Dateline Dayton — Here I am again, on my soap box. Maybe I should quit reading the newspaper and watching the news on television. I probably should stick with the few television shows I really enjoy; Pickers, American Restoration and Pawn Stars. Maybe then I would not get so worked up.
There’s a girl here in Dayton whose third trial was just completed, charged with allegedly placing her baby in a microwave, killing the infant.
Her first trial ended with a hung jury. At the second, she was found guilty, appealed on the grounds of prosecution error and was granted a third trial. Once again she was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. An appeal, however, is already in the works.
This case, along with the following situations, renews my belief that having a child should require, if not a license, at least a training program.
People do not appear to be able to handle a crying baby. Crying is the only means of communication an infant has. Usually it signals needing attention. It could be as simple as a diaper change or being hungry. Also, crying could be telling you something is wrong, such as “I’m not feeling well.”
Shaking a baby is no way to stop an infant from crying. Kettering has an infant in our hospital’s intensive care ward due to a caregiver shaking the baby. Thank heavens he has been arrested. But what will happen to him? We will just have to wait and see how this case will proceed through the judicial system?
Breaking a baby’s leg will not stop the infant from crying. One caregiver here tried that approach. What is wrong with people?
First, caregivers, mothers, fathers, boyfriends and the person responsible for a girl having a baby (not exactly sure of the proper term for this person) need to understand that alcohol and drugs should not be used while caring for an infant. It’s a recipe for disaster. It could land you in jail as easily as doing the same when driving.
Raising a child is not easy and it gets harder. If you are experiencing difficult times, please don’t take your frustration out on your child. Seek help. It is available.
You Have Heard This Before
I have written many times about Benjamin Mills Jr., the birth father in the Baby Vanessa child custody case involving Stacey Doss of California. Recently I told you that he was arrested again, this time on welfare fraud. In court on Wednesday, May 25, he pleaded no contest to three felony theft counts, two involving welfare theft.
A grand jury had indicted Mills on two counts of theft by deception for falsely claiming to have custody of his children; he wrongly received more than $8,000 in benefits from the Ohio Works First program, as well as food stamps.
How much longer will the taxpayers of this county be paying for Mr. Mills’s nonsense? Sentencing is set for June 21.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
