familiar homicide???

[sundaygirl]

Hello everyone,
this is my first thread I have posted on a few, but here goes lol.I live in the uk, and recently we have had our first familiar homicide case, the person involved was convicted and is awaiting sentencing as I write this.
This crime was recently brought into the uk and this was our first local case to be tried.
What i was wondering is do you in the usa have a similar type of offence?
The woman in question could get upto 12 years in prison, but local opinion feels that she deserves more.
She was convicted on leaving her child in a situation where she knew that he would be hurt. and she admitted putting her own safety over her childs.
Do you think that the twelve years maximum sentence is severe enough, or should it be lengthened?
this case filled our local newspaper for weeks and many times i ended up in tears, just reading the front page.
So are there any cases in the usa that i could look at, to see how the courts dealt with it there, i feel the need to read and understand more.
trying to understand why people commit crimes is very important to me at the moment i just think she is monster.
sunday

[Ring-o-Saturn]

Is it possible to get a link or two to the case?

I'm unfamiliar with the charge, I tried to google it but my results weren't helpful.

I'm not certain I understand the circumstances.

Was it anything like this case?

Maureen Faibish was charged with felony endangerment, the trial ended in a hung jury. She could be tried again, because the jury did not reach a verdict.

http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_212170850.html

Faibish, 40, told Nicholas to play video games in a garage filled with rotting food and bags of garbage until she got home from the picnic, prosecutors said.

The boy was ordered to prop a shovel against a broken door and not go upstairs to where Ella was in heat and the male dog, Rex, had grown agitated from failed mating attempts.

Prosecutor Linda Moore also said Faibish knew her son would leave the basement because he had only a soda and chips for sustenance and a toilet that was backed up and useless.

Further, Moore claimed that evidence pointed to the fact that Nicholas had a learning disability and there was no way of knowing whether he would follow his mother's directions to stay in the basement and away from the dogs.

(skip)

When Faibish returned home on that October day, she found Nicholas dead on the floor of an upstairs bedroom with both dogs on top of him and walls and doors covered with blood, according to testimony.

[sundaygirl]

Hi.here is a link to the story
BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | Mother allowed baby son's murder

hope it helps+

sunday

[Ring-o-Saturn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6107138.stm


Well, I really can't say I think a sentence of 12 years is harsh given the circumstances.

It seems this sad excuse for a mother put herself ahead of her child.

I think she's as guilty as Andrew Lloyd & should receive an equal sentence.

[Athena]

Reading that story it reminded me of the Lisa Steinberg where Hedda Nussbaum chose to do nothing because she feared for her own life too. I've posted a link to this crime since you asked if we had this in the US.

Experts say battered women can be so afraid they cannot protect their children and are even too afraid to flee.

Being a mother I cannot for one second believe that your instints would not be to protect your child and never understood the Hedda Nussbaum story either. I WOULD jeopardize my own life to protect the life of my child so I believe she got what she deserved. Just hope she never has another child. JMO

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notoriou...inberg/10.html

[Ring-o-Saturn]

Hedda was the victim of long term abuse & not the biological mother of Lisa.

This woman was only with Andrew Lloyd for eight weeks & this was her baby!!

This woman doesn't get any consideration based on abuse, not from me at least. She chose to allow this for herself, she had no right to allow it for her child.

[sundaygirl]

thanks for the replies and i will have a look at the link soon, I've been offline for a few days, havent been near the pc lol.
She was actually pregnant with her second child when her son was killed and you will be glad to know that the child is in the care of the local authoritys.
I wish he could be with family but that appears to be a problem at least this second child has been saved from the same fate.

Reading the case in the papers for the last few weeks I just couldnt understand how she could let this abuse happen.
Women are supposed to care and nurture their children, prehaps there are some women who really shouldnt have kids.

sunday

[AmyW]

How disgusting! The punishment should be MUCH harsher. I would say life in prison for both of them. That poor child! As a mother, I couldn't, under ANY circumstances, leave my child in the hands of someone I knew would probably hurt him. I mean, really!

Lewis acknowledged that the baby became terrified of Lloyd. She had seen Lloyd flicking his ears and feet when he cried, picking him up by his ears and ankles and throwing him onto a bed and settee.

But, she told the court, in spite of that she had trusted Lloyd.




Because of that right there, she should be punished to the fullest. My heart goes out to that poor baby.

Amy

[torch1974]

The Mother was given a 6 year sentence.

Andrew Lloyd was given a minimum of 24 years.

Here is a link with more details:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6181051.stm

My own view is that the Mother certainly deserved her 6 year sentence maybe even the full 12 years, however, I do believe that Andrew Lloyd terrorised her to such a degree that she had almost become "brainwashed" into doing his bidding, because of that she certainly should not have received the same sentence as Lloyd.

[zeldaglutch]

"Experts say battered women can be so afraid they cannot protect their children and are even too afraid to flee."

I have not read anywhere that Rebecca Lewis was abused by Andrew Lloyd, maybe I missed it. In this day and age there are plenty of ways to get help and get away from abuse. To leave someone in the path of harm or sacrifice a child's well being is unforgivable and almost as bad as beating the child yourself.

The other story about the Pit Bulls is horrific too. Pit Bulls have a well know reputation for acting on their instincts. No one can ever say they did not know an attack was possible.

I have spent years working in a children's hospital taking care of children that have been mortally wounded due to acts of stupidity and violence. It never stops and the punishments are never enough. People need to be held responsible for their actions.

[*Nina*]

What a sad story. Poor little baby, who couldnt even defend himself against this monster. The punishment is nothing comparing to the fact that that little boy will never grow up and never seen another light of a day. Mother should've known better and she knew what happened to a baby. Because as a mother myself if my baby even scratches herself, I am asking questions as to why, when and where.... and this is another reason why I have trust issues when leaving my child in someone else's care. And for that reason only, I have never given my child to a stranger to look after... I have never hired a babysitter because I am not going to leave my child with someone who I don't fully trust. Only people allowed to look after my babies are their grandmothers and my husband. I am overly protective of them. And this woman should rot in prison for a very long time, and think about what she has done. This is one case where I wouldn't allow death sentencing because I know mother of this baby will forever be reminded of what she has done, and she will never forget her beautiful baby boy. She will cry everyday until the day she dies. She probably had some kind of love for her son, but she loved herself more. She is probably very sorry for not stopping monster-of-her-boyfriend sooner and saving her baby boy, but too late for regret now, he is gone and she is left to think about her own stupid actions every day, and she is left to think about how she could've saved that precious little boy from the hands of that monster.
I hope she gets more than 12 years and I hope she is not allowed to have children anymore, or that God doesn't give her any ever even if she does get out of jail some day.

[torch1974]

Nina,

The mother was sentenced to 6 yeard in jail. She was abused by her partner, so that probably explains the lenient sentence. IMHO she should have got 12 years.