For far too long we have let the insurance companies and the government dictate to parents how they should raise their children. When I was growing up we didn't wear seat belts, and I rode to town every Saturday in the back of my great-uncle Arnold's truck, and I survived, as did everyone I knew. It was also the some of the best times of my life.
Today in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a three year old died because their parent, who happened to be a lawyer, accidentally left them in the car too long. More than likely it was because the child was placed in the back seat, as required by law, and the parent forgot they were there.
Because the law picks and chooses who it will prosecute, many are outraged and want the lawyer charged, because they know if it had been them that caused this awful accident, they would go to jail, but what could be a worst punishment than losing your child?
The law requiring children to be placed in the back seat is to blame for many of these needless deaths of children.
Between 1990-1992, before insurance companies and the government started dictating that children be placed in the back seat of cars there were only 11 recorded deaths of children from hyperthermia.
Since that time, in just a three year period, 2009-2011 there have been 118 known fatalities of children that were mostly accidental deaths caused by the child being left in a hot vehicle. Most of the time the caregiver forgot the child was there.
These statistics do not include the number of children that have chocked to death on their own vomit while in the back seat or the countless accidents caused by parents trying to tend to a baby in the back seat.
Caregivers, grandparents, and parents that are not use to caring for a little one are often the ones that make this tragic mistake. The child goes to sleep or is really quiet, and they forget they are there. Out of site, out of mind.
There is not a parent that has never made a mistake with their child that could have resulted in injury or death. Don't think it could never happen to you or someone you love, because it could.
The government now has it's nose in every aspect of our lives, from our cars to the bedroom and the dinner table, and it is time it stopped.
Instead of passing new laws every time the wind blows, we need to get back to the basics of live and let live, and in order to do that, we need to be taking laws off the books, not putting more on.
The ones that make the laws don't even know what the law is anymore, and the Bible says, "To be a doer of the law, you must first be a hearer of the law".
If you look back to history, when most countries revolt, it is not usually for the reasons you think, it is for the simple fact that the law becomes unbearable, and the people, tired of being oppressed by laws that barely leave room to be human, watch as those that make and pass the laws, can not themselves hold up under the scrutiny of the law, but often escape the same punishment that the common man receives. It is called Tyranny and that is the path we are headed down, and in fact, we are already there.
This is a tragic accident, plain and simple, and in my opinion, the fault lies with a law that probably endangers more children than it saves, and causes people to be charged with a crime resulting in felony conviction, at probably the worst moment in their lives, the death of a precious child.
As Christians, instead of calling for more and more laws to be passed, we should all read in our Bible, and realize that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, set us free from the bondage of the law and imparted to us the law of grace. Should we not also extend that grace to others?
There was a time in my life I would have been outraged, and jumped on the bandwagon of hang em high, but God has taught me to watch the things I say, because your words have a way of coming back to haunt you. Imagine one of your loved ones facing what this family is facing, and ask yourself, how you would feel. Look at your son or daughter, who is otherwise a great parent, and imagine this happening to them.
I'm the first to point out the unfairness of our justice system; the innocent people that go to prison because they don't have the money or the connections to fight charges against them, and I've watched as the have's go without punishment, while the have not's are punished unfairly.
However, I would not want to see any person go to prison, regardless of their social status, for something that was an accident, and something they will suffer with for the rest of their lives. Putting him in prison will accomplish nothing, because the purpose of prison is to make a person wish to remain free, and obey the law, and this was one tragic accident that I'm sure will never be repeated.
Some type of warning system to remind caregivers that their is a small child in the back is what is desperately needed to stop this tragic loss of life.
It is said that all children under 12 (not just infants) are 29% safer in the back seat, but at what point do the hazards of riding in the front outweigh the hazards of riding in the back? All of these things should be taken into consideration, and I have not found a study yet that answers this question.
Compare this story and the Trayvon Martin case to these two cases in Mississippi.
http://theprickofthepen.blogspot.com/2012/03/innocent-man-to-be-put-to-death-in.html
http://muddymississippijustice.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&max-results=8
Today in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a three year old died because their parent, who happened to be a lawyer, accidentally left them in the car too long. More than likely it was because the child was placed in the back seat, as required by law, and the parent forgot they were there.
Because the law picks and chooses who it will prosecute, many are outraged and want the lawyer charged, because they know if it had been them that caused this awful accident, they would go to jail, but what could be a worst punishment than losing your child?
The law requiring children to be placed in the back seat is to blame for many of these needless deaths of children.
Between 1990-1992, before insurance companies and the government started dictating that children be placed in the back seat of cars there were only 11 recorded deaths of children from hyperthermia.
Since that time, in just a three year period, 2009-2011 there have been 118 known fatalities of children that were mostly accidental deaths caused by the child being left in a hot vehicle. Most of the time the caregiver forgot the child was there.
These statistics do not include the number of children that have chocked to death on their own vomit while in the back seat or the countless accidents caused by parents trying to tend to a baby in the back seat.
Caregivers, grandparents, and parents that are not use to caring for a little one are often the ones that make this tragic mistake. The child goes to sleep or is really quiet, and they forget they are there. Out of site, out of mind.
There is not a parent that has never made a mistake with their child that could have resulted in injury or death. Don't think it could never happen to you or someone you love, because it could.
The government now has it's nose in every aspect of our lives, from our cars to the bedroom and the dinner table, and it is time it stopped.
Instead of passing new laws every time the wind blows, we need to get back to the basics of live and let live, and in order to do that, we need to be taking laws off the books, not putting more on.
The ones that make the laws don't even know what the law is anymore, and the Bible says, "To be a doer of the law, you must first be a hearer of the law".
If you look back to history, when most countries revolt, it is not usually for the reasons you think, it is for the simple fact that the law becomes unbearable, and the people, tired of being oppressed by laws that barely leave room to be human, watch as those that make and pass the laws, can not themselves hold up under the scrutiny of the law, but often escape the same punishment that the common man receives. It is called Tyranny and that is the path we are headed down, and in fact, we are already there.
This is a tragic accident, plain and simple, and in my opinion, the fault lies with a law that probably endangers more children than it saves, and causes people to be charged with a crime resulting in felony conviction, at probably the worst moment in their lives, the death of a precious child.
As Christians, instead of calling for more and more laws to be passed, we should all read in our Bible, and realize that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, set us free from the bondage of the law and imparted to us the law of grace. Should we not also extend that grace to others?
There was a time in my life I would have been outraged, and jumped on the bandwagon of hang em high, but God has taught me to watch the things I say, because your words have a way of coming back to haunt you. Imagine one of your loved ones facing what this family is facing, and ask yourself, how you would feel. Look at your son or daughter, who is otherwise a great parent, and imagine this happening to them.
I'm the first to point out the unfairness of our justice system; the innocent people that go to prison because they don't have the money or the connections to fight charges against them, and I've watched as the have's go without punishment, while the have not's are punished unfairly.
However, I would not want to see any person go to prison, regardless of their social status, for something that was an accident, and something they will suffer with for the rest of their lives. Putting him in prison will accomplish nothing, because the purpose of prison is to make a person wish to remain free, and obey the law, and this was one tragic accident that I'm sure will never be repeated.
Some type of warning system to remind caregivers that their is a small child in the back is what is desperately needed to stop this tragic loss of life.
It is said that all children under 12 (not just infants) are 29% safer in the back seat, but at what point do the hazards of riding in the front outweigh the hazards of riding in the back? All of these things should be taken into consideration, and I have not found a study yet that answers this question.
Compare this story and the Trayvon Martin case to these two cases in Mississippi.
http://theprickofthepen.blogspot.com/2012/03/innocent-man-to-be-put-to-death-in.html
http://muddymississippijustice.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&max-results=8
