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This has got to be one of the saddest things I've heard of. Couldn't somebody do something for this woman and her 7 children? Yes the judges knew she was unemployed, on welfare, living with a relative and could never in a million years pay these fines. So now there are 7 kids in the foster system costing the county so much more than the money they lost for those truancy fines plus they have lost their mother. Who knows---she might have died during those 2 days anyway but it appears they failed to give her her blood pressure meds. What good does it do to put a person like this in jail? Are they going to start sending their kids to school just cause of the time in jail? I doubt it.
EVERYONE needs to read/listen to this series. Small towns are so desperate for funds in this economy they are now tacking fines and fees on EVERYTHING.
You know how you are entitled to repersentation in court if you can't afford a lawyer? Well guess what, now you get a bill for that representation. Get tossed in the hoosegow? You will get a bill for your room and board. Can't pay your fines? Here's another fine for not paying your fine. The list goes on and on and it is sickening. I suspect that is the spider web this poor woman found herself entangled in. So sad
I don't think this was just about unpaid fines. The 48 hour sentence was meant to teach her that there would be consequences if she didn't make sure her kids went to school. The fines had been building up since 1999, so obviously it was an ongoing problem. She had been cited 55 times. I'm sure the judge wanted to scare her into actually sending the kids to school, by making her see there was a consequence if she didn't send them. It sounds like it was a chronic problem, since it happened 55 times over 15 years, too long to be just one of her children. I'm also sure it takes multiple absences before you have to go to court for truancy. If her kids were going to be able to break the cycle of poverty and have some chance at a better life, they needed every chance to get an education.
I'm honestly not sure that a mother who makes no effort to provide for her children and doesn't make them go to school is better for the children than foster care.
I'd like to see a story with less emotions and more facts, like the ages of the children (4 still lived at home).
I'm certain this woman was completely beaten down by poverty and trying to corral seven unruly/ungrateful kids. Granted, she had no business having seven kids in the first place, but I blame our government for not insisting women receiving welfare also be on birth control as a condition of being on welfare. Spare me your "people should have self control" arguments, please. This ish is out of control in this county.
My best friend growing up had a large family. Her father and mother had three kids each from prior marriages and together they had four kids of their own. Turned out the father was raping his own daughter and his step daughter. He also would beat them mercilessly, withhold food, call them names (he called my best friend ugly, stupid, etc all the time because she was a "mamas" girl and he couldn't take advantage of her like he did with her sisters).
He was arrested and jailed for the rapes and it left the kids obviously scarred. The mother tried her best but she was working to try and support everyone at the same time the kids were acting out. Two of them became truant and she was fined and jailed at least once. The whole situation was sad. She tried her best but how can you put out money for fines when you are barely able to pay for food and a roof over your head? The kids were being truant because (at least in the case of my friends older sister) they were being teased by other kids who found out what the dad did. The kids would say stuff like "did you have fun when you were f****** your dad?" And other horrible disgusting things. So they didn't want to go to school because of that.
In this case, who won? The kids now have no mother. Fining people who are already struggling and then jailing them because they can't pay is absurd. Our country's answer to everything now is to throw em' in jail. Mentally ill? Jail. Homeless? Jail. Poor? Jail. Addcited to drugs? Jail. My state claimed to have no money to give to schools yet gave 300 million to open a new private jail facility. The USA has 2% of the worlds total population and yet we have 25% of the worlds jail population. Something has to be done.
It's only a matter of time before ALL of us are affected by this. We will all have criminal records over petty bullsh*t.
Edit: I hope that "Dad" in your story dies of stomach cancer.
Not even 48 hours in jail and she died? Was she possibly a drug overdose? Or withdrawal from drugs? Missing blood pressure meds for a day wouldn't lead to immediate death.
You don't think being in jail increases your blood pressure?
And which and how many drugs was she on? If it was simply water pills - that's one thing, but there are a lot of drugs that severely control blood pressure.
Having kids is not a financial function. It is a biological function.
In your eyes the two may be related, but that is not (a) the law of the land or (b) the law of nature.
Boo Hoo, cry me a river.
According to you people do not have the ability to THINK AND REASON????
Just like animals that rely solely on instinct she popped our 7 kids is what you're saying???
That's just YOUR lame excuse, this isn't a 3rd world country without public education, if anything this negligent woman was controlled by savage hormones just like her husband and pumped out kids because it was beyond their control!!!
Common sense AND personal responsibility doesn't exist in your world obviously.
Boo Hoo, cry me a river.
According to you people do not have the ability to THINK AND REASON????
Don't you think that in this world there are still women to feel it is their duty to submit to the needs of their husbands?
Don't you think there are still women who are restricted from using birth control for religious reasons?
Don't you think there are people who believe they are required by their GOD to have as many children as they can?
Fifteen years ago, when her husband was still alive, don't you think it is possible they had the means to produce the number of children they CHOSE to.
Get off your high horse. Contrary to your own press you are are not that superior.
Don't you think that in this world there are still women to feel it is their duty to submit to the needs of their husbands?
Don't you think there are still women who are restricted from using birth control for religious reasons?
Don't you think there are people who believe they are required by their GOD to have as many children as they can?
Fifteen years ago, when her husband was still alive, don't you think it is possible they had the means to produce the number of children they CHOSE to.
Get off your high horse. Contrary to your own press you are are not that superior.
Way to go
It's all EXCUSES with you and women are unable to make decisions. Maybe in your world women are powerless and trapped in an "Evil" society.
You seem to have all the answers.
BTW keep making excuses for everybody and no one will ever learn anything.
Don't you think that in this world there are still women to feel it is their duty to submit to the needs of their husbands?
Don't you think there are still women who are restricted from using birth control for religious reasons?
Don't you think there are people who believe they are required by their GOD to have as many children as they can?
Fifteen years ago, when her husband was still alive, don't you think it is possible they had the means to produce the number of children they CHOSE to.
Get off your high horse. Contrary to your own press you are are not that superior.
There is no indication that this woman was at all religious. Some religions just don't believe in artificial birth control but they're okay with abstinence which is certainly better than cranking out children who will never go to school.
Most likely the only reason she was having all those kids was because each one brought in more welfare handouts. People who love their children want their children to be able to succeed in life and that means having them be educated. Free public school and she couldn't even do that much for those kids.
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