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Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

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Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#411

Post by eftychis »

jawns wrote: post #390
matai_kolila wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm baffled as to why her attorney advised she take the plea deal.

You are? The choice is to avoid prison time entirely, or be willing to spend at least 2 years in prison if the jury gets this one wrong. The woman has already been failed by the police who arrested her and the prosecutor who declined to drop the charges. Who's to say whether she'll be failed by the jury as well?

Problem is there is always the mispricing of the cost of having pled guilty to a felony. In the US the hard part is after prison from my understanding. Maybe I am wrong though.

Also if your neighbors got you into this state now, what are they going to get you into the future, after you have been "guilty."

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#412

Post by renewiltord »

fluidcruft wrote: post #379
dragonwriter wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How could CPS possibly know that before they investigate? The same way they knew when the investigation confirmed the initial report, and it wasn't a violation.

So... by investigating? lol

Are these guys Inspector Clouseau? 2 weeks of investigation to determine whether kid was abused by walking home. Legends. They must have been chasing down leads. Stake outs at the house. Subpoena the teachers.

Hahaha. Government employees lol.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#413

Post by z9znz »

steelframe wrote: post #267
z9znz wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also suburban Waco, Texas. That's not exactly the epicenter of education in the US, much less even in Texas. Ironically, more rural Texas regions tend to ha√e more independent kids; after all, you'll see 10 year old kids driving the family truck on farms and ranches.

> more rural Texas regions tend to ha√e more independent kids Genuinely curious. How did you manage to type '√' rather than 'v'? It this a keyboard or locale issue?

That's the first time I've gotten that instead of a V. I didn't bother editing it because I thought it was amusing.

More often (but still rare), I'll end up with a † instead of t. As someone below mentioned, it appears to be (on Mac) opt+key.

I use a Razer Blackwidow something something mechanical keyboard, and it sits pretty tall. Only just now I figured out how I think this opt thing is happening. The side of my left hand appears to sometimes sit low enough that it may be bumping the opt key. Prior to this moment, the whole † thing had been a mystery to me :P.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#414

Post by rootusrootus »

dan_quixote wrote: post #351
rlkf wrote: post #25

In my twice-the-size European city, kids walk twice that distance to school and back home again, alone. Every. Single. Day. If this place isn't safe enough for kids to walk by themselves, maybe the question should be raised whether the police and municipal government really is doing their job the way they're supposed to.

I live in Seattle. 8 year olds walk past my house to-and-from school every day without parents. I can't say I've seen this in any other major US city though.

Definitely true in Portland as well.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#416

Post by pessimizer »

kube-system wrote: post #363
1123581321 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is the person calling will lie or exaggerate instead of saying no. If questioned later, they can fall back on claiming they were just trying to help and avoid getting in trouble. Angry or nosy neighbors, police and social services can get each other caught up in a cycle of escalation that lasts years for some unfortunate families.

> The problem is the person calling will lie or exaggerate instead of saying no. The person calling is likely not "lying" about anything. If they believe it is dangerous for a kid to walk in the street, then the answer is a truthful "yes". These people simply have different worldviews.

"Yes" is not an answer that should be responded to. Details are what should be responded to. Cops shouldn't be asking the neighbor's approval to investigate. They should treat a report as a witness, and refer to a checklist of types of observations that need to be investigated.

If a neighbor makes up details in a report to police, they should be charged with a crime. If the cops are asking "do you think we should investigate" to private citizens, they have abandoned all responsibility as law enforcement.

Imagine crowdsourcing your authority, making the justice system a militia for lazy mobs. Completely upside-down.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#417

Post by z9znz »

moreati wrote: post #289
steelframe wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> more rural Texas regions tend to ha√e more independent kids Genuinely curious. How did you manage to type '√' rather than 'v'? It this a keyboard or locale issue?

Not OP, speculating. On a Mac option + v types a √, which is a fairly easy typo.

Yes, this seems to be what is happening. I now think that on rare occasions the side of my left hand may be brushing the opt key while I type. Until today, it has only been a very rare † instead of t. √ is a new one for me.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#418

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

babypuncher wrote: post #350
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Any proposal must be viewed as follows. Do not pay overly much attention to the benefits that might be delivered were the law in question to be properly enforced, rather one needs to consider the harm done by the improper enforcement of this particular piece of legislation, whatever it might be." -Lyndon B. Johnson

I think a lot of people take this to mean "laws bad" when in reality I think LBJ was saying to be careful in how you craft your laws so you can prevent this kind of abuse.

That's what I read from it, too.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#419

Post by kube-system »

beaned wrote: post #85
uoflcards22 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your kid is 3x more likely to be struck by lightning than kidnapped. Literally.

I'm not sure of the statistics, but even so, it's something you have more control over than a lightning strike. Edit: at first glance I'm not sure the numbers are right... Google says: "Lightning damage in the U.S. [...] In 2021, there were a total of 11 fatalities and 69 injuries reported due to lighting in the United States." Also: "In the United States, an estimated 460,000 children are reported missing every year…

My uninformed guess is that a not insignificant percentage of "children reported missing" are teenagers who run away or stay out past the time they were supposed to return home.

One must remember that about 11% of children are eligible for a drivers license.

Re: Mom handcuffed, jailed for 8-year-old son walking half a mile

#420

Post by derefr »

Is there anywhere in the world where people still practice "free-range parenting" — I can't believe there even has to be a term for that — on a cultural level? Where being a "helicopter parent" would be seen as ridiculous and uncouth by the locals? A community that's intentionally trying to set things up in such a way that their kids can be given historical levels of freedom to roam?

I know about the Nordic countries, but they still don't hold a candle to even how free kids were all over the world up through the 1970s.

Maybe some kind of cultural enclave? Maybe a tiny island nation? A commune? A cult? Anything?

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