Leaving Kids in Hot Cars

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

bad stuff happens.

toddler who walks out of house at 5am and walks onto highway.

farrah's ward family toddler drowned in pool.

etc, etc.

I know two fathers who backed over toddlers in the driveway, both resulting in deaths.

Jail time would have been cruel in this case. She will suffer enough.

[MikeWaters]

An example. On this last campout, I had a 16, 17, and 12 year old.

The 16 and 17 year old at about 9pm walked out of camp without telling me where they were going.

It was close to 11pm, and the thought occurred to me, that maybe they had gone swimming in one of the lakes. The thought of one or both of them drowning flashed through my mind. So I hustled out of camp looking for them. I never did find them. They came back to camp fine and dandy.

Nothing happened, but man, no one wants to live with it, if it does happen.

[UtahDan]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I know two fathers who backed over toddlers in the driveway, both resulting in deaths.

Jail time would have been cruel in this case. She will suffer enough.

I have an aunt whose toddler got out of the back seat in traffic and she ran him over. This was 35 years ago when seat belts were still not widely used and he died. I have a friend whose older brother was a toddler when he drown in his grandparents' pool before my friend was born.

I don't think any of us can comprehend the permanent open wound that is left on the soul when something like that happens, unless it has happened to us.

People should be prosecuted for criminal negligence, but mercy and discretion should play a major role.

[MikeWaters]

A lady in my neck of the woods was prosecuted after leaving her kid in the car while drunk.

They occasionally do prosecute, esp. if you are black, hispanic, poor.

[SeattleUte]

Good grief, by now leaving a child to die of heat exhaustion in a closed car is like diving in three feet of water. Who doesn't understand the the consequences of that? I can understand having a great deal of pity for a parent who becomes momentarily distracted and the kid suddenly winds up at the bottom of the pool. But leaving a kid in a car in 100 degrees is different. I have no problem with the state intervening to protect young children from abusive parents. This is a form of child abuse, and if the child dies in such a situation, there should be criminal sanction just as surely as if the parent beat the child to death. FWIW, IMHO. Can't believe Rocky and I agree on anything.

[Levin]

I'm starting to think SeattleUte would be a Mullah bishop: an intolerant hardliner.

[ERCougar]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Good grief, by now leaving a child to die of heat exhaustion in a closed car is like diving in three feet of water. Who doesn't understand the the consequences of that? I can understand having a great deal of pity for a parent who becomes momentarily distracted and the kid suddenly winds up at the bottom of the pool. But leaving a kid in a car in 100 degrees is different. I have no problem with the state intervening to protect young children from abusive parents. This is a form of child abuse, and if the child dies in such a situation, there should be criminal sanction just as surely as if the parent beat the child to death. FWIW, IMHO. Can't believe Rocky and I agree on anything.

Yeah, that should definitely send up a red flag that you're talking out of your ass...

No one disagrees that if there's any evidence that she did this on purpose, that this happens regularly, etc that it's abuse/neglect and she should be criminally prosecuted. Of course she understands the consequences of leaving a kid in a hot car, just like the guy who accidentally runs over his child also understands the consequences of running a tire over his child's head. That doesn't make either abuse or neglect on its own.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by ERCougar

Yeah, that should definitely send up a red flag that you're talking out of your ass...

No one disagrees that if there's any evidence that she did this on purpose, that this happens regularly, etc that it's abuse/neglect and she should be criminally prosecuted. Of course she understands the consequences of leaving a kid in a hot car, just like the guy who accidentally runs over his child also understands the consequences of running a tire over his child's head. That doesn't make either abuse or neglect on its own.

An adult who runs over a child doesn't commit a crime unless there are extenuating circumstances indicating gross neglect such as drunkenness or speeding in a school zone or other like factors. How long does it take to kill a child in a hot car? Hours? How much notice does the parent have that the day is hot and the child is in the car that is closed up?

Even if she was ignorant of the lethal consequences she was callous of her child's personal comfort. How long would she sit in a closed car in 100 degree temporature? She abused the child.

For that matter, no one should leave their small child in the car for long periods unsupervised in perfect weather.

The law is on my side. You and others here who disagree wiht me are on the lunatic fringe.

I'm glad you're not a lawyer because your abilty to analogize sucks. You'd probably not do so well on IQ tests either.

The point isn't that it was necessarily premeditated murder. The point is she was guilty of gross neglect, like a reckless driver.

This board sure has cured me of any notion doctors are gods. They say the dumbest things sometimes, even about human health.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

An adult who runs over a child doesn't commit a crime unless there are extenuating circumstances indicating gross neglect such as drunkenness or speeding in a school zone or other like factors. How long does it take to kill a child in a hot car? Hours? How much notice does the parent have that the day is hot and the child is in the car that is closed up?

Even if she was ignorant of the lethal consequences she was callous of her child's personal comfort. How long would she sit in a closed car in 100 degree temporature? She abused the child.

For that matter, no one should leave their small child in the car for long periods unsupervised in perfect weather.

The law is on my side. You and others here who disagree wiht me are on the lunatic fringe.

I'm glad you're not a lawyer because your abilty to analogize sucks. You'd probably not do so well on IQ tests either.

The point isn't that it was necessarily premeditated murder. The point is she was guilty of gross neglect, like a reckless driver.

This board sure has cured me of any notion doctors are gods. They say the dumbest things sometimes, even about human health.

Sheesh, get off your high horse already. I did not "equate" the two. I was indicating that certain horrible things happen that will haunt the person involved until the day they die. I cannot imagine ever having peace after being involved in either type of incident.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Sheesh, get off your high horse already. I did not "equate" the two. I was indicating that certain horrible things happen that will haunt the person involved until the day they die. I cannot imagine ever having peace after being involved in either type of incident.

I was talking to ER, not you.