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Baby left in hot car in Layton dies
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Show a little charity and leave her alone to grieve and heal with her family.
I am so thankful I do not have to make such a hard decision as to decide if a mother will be taken from a family because she caused the death of one of her other children.
I pray her husband, children and family may be a great support to her and that friends and family will support her - even though they do not understand.
Good luck to her husband. He will need it.
Wow.
God bless this woman and her family in this time of need.
This family will anquish the rest of their life. I just thank God that I have not had this experience.
They will need loving hands to encircle them.
Either leave the car running with A/C or take the child with us, even if only for a moment "pop-in". My heart goes out to her and her entire family.
Lat thought -let's please be careful not to be too critical of something I have seen hundreds of times in our own communities - we just got lucky that the people we stopped to see weren't that interested in inviting us in.
He would wrap His arms around her and LOVE her and and immediately forgive her. He has taken that little child unto Himself. He is safe, and now His worry is with the Mother. Will she be safe and now the test is with us. . . are we going to be forgiving and loving, and KIND and compassionate. Let us not forget what He has taught us.
The kids are the backseat, they fall asleep, we do an errand that we normally don't take the child on and it's way too easy to forget that they are in the car. We are creatures of habit, we just leave the car and go into the market, work, etc.... when it's not a normal occurance for us to have them with us. The problem is, that it's not just the moms and dads and babysitters who foolishly leave the child on purpose in the car to run in real quick.... Unfortunately sometimes it really is accidental.
Take a look at your car from the outside, with tinted windows to prevent glare we can't even tell someone is in the backseat most the time. Thereby a child going longer unnoticed in your work or supermarket parking lot. I won't feel safe from this until my child is old enough to get himself out of the seat belt and open the door. Then there will be other dangers.
This mother has suffered, but the boy is dead. If she only gets a slap on the wrist then others might think "I can run in really fast, and be right out." And again this might happen. Whereas is she goes to jail maybe the thought can be "I better bring him with me." If she was driving drunk, crashed and killed her son what would you say then? I'm sure she would still have the same guilt to live with, but most if not all you would be screaming with rage.
If you have a child, think of when they smile..... Now imagine never seeing that again. She must be held accountable for what she has done! I know I could never forgive myself for something like this. I hope she can.
For your sake, I just hope you're never responsible for a forgetful act that causes serious injury or death.
It doesn't matter whether it's a babysitter, a parent, or any other caregiver, children often became victims of accidents.
Society has a responsibility to protect children from intentional neglect that causes them harm, but people like you need to learn how discern simple forgetfulness (which everyone has from time to time) and willful neglect.
In this case, true justice demands mercy, not punishment.
But, it bugs me that people are saying she should go to jail. She clearly isn't doing the public any harm by not being in jail. But by prosecuting her and putting her in jail, it is costing us taxpayers THOUSANDS!!
Save our money. She is already putting herself through hell I am sure.
I hope you are judged by the same measure that you judge this mother in mourning.
However, there is also accountability. I don't think anyone knows the particulars of what happened other than the mother, and it's up to the D.A to file charges or not. I hope that no matter what justice is served, which could include no criminal charges at all. If the mother truly just had an accident, and there was no negligence or intent involved then I surely hope that it's refelected as such. I also hope that if she WAS negligent then she goes to prison.
My prayers are with that family, and I hope the right decision is made.
A trial and sentencing will provide many opportunities for more stories to remind other parents.
According to the statistics in the article Utah has 20% of all such deaths in the entire nation so far this year- it would be a travesty not to take action.
It must have been a terrible way to die.
While we're at it Utah should finally pass a law that prohibits leaving children in a vehicle.
It's overdue.
How on earth will sending her to jail help her or anyone else who learns of this story "remember" not ever to forget their children?
Anyone here who thinks that justice will be served by punishing this mother more really needs to take a close look in the mirror to remove that beam from their eye, before seeking to remove the mote from this mother's eye.
Comfort and peace to all involved.
Accidents happen. I hope this lady can someday forgiver herself.
If she had intentionally killed that child would you make that same remark? Let her go to be a mother to the other two children? What if she passed out? Should she still have custody of the other two? Would you place those children into a home with a negligent mother? I am of course generalizing with that statement.
I had a time when my son (who is now almost 4) just learned to walk and I went into another room to grab something, and didn't notice that he had walked out the door. (Clever boy learned how to unlock the door.) I never panicked so much in my life, and thank GOODNESS that with a neighbor's helped we found him on the other side of the building where we lived.
If charges are filed, then she will be put in front a jury of her peers, and then it'll be determined she was negligent or if this was an accident. My personal opinion is that whatever happens that the outcome reflects the truth, and justice is served.
I remember how frequently each day my mother forgot she had a new baby. She would panic, and ask where the baby was (in his crib, in the car with us, on a brother's shoulders, in the stroller you are pushing) and she�d cry, even though he was always okay. It was awful seeing her suffer.
I feel so sorry for this mother. I know what panic looks like, but here the outcome was tragic. We, mothers, are expected to do so much - pay bills, clean house, bath and feed our children, be a loving wife, try to help ends meet - with so little help. Where some of you would NEVER forget, perhaps....but you better watch your judgment...we all misjudge things at time...and I feel this is one of them.
If, when we do these things, they result in the death of someone then, yes, we should go to jail.
I am glad for the tone of compassion in many of these comments. The decision whether to prosecute is tough. I wonder, though, if public sentiment would be different if the mother had left her baby in the car in a public place, i.e. a parking lot, and the baby had been discovered by a stranger.
Putting this mother in jail will NOT teach her or others a greater lesson, it will NOT protect society from harm, and it will NOT bring her baby back to life, but it WILL rob her other two innocent children of their never-again-to-be-forgetful mother and it WILL impose a great and unnecessary expense on the taxpayers of Utah.
The great thing about justice is that it has the ability to bow to common sense.
Any resources spent prosecuting this poor lady would be much better spent educating the public.
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They can charge her with whatever they want, but I'm sure she's already going through her own personal hell.