No criminal charges for Oregon father whose baby died after he left her in car

DailyJournal.net ^ | 3-13-2015 | AP

[Gay State Conservative]

I've seen dead children...dead babies.My nightmares very often feature those images.A *six month old child* was left unattended in a hot car for six hours.That child died.Did the father intentionally leave the girl in the car with the hope she'd die.Probably not.In fact,I'm willing to assume that he didn't.My willingness to assume that is why I'd oppose seeing him executed.But there are many,many,*many* forms of negligence that deserve punishment.This is one of them.Not execution...not 50 years...maybe not even 5 years.

As I said in an earlier post,turn the facts around a bit and ponder...it's *your* six month old who died...in a daycare center...because the employee assigned to be with her,to *protect her*,was having a bad day and spent six hours crying in the ladies' room only to find your daughter dead when she finally pulled herself together.

Is that an "accident"? Is your response to kiss that girl on the cheek and tell her that you hope she's not traumatized by this incident? If,by chance,the only definitive finding of the pathologist is that your daughter's dead do you shrug your shoulders and say "que sera,sera" when the DA announces there'll be no prosecution of *any* sort?

No,I didn't think so.

[HotHunt]

Hey, give it a rest. And stop with the "I've seen dead children" bit. I've seen dead children too. I was a mortuary officer in the Air Force for four years. I've seen all kinds of dead people. If you're having nightmares, go see a shrink. The fact that you've seen dead children is not relevant to this case anyhow. It is something anecdotal about your experience and not to this case. It is moot anyway because the prosecutor has already said he didn't have enough evidence of a crime to charge the father with. It was an accident, not a crime. Get it? It's over with.

And stop with the hypotheticals too. You can make believe and "what-if?" all you want but it doesn't change or prove anything. If the prosecutor is not bringing charges, what are you going to do with your hypothetical if the tables were turned? Take the law into your own hands? "No, I didn't think so."

Like I said, give it a rest and move on.

[Night Hides Not]

The gentleman’s priorities were not in the right place. I’m with you...bull$hit is bull$hit.

[SamAdams76]

This same thing happened in my area last year (Ridgefield, CT). The father was arrested and charged (four months later). Similar to this story, he met his wife for lunch with their baby still in the back seat the whole time and then went back to work. All that time, both parents thought the baby was in day care.

It's very hard to fathom how this happens but it happens frequently. And almost always with the baby strapped in the car seat. In my opinion, the baby seat makes it easy to forget a baby is in the car. In the old days, the baby was always sitting on your lap when you took a car ride.

But...government requires not only a car seat, but that you put that car seat in the back of the car.

[Twink]

Ignorance is now deemed as parental guidance. Ok then.

[Twink]

Of course I’ve made mistakes. A mistake isn’t leaving your child in a car for six hours, forgetting about that child. That’s not a mistake. That’s gross negligence. Spin it however it makes you FEEL better.

[HotHunt]

I don't have to spin it. Besides, it is a moot point. The prosecutor has already decided this was, in his own words, "a tragic and unintentional accident". He said there was no evidence that a crime was committed. He found no evidence of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, first-degree criminal mistreatment and second-degree child neglect charges. It was simply a tragic mistake.

So make up whatever "facts" you want to to make you FEEL better about yourself, but you're wrong. Your view of your own self-importance far exceeds reality. On the other hand, you're so cock sure of yourself, why don't you intervene in this case and write a letter to the DA telling him he's wrong, even after spending months investigating the incident and that you view it as "gross negligence". I'm sure he will understand. Just tell him that you'll be arriving momentarily to step in and charge the father yourself. I'm sure he's waiting with baited-breath for some rank amateur as yourself to replace him.

[Above My Pay Grade]

He forgot the child was in the car, not that he had a child. It was a horrible mistake with a tragic result, but there was apparently no willful negligence involved.

However it is not the same as knowingly DECIDING to leave a baby in a car. That is willful neglect and should be punished severely.