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Monday, March 9, 2009 12:00 AM

"You are potentially capable of forgetting your child"

A heartbreaking article about parents who accidentally leave their kids to die in hot cars challenges us to feel compassion, not contempt.

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  • Tuesday, March 10, 2009 03:10 PM

    @ Clockwork Smurf

    Many people live with the weight of guilt for their failures, it doesn't preclude them from just punishment by a jury of their peers.

    And I suspect that a jury of their peers, in this case, would be horrified and filled with dread and wouldn't convict them of anything.

    See, this is the thing. Technically, you're right. However, after ruling out deliberate intent, the whole idea of sending someone to prison for inadvertently leaving a child to bake to death is absurd. I'll bet a lot of these people WOULD go to jail for six months, a year, three years, ten years, whatever...if only it would bring back the baby.

    Sure, their negligence should be an example. And it is. That horrible moment of realization and/or discovery is a far more effective deterrent to this kind of future negligence on the part of others than a prison sentence could ever be.

    More valuable are the comments here that not only confess fears of exactly this outcome but offer practical suggestions for ensuring it doesn't.

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