Anonymous wrote:In this case, the evidence was egregious. This is no opening the door to all parents of criminals being accused or tried.
In this case, there were definite errors by the parents. One of the arguments that frequently comes from conservative gun-supporters is that mental health is more of a problem than guns. In this case, the shooter had mental health issues and the parents knew about them and discounted and ignored them. The shooter had multiple instances of "crying out for help" including describing hallucinations, having anti-socials issues, multiple issues of problems at school, recently lost their best friend and their family pet. Rather than focus MORE attention on the child for their complete lack of social structure, support, or companionship, the mother ignored all the standard cries for help and the child because she was more interested in her affair partner, her swinging life-style and her horses. She couldn't even be bothered to help or make him clean his room. When his room became unhabitable, she moved him into the guest room. Through all this, with a child that was clearly at least mildly disturbed, she thinks it's okay to purchase a gun, then not pay the least attention to the gun safety and security. I understand leaving it up to her husband as the party more knowledgeable, but she should at least know HOW to lock it up, where the code is stored and test the code. The fact that on the day of the shooting, the lock code for the gun was still on the factory setting of 000 is also pretty negligent.
Then came the day of the shooting, and she was called in to school and shown a drawing that was clearly an additional call for help depicting him with a gun, shooting victims and even saying "Blood everywhere" and "The thoughts won't stop". And she doesn't think to mention that he has a gun, or to check whether he might have it with him? She doesn't want to miss work so she won't take him home? She has a flexible work place that she can take him with her or take leave for the day and she sends him back to class. She even says that if he can't go back to class, he'll be walking home and being alone for the day? The school says that they're concerned he's suicidal and don't want him to be alone, so they allow the mother to send him back to class?
The mother was clearly much more selfish than maternal and cared more about her personal life, her affair, saving up her time off for her affairs, her personal activities like her horses, than she cared about her child or caring for him. She also had a history of maternal negligence when he was 8 and she and her husband would go out drinking all afternoon and evening, leaving him alone for hours at a time. The neighbors called CPS multiple times for child abandonment.
This is not an indictment of a parent or parenting. This mother was negligent as a parent and didn't even do some of the basics of parenting and that's why she was convicted.
That is all very sad. I feel for kids like this. Why do people like this have children? The kid would have undoubtedly been better off if she had just left him in a basket at the fire station. He might have had some of the same issues, but he probably would have had a chance to grow up and live a somewhat functional and free life.