kidding me right?? How in the world can someone that killed their kid (even if you buy the whole, I was too stressed out with my job garbage) be labeled as a good parent in your mind???
That reminds me of this line;
"Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the show?"
October 6th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
One more item as I obsess on this subject, how in the world can someone that just had a three month vacation from work say that they were stressed out with work??? Again, this was the first day of school! There was no pattern established yet, she just had her head up her ass and wasn't thinking about her child just as she had done over and over in the past. It just happened that this time she left the child in the car too long.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Some have crucified Mrs. Slaby, sending vicious hate mail and death threats. It is ironic that the same people who hate Slaby, love the Bible god who burns non-Christians in Hellfire forever.
Fiery torture forever, not just 7 hours. Deliberate, excruciating torture (some Christian theologians even speculate that their loving God burns babies in Hell).
henry_westin@hotmail.com
October 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am
No comments on the items I stated?? Why do you love this woman so much??
I hate her and I am not a bible thumper.
It's unfortunate the prosecutor in my county didn't let this case go in front of a jury. The laws concerning these situations need to change. There have been two more of these cases in this same area since this one, one was a copycat and I believe did get prosecuted and another was also considered an "accident". I would settle for them strapping the Slaby woman in a car seat in a car for an entire day in that same kind of heat so she could see what her child went through. If she survived it then hopefully it would serve as a reminder and maybe her other child won't fall to the same fate. (I can't believe they didn't at least find her an unfit mother and remove that other child).
October 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Scott you need to control your anger and focus on facts. I don't "love" Mrs.Slaby per se, but see the situation more objectively.
She did nothing that the law could label reckless, and certainly nothing premeditated like Susan Smith. Nor was she anything but a loving mother who, for whatever reasons due to stress, psychological blackout, who knows? -- she lost track of the child being in the car. She and Cecliia equally get my pity and sorrow.
Punishment, especially the barbaric eye for an eye approach, would serve no purpose. How would making Mrs. Slaby suffer hyperthermia bring back the toddler? or jail time? How would it even bring justice to the child? If the child could talk, she probably wouldn't want her suffering mother to endure more pain.
There was no intent to commit a crime, any more than the mother who forgets a child is tottering near the pool. Mrs. Slaby isn't the first parent to lose a child through a careless mindset, wrong time, wrong place.
Haven't YOU done things that endangered somebody?
The only people who deserve eye for an eye are extremely cruel, deliberate murderers and tormentors. I wouldn't have had a problem with starving, torturing, whipping Adolf Eichman, Hitler, Goet, Mengele,etc. Or whipping Bing Crosby's butt with a belt. Or whipping, burning, raping slave owners such as the sadists William Byrd, John Calhoun, Preston Brooks, Pierce Butler, etc.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Um, I think I gave more of the facts than you did.
It's hard not to be angry when through the direct actions of an adult a child is killed. I think the public would probably be less upset about it had she put a gun to the child's head and pulled the trigger, at least there wouldn't have been the hours of agonizing pain and torture to the child.
I don't understand how people like you can just shrug this off to "oh well, she messed up, life goes on", forgive and forget.
So you don't believe in people being punished when they directly cause another innocent persons death? With that logic, why would we imprison anyone that commits murder? It certainly won't bring the dead back to the living. I am sure there are a lot of murderers on death row that are eaten up inside over what they did and are full of remorse, is that good enough for you? We should just set them free you think? I am sure there are probably those where it was an accident that they killed someone. What about a drunk driver that runs into and kills a family? I am sure they didn't intend to have an accident and kill others, it was just out of their own stupidity and the mental state they were in that caused it (maybe they were drinking because they were under stress?), and I am sure when they are sober they are totally upset about it. Should we let them go free as well?
I can't help but notice you still have not commented on the items I stated regarding how leaving the kid in the car was something she did on a regular basis. She had been told about it both verbally and in written form on many occasions. At what point is it no longer an accident but a pattern of normal behavior??
How exactly do you "forget a child is tottering by the pool"?? Do you have any kids??
You say that it would serve no purpose for this woman to have been punished, I think one good reason would be to protect the other child from her.
October 7th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Another fact, the public school district that formally employed this child killer had to pay her salary (and benefits I suspect) through the end of this school year. That's 2 years of pay and benefits for killing your kid in the parking lot of where you work. There is no way I would have let my kids go back to that school if they had been attending if they had let her come back to work.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Scott:
While I can empathize with your anger over the child's painful death, legally the mother's forgetfulness did not meet the definition of reckless endangerment (knowingly exposing a child to risks, letting the chips fall where they may).
Mrs. Slaby did leave the child unattended before, but she was aware all along the kid was in the car. That was poor judgment and should have been cited by CPS on the second occasion. I am wondering if her psychological state maybe included some ongoing problems where she couldn't focus? Poor judgment, chronic forgetfulness, inability to balance too many tasks at once.
I do not shrug off the mother's deed. Imaging the car scenario makes my stomach cringe. We have kids and grandchildren. But you still can't equate premediated murder, or reckless endangerment where the parent KNEW the danger, to the tragedy of Aug 23, 07.
If you want to feel vengeance, wouldn't it be wiser to direct such anger towards deliberately cruel parents?
henry_westin@hotmail.com
October 7th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I don't see the distinction I guess (leaving a kid in a car while knowing they are there versus leaving a kid in a car and not remembering they are there). They both sound like child endangerment to me. Does it make it better that she did it over and over again while knowing the child was there?
It seems really convenient that someone that makes a practice of leaving her child in the car gets off totally free because this one time, it was just an honest mistake. I think maybe she just got to where she so often didn't think about leaving her child in the car by herself that this time it was like any other time except it happened to be for an entire day and in blistering august midwest heat. I am sure she wasn't the only other parent with a toddler and a child in preschool and I am sure all those other parents wouldn't leave their child in the car unatended over and over again.
It is really a sad state of affairs that she was able to retain her other child even after all of this.
I ask again, how can you call this woman a good parent?
October 9th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Slaby was overall a good parent but had a horrible oversight on that fateful day. That day, she somehow failed in her duty to be a "good" protective parent. That failure was not premediated. It was not knowingly reckless. It was an accident.
Have you ever done anything that caused an accident? Hurt someone or their property?
October 9th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
What about all the other times that she left her kid in the car? Was that being an overall good parent?
October 10th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
No. CPS should have been called. I suspect Mrs. Slaby had some psychological issues in that she could not always focus. Like the proverbial 'accient prone' individual, often a highly educated abstract professional.
But with help gotten in time,she could have overcome that. She was overall well-meaning, loved her children dearly. Compare that to a truly sadistic mother .
October 10th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
No
October 10th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I don't think anyone has to worry about Joan Crawford, hasn't she been dead for like 30 years now. If you are just using her as an example of how not to treat your kids, I don't really know anything about her, but I don't condone abusing kids in any form.
I think penalties for adults mistreating children should be harsh, the only problem in this day and age is all the people that abuse the system by making up stuff and people are falsely accused. I think there needs to be absolute proof and if that is proven then these adults should never be able to be around kids again.
In a day and age when people are prosecuted for leaving their dogs in cars or outside in the heat, I really think we need equal laws to protect children.
The fact is, we will never really know if she was well meaning and if this was just an accident. It would be horrible to think it wasn't, but no one really will ever know except Slaby.
I don't think you are completely right with your psychological/overworked problem explanation, if you go back and re-read what I had posted as to the statements of the workers at the older daughters school, there were occasions when they overheard Slaby telling the older daughter to hurry up because the baby was in the car. She knew she left the kid in the car on those occasions and had intentionally left her there because she was in a hurry. That is no excuse when it comes to your kids, they come first, make the time and make sure they are safe, if she was 2 minutes late to the next place she needed to be I am sure it would have been ok.
October 10th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Slaby had a genuine mental black-out where she truly thought she had given the baby to the sitter that morning. Don't we all operate on false assumptions sometimes? Swear we locked the door when we didn't? Turned off teh burner when we didn't?
October 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
You are never going to convince me of whatever it is your trying to convince me of.
The fact is, it was a normal thing for her to leave the kid in the car, there was a pattern of abuse (yes, abuse) where she left the kid in the car unattended on many occasions (we only know about the ones where someone caught her, said something to her and then reported it to the police during their investigation, for every one of those, I am sure there were probably 10 other times she didn't get caught). She didn't stop doing it after people told her not to either, she apparently either didn't see a problem with it herself, or she didn't care for other people telling her what to do so she was being spiteful. There may have been many things going on that day that caused her to get rattled from her normal pattern or whatever excuses a very small minority have made for her, but the fact is, it was a normal thing for her to leave her kid strapped in a car seat alone while she was away from the car. She had previously shown that she didn't care enough about that child that she would just leave her in the car by herself. Every good parent knows you don't ever leave a child that young by themselves, anywhere or anytime (my daughter just turned 3 and we still keep a baby monitor in her room at night when she sleeps), especially in a situation where anything could happen, someone could have stolen the car, kidnapped her, someone could have lost control and smashed into the car in the parking lot (there was an incident near where I live about 15 years ago where an elderly lady lost control and drove through a day care center). There is no risk to human life in that list of false assumptions you stated, when it comes to our children I think you will find that for the most part no one takes anything for granted these days and most good parents do everything they can to ensure their kids are safe 100% of the time.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Scott, is it possible you could have a mental blackout and truly forget something important? And not realize you have a psychological impairment?
There could be various causes. ( In the case of an older grandparent babysitting, they might forget because unbeknowst to them, they are in the early stages of Alzheimers."
We agree, Slaby totally forget the child was in the car. We agree, that she did NOT premeditate killing the baby.
October 13th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I don't think she was suffering from Alzheimers and I don't recall them EVER saying that she was suffering from any form of mental health problem.
I think she should have been punished legally because she had been warned not to leave her kid in the car on many occasions. This wasn't a one time thing, it just happened that it was too long this time. You shouldn't get to make the same mistake over and over and over again when it comes to protecting kids.
Let's say for instance you always clean your gun while it is loaded because it just takes too long to unload it every time (you know, you could take that 30 seconds to go out and buy donuts or something) . You are told over and over by people that it is dangerous and not to do it, your neighbors even get together and put in your homeowners association newsletter that it is dangerous to clean your gun while it is loaded. One day you accidentally kill one of your family members because they are standing in front of you while you are cleaning your gun and it goes off. Do you think you were reckless or that it was just an unfortunate one time accident and maybe you suffered from some momentary lapse or some momentary mental health problem? Then, to top it off, your gun club decides to drop your membership because they are afraid of you and no one wants to shoot with you. You are angered by that because you really like guns and you need to get back to the gun club (morning the loss of your family member isn't at the top of your priority list apparently). You decide you are going to sue them and they end up paying you a couple hundred grand just to make you go away quietly even though they are struggling. Then you decide you are going to go on Oprah because you want people to coddle you and make you feel better about yourself because even though you had been warned countless times not to do exactly what you did, you decided you were special and darn it, your life was just too busy for you to do things the same way other responsible gun owners always do.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
The Oprah appearance had a positive purpose: to wake people up to how easily you can make a fatal oversight when your professional mind is crammed with responsibilities.
Jail punishment for Mrs. Slaby would only add to her traumatic guilt and pain. It would satisfy people with a punishment-oriented mindset. But would others learn from seeing Slaby go to jail? Probably not. Those who would be careless, would do similar things and harm their dependent children.
Punishment is for those who deliberately harm others, or knowingly act recklessly.
Years ago, how many deliberately cruel parents were punished under the law? Not many. Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford, Ty Cobb, Bob Knight ... other tyrants got no punishment, not even a reprimand from their society who adored them.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
The Oprah appearance had a positive purpose: to wake people up to how easily you can make a fatal oversight when your professional mind is crammed with responsibilities.
Jail punishment for Mrs. Slaby would only add to her traumatic guilt and pain. It would satisfy people with a punishment-oriented mindset. But would others learn from seeing Slaby go to jail? Probably not. Those who would be careless, would do similar things and harm their dependent children.
Punishment is for those who deliberately harm others, or knowingly act recklessly.
October 13th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Well, I think she deliberately left her child in the car all the time and knew (because people told her it was wrong) it was dangerous. That is the reason she should have seen jail time. I think those that wanted to get rid of their child saw this as a way they could do the same to their child knowing they wouldn't be prosecuted for it. I think it would have been a fine example to make by putting her in jail.
October 13th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Apparently there are some parents who have, or would, murder . Casey Anthony is highly suspect in the disappearance of her toddler. her car trunk smelled like a dead body had been inside. Casey A. and her parents are pushing a story that some Hispanic sitter made off with the baby, but my guess is, Ms. Anthony killed the child herself. Then bought time by saying nothing concrete, just more lies about babysitters.
My hunch is, Ms.Casey A. accidentally gave the kid too much chloroform to make her sleep or maybe the kid drowned. But it could also have been first degree murder like Susan Smith that drowned her kids.
October 13th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Would have to agree with you there. She is definitely guilty, even her own parents don't believe her. Obviously that child had grandparents that loved and cared for her, if she didn't want the child why didn't she just give her up to the grandparents. I haven't been following that case very closely, I don't know all the details.
We had a really bad child murder here (same county as the Slaby incident) where foster parents killed a little boy, it was a couple of years ago. They tied him up in a closet and left town for the weekend. These people are just cold blooded murderers.