Child abuse: How many years are enough?
Child abuse has been around for as long as any one can remember. Taking the lives of many helpless children. Parents let day to day life and stress over whelm them to the point of abusive behavior. Is that an acceptable excuse to beat a defensless child just because you had a bad day or stressful week? To mentally and physically damage a child for no reason, other then to meet your own selfish needs? The most commonly over looked question though is, are the parents who abuse, and kill their children as a result of child abuse really being given enough prison and or jail time? I have researched and read many child abuse cases where some parents were given only 25 years for rape, abuse, and death of a child. Some even less time. Finding this type of information has helped open my eyes to see that some "justice" is not really justice at all.
There are four different types of abuse (sexual, physical, neglect, and emotional). Sexual abuse is any sexual contact between an adult and a child or between an older child and a younger child. Physical abuse is often the easiest type to notice. It includes hitting, shaking, kicking, pinching, and burning. It may leave bruises, cuts, or other marks, and cause pain, broken bones, or internal injuries. Neglect happens when a child does not get the shelter, schooling, clothing, medical care, or protection he or she needs. Emotional abuse is saying or doing things that make a child feel unloved, unwanted, unsafe, or worthless. It can range from yelling and threatening to ignoring the child and not giving love and support (Child abuse and neglect causes, symptoms, and treatment).
Many people would disagree with my statement stating that the most commonly over looked aspect in child abuse is the prison sentence. Mainly because there are some people that do get a life semtence. What some people fail to realize though is that many of those people that do get sentenced to life in prison can often get time taken off of their sentence. This can happen because of good behavior while in prison, if they admit to their crime, and other varies reasons.
While looking through and reading many of the child abuse cases that I done my research on I came across two very disturbing and heart breaking stories. The stories of 10 year old, Amy Deal, and 5 month old, Brianna Lopez.
10 year old Amy Deal, was born on July 24, 2000 she later died on July 12, 2011. The day of Amys death police officers were called to the home were they found Amy dead in a plastic storage box, were she had suffocated. Amy had been living with her Aunt, Cynthia Stoltzmann, her grandmother, Judith Deal, and her aunts daughter, Samantha, and son-in-law, John Allen. The family first tried telling police that Amy had been playing hide and go seek and locked herself in the box while everyone had went to sleep the night before. Finding her dead the next morning. The police did not believe the story and said that it did not add up, because when Amy was found she had brusies on her left leg, that they believed had made contacted with the lid of the box while it was being slammed shut. After further questioning both Samantha and John confessed to locking Amy up in the box, their excuse was, she took a popsicle without permission. Amy was only 4 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed only 59 pounds and was forced into a trunk that was only 3 feet, 14 inches and a foot deep. Before being squeezed and locked in the box she was forced to do jumping jacks, back bends, and run around outside in 103 degrees weather for over an hour. Neighbors claimed that Amy was often abused and reported seeing Amy forced to walk back and forth on the sidewalk, barefoot, in extremely hot temperatures. Other times she was forced to eat hot sauce and dog poop as punishment for stealing food. Her grandmother and aunt were charged with kidnapping and suspicion of child abuse. Samantha and John Allen were charged with suspicion of first degree murder.
5 month old baby Brianna Lopez was born on February 14, 2002 five short months later she died on July 19, 2002. Baby Brianna Lopez suffered from many injuries caused by her mother, Stephanie Lopez, her uncle, Steven Lopez, and her father Andrew Walters. She had two different skull fractures, 15 adult size bite marks and bruises from head to toe, two rib fractures on her right side, fatal injuries to her brain, and sever damage to both her private area and her bottom area. The night before Baby Briannas death she had been thrown to the ceiling and hit the floor three different times by her uncle and father. Her father and uncle also raped her that same night and other numerous times before. Her mother caused the many bite marks on different occasions and also pinched baby Brianna when she became frustrated with her, when the father would become frustrated with her he would throw her. Examiners say that from the many injuries and bruises baby Brianna had when she passed it was easy to tell that this type of abuse had been going on more then likely her entire life. In 2002 the mother, Stephanie Lopez, was only sentenced to 27 years in prison, the father, Andrew Walters, was sentenced to 63 years in prison, and the uncle, Steven Lopez, was sentenced to 57 years in prison. Then in 2007 after a court hearing claiming that because all three were trialed together they were not allowed to defend themselves as a result some of the charges against all three were reinstated also lowering their prison sentences. Lowering the fathers prison time all the way down to 48 years, the uncles all the way down to 42 years, and the mothers all the way down to 13 years.
In conclusion, there are many stories similar to Amy Deal's and baby Brianna Lopez that are never brought to justice like they should be. If these stories at all angered you, or made you feel any remorse then you also agree, that sentencing someone to prison on any type of child abuse should never be over looked and should be taken very seriously and into consideration. What if it was your child?
