Authorities compound tragedy for ABQ woman
And this provides justice.... how? A toddler left in a van in the Albuquerque heat, for over two hours, has died. This is a tragedy. I can't imagine how any parent could be so stupid and negligent. Things like this make me very angry.
What I really don't understand, though, is just how charging the mother with a crime fixes anything.
Do the authorities really think this will teach her a lesson so she won't ever do this again? Or do they think this will warn other parents not to repeat this woman's mistake, as if people don't think it will never happen to them? Do they believe this will bring the dead child back or "give her peace"? Will this improve the life of the woman's surviving child in some nebulous way? Or does none of this compare to the importance of "upholding the law"?
Whatever justification is used, the authorities show their mindless stupidity every time they add punishment on top of tragedy. Not every mistake, even really horrible ones leading to suffering and death, "need" to become legal matters. I don't believe for a second this woman intended to harm or kill her child. For The State, the prime "provider" of tragedy and death throughout history on a global scale, to self-righteously seek revenge on an individual who is already suffering more than I can imagine, is sick.
Added: On the original column at Examiner.com, MamaLiberty added this insightful comment: "In thirty years of nursing I've seen a great many stupid and lethal mistakes. I don't recall a single one that could have been prevented by sending others who made that mistake to prison."
I have never seen it expressed better!
