Great article at Truthout. Go to link see the rest.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35101-for-domestic-violence-survivors-family-court-becomes-site-of-continued-abuse
For Domestic Violence Survivors, Family Court Becomes Site of Continued Abuse
Sunday, 06 March 2016 00:00
By Victoria Law, Truthout | Report
When Kate finally escaped her abusive husband, she thought that the violence and terror were over. What she learned instead is that, when children are involved, escape and safety become even more difficult as abusive ex-partners use child custody and the family court system to continue their harassment and abuse.
Showing posts with label child abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child abuse. Show all posts
Monday, March 7, 2016
Monday, June 23, 2014
The Quicy Solution Provides Enormous Benefits to Business (USA)
Important new article by Barry Goldstein.
http://stopabusecampaign.com/feature/business-bonanza?fb_action_ids=10203602163562355&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B735313859864736%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.comments%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
The Quincy Solution Provides Enormous Benefits to Businesses
By Barry Goldstein
The business community took an active role in the discussion and politics of the Affordable Care Act. They did so because of the potential for the law to have huge financial implications for their businesses. The same business leaders essentially sat out the debate over renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in large part because they were unaware of the financial benefits it would provide them. The Quincy Solution will have a far greater and positive impact on the financial condition of businesses in the United States. Accordingly it is important to understand the enormous benefits the Quincy Solution provides to the business community.
News coverage of the domestic violence issue has tended to focus on the direct physical harm to women partnered with batterers. Some stories have mentioned the damage to children from being exposed to their father’s abuse of their mother. Some of the opponents to reauthorization of VAWA actually complained about the cost of implementing the law. It is only recently that the enormous financial costs of tolerating domestic violence became apparent so many people, including policy makers are unaware of the money that can be saved by ending our tolerance for men’s abuse of women.
Substantial Savings for Businesses
The largest source of savings is in health care costs. These costs involve not just treating the immediate injuries, but the lifelong affects from the stress of living with an abuser. The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) research, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention similarly demonstrates the long-term health risks to children who witness domestic violence. The United States spends $750 billion annually for health care expenses caused by domestic violence. We also spend over one trillion dollars on crime costs. Most crime is not related to domestic violence, but 25% of police calls are connected to domestic violence and a single murder costs the criminal justice system $2.5 million. Children who witness this abuse are more likely to commit a variety of other crimes. Accordingly, I conservatively estimate the annual criminal cost of domestic violence is $200 billion. The other major expense is that women, children and abusers fail to reach their economic potential because of our tolerance of men’s abuse against women. This means the United States is spending over one trillion a year to tolerate domestic violence.
The Quincy Solution is a group of best practices originally used in Quincy, Massachusetts that have been shown to dramatically reduce domestic violence crime. Norfolk County had averaged 5 to 6 domestic violence homicides each year but implementation of the original Quincy Model helped the community enjoy several years with no murders, and substantial reductions in other crimes. In San Diego and Nashville, similar practices brought similar success. In other words domestic violence is not inevitable. Obviously, even the best practices won’t immediately end all domestic violence but I believe they will quickly save $500 billion annually.
The Quincy Solution will save businesses in the United States $79 billion every year in health costs. This would be in the form of reduced health insurance premiums and lower health care costs for companies that self-insure. This $79 billion in savings would likely be divided among increased investments, profits and higher salaries. Each of these responses would be likely to make the business and the economy far stronger and create an improved business climate.
The reduction in crime would also provide significant benefits for the business community. Tax rates should be reduced at all levels of government, not only from the reduction in health care costs, but from savings on law enforcement, the courts and prisons. When women and children are able to live their lives free from abuse and therefore reach their economic potential, governments will receive more tax receipts without increasing the rates and save money in services like food stamps, unemployment and disability. Reduced crime will also reduce expenses for insurance and security. The reduction in domestic violence and child abuse will reduce substance abuse which is a major factor in automobile accidents. This should reduce the cost of insurance for motor vehicles. The dramatic reduction in domestic violence crime will improve the productivity of workers. They will have less absences and better ability to concentrate while on the job. Most gun related violence in the workplace is related to domestic violence. More commonly abusers call or visit their victims at their workplace and harass them there. This not only distracts workers who are victims, but also requires the time of supervisors and human resources offices.
The two leading causes of bankruptcy are serious health problems and going through a divorce. Abusers routinely use legal tactics designed to bankrupt their victims and courts rarely seek to level the playing field. In many of these cases the abuser has threatened to bankrupt her if she leaves him. The failure of custody courts to recognize and respond effectively to domestic violence has encouraged these unspeakably cruel tactics. In many cases victims are forced to use their savings that were intended for the children’s education and their retirement in a desperate attempt to protect their children from abusive fathers. They also borrow money from family, friends and their credit cards in their often futile attempt to save their children. The ACE research demonstrates how exposure to domestic violence and child abuse, which would be dramatically reduced by the Quincy Solution, leads to many serious illnesses including the ten leading causes of death in the United States.
Businesses lose money when debts are discharged in bankruptcy. The destruction of victim’s savings harms the banking and investment industries, but also makes it harder for businesses that need capital for investment. The real estate business and value of homes is also negatively impacted by increased bankruptcies. The victims also have less money to spend as consumers. The many financial benefits of preventing domestic violence are likely to interact in a way that multiplies the improvement in the economy.
Doing Well by Doing Good
Some companies like Avon, Lifetime Television and Valeant Pharmaceuticals have been strong supporters of the work to end domestic violence even before the potential financial benefits were understood. They and other companies did this for altruistic reasons. The business leaders had to weigh their obligations to shareholders with the benefits to the company’s image and the benefit to society. Now that we know the enormous benefits the Quincy Solution will bring to the business community, supporting the work to prevent domestic violence becomes an easy choice because it will clearly benefit shareholders in so many ways.
Business organizations, trade groups and individual companies can lobby to encourage local, state and the federal government to support implementation of the Quincy Solution. They can provide information to the public about the benefits of preventing domestic violence. They can work with local officials to implement the Quincy Solution in the communities where they have offices, factories, or stores. Employees can be encouraged to participate in the campaign for the Quincy Solution and business leaders can be part of the coordinated community response which is an important feature of the Quincy Solution.
At the national level, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and the Stop Abuse Campaign are leading the campaign to implement the Quincy Solution. Other organizations concerned with domestic violence, child abuse and health issues related to trauma will be joining the campaign. Businesses can help by making contributions to these organizations and to local and state domestic violence and other agencies working to implement the practices shown to prevent most domestic violence crimes. Companies and their leaders can work together with organizations supporting the Quincy Coalition to support the campaign.
Corporations that help make the public aware of the Quincy Solution and support the campaign will receive credit for their good deeds which can only improve their image. As more communities adopt the Quincy Solution, business will start to enjoy the financial benefits that come from the reduction of domestic violence crime. The companies can further benefit by working closely with the experts in domestic violence because they will learn specific practices that can improve their response to personnel and other issues related to domestic violence.
No one alive can remember a time when domestic violence did not exist, even when the term did not exist and the grisly acts were well hidden. Permitting women and children to reach their full economic potential will unleash a power and productiveness the world has never seen before. Inevitably we will be surprised as all the benefits play out.
Join us in this exciting campaign to protect women and children from traumatic but preventable abuse. With the Quincy Solution, it pays to stop domestic violence.
http://stopabusecampaign.com/feature/business-bonanza?fb_action_ids=10203602163562355&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B735313859864736%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.comments%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
The Quincy Solution Provides Enormous Benefits to Businesses
By Barry Goldstein
The business community took an active role in the discussion and politics of the Affordable Care Act. They did so because of the potential for the law to have huge financial implications for their businesses. The same business leaders essentially sat out the debate over renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in large part because they were unaware of the financial benefits it would provide them. The Quincy Solution will have a far greater and positive impact on the financial condition of businesses in the United States. Accordingly it is important to understand the enormous benefits the Quincy Solution provides to the business community.
News coverage of the domestic violence issue has tended to focus on the direct physical harm to women partnered with batterers. Some stories have mentioned the damage to children from being exposed to their father’s abuse of their mother. Some of the opponents to reauthorization of VAWA actually complained about the cost of implementing the law. It is only recently that the enormous financial costs of tolerating domestic violence became apparent so many people, including policy makers are unaware of the money that can be saved by ending our tolerance for men’s abuse of women.
Substantial Savings for Businesses
The largest source of savings is in health care costs. These costs involve not just treating the immediate injuries, but the lifelong affects from the stress of living with an abuser. The ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) research, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention similarly demonstrates the long-term health risks to children who witness domestic violence. The United States spends $750 billion annually for health care expenses caused by domestic violence. We also spend over one trillion dollars on crime costs. Most crime is not related to domestic violence, but 25% of police calls are connected to domestic violence and a single murder costs the criminal justice system $2.5 million. Children who witness this abuse are more likely to commit a variety of other crimes. Accordingly, I conservatively estimate the annual criminal cost of domestic violence is $200 billion. The other major expense is that women, children and abusers fail to reach their economic potential because of our tolerance of men’s abuse against women. This means the United States is spending over one trillion a year to tolerate domestic violence.
The Quincy Solution is a group of best practices originally used in Quincy, Massachusetts that have been shown to dramatically reduce domestic violence crime. Norfolk County had averaged 5 to 6 domestic violence homicides each year but implementation of the original Quincy Model helped the community enjoy several years with no murders, and substantial reductions in other crimes. In San Diego and Nashville, similar practices brought similar success. In other words domestic violence is not inevitable. Obviously, even the best practices won’t immediately end all domestic violence but I believe they will quickly save $500 billion annually.
The Quincy Solution will save businesses in the United States $79 billion every year in health costs. This would be in the form of reduced health insurance premiums and lower health care costs for companies that self-insure. This $79 billion in savings would likely be divided among increased investments, profits and higher salaries. Each of these responses would be likely to make the business and the economy far stronger and create an improved business climate.
The reduction in crime would also provide significant benefits for the business community. Tax rates should be reduced at all levels of government, not only from the reduction in health care costs, but from savings on law enforcement, the courts and prisons. When women and children are able to live their lives free from abuse and therefore reach their economic potential, governments will receive more tax receipts without increasing the rates and save money in services like food stamps, unemployment and disability. Reduced crime will also reduce expenses for insurance and security. The reduction in domestic violence and child abuse will reduce substance abuse which is a major factor in automobile accidents. This should reduce the cost of insurance for motor vehicles. The dramatic reduction in domestic violence crime will improve the productivity of workers. They will have less absences and better ability to concentrate while on the job. Most gun related violence in the workplace is related to domestic violence. More commonly abusers call or visit their victims at their workplace and harass them there. This not only distracts workers who are victims, but also requires the time of supervisors and human resources offices.
The two leading causes of bankruptcy are serious health problems and going through a divorce. Abusers routinely use legal tactics designed to bankrupt their victims and courts rarely seek to level the playing field. In many of these cases the abuser has threatened to bankrupt her if she leaves him. The failure of custody courts to recognize and respond effectively to domestic violence has encouraged these unspeakably cruel tactics. In many cases victims are forced to use their savings that were intended for the children’s education and their retirement in a desperate attempt to protect their children from abusive fathers. They also borrow money from family, friends and their credit cards in their often futile attempt to save their children. The ACE research demonstrates how exposure to domestic violence and child abuse, which would be dramatically reduced by the Quincy Solution, leads to many serious illnesses including the ten leading causes of death in the United States.
Businesses lose money when debts are discharged in bankruptcy. The destruction of victim’s savings harms the banking and investment industries, but also makes it harder for businesses that need capital for investment. The real estate business and value of homes is also negatively impacted by increased bankruptcies. The victims also have less money to spend as consumers. The many financial benefits of preventing domestic violence are likely to interact in a way that multiplies the improvement in the economy.
Doing Well by Doing Good
Some companies like Avon, Lifetime Television and Valeant Pharmaceuticals have been strong supporters of the work to end domestic violence even before the potential financial benefits were understood. They and other companies did this for altruistic reasons. The business leaders had to weigh their obligations to shareholders with the benefits to the company’s image and the benefit to society. Now that we know the enormous benefits the Quincy Solution will bring to the business community, supporting the work to prevent domestic violence becomes an easy choice because it will clearly benefit shareholders in so many ways.
Business organizations, trade groups and individual companies can lobby to encourage local, state and the federal government to support implementation of the Quincy Solution. They can provide information to the public about the benefits of preventing domestic violence. They can work with local officials to implement the Quincy Solution in the communities where they have offices, factories, or stores. Employees can be encouraged to participate in the campaign for the Quincy Solution and business leaders can be part of the coordinated community response which is an important feature of the Quincy Solution.
At the national level, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and the Stop Abuse Campaign are leading the campaign to implement the Quincy Solution. Other organizations concerned with domestic violence, child abuse and health issues related to trauma will be joining the campaign. Businesses can help by making contributions to these organizations and to local and state domestic violence and other agencies working to implement the practices shown to prevent most domestic violence crimes. Companies and their leaders can work together with organizations supporting the Quincy Coalition to support the campaign.
Corporations that help make the public aware of the Quincy Solution and support the campaign will receive credit for their good deeds which can only improve their image. As more communities adopt the Quincy Solution, business will start to enjoy the financial benefits that come from the reduction of domestic violence crime. The companies can further benefit by working closely with the experts in domestic violence because they will learn specific practices that can improve their response to personnel and other issues related to domestic violence.
No one alive can remember a time when domestic violence did not exist, even when the term did not exist and the grisly acts were well hidden. Permitting women and children to reach their full economic potential will unleash a power and productiveness the world has never seen before. Inevitably we will be surprised as all the benefits play out.
Join us in this exciting campaign to protect women and children from traumatic but preventable abuse. With the Quincy Solution, it pays to stop domestic violence.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Major Domestic Violence/Child Abuse study released (New Zealand)
Notice the key role that the authorities and the family courts played in perpetuating the violence and protecting the abusive father. This is typical in every country.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/national-news/10162711/Harrowing-abuse-revealed-in-report
Harrowing abuse revealed in report
Last updated 12:04 16/06/2014
JOHN KIRK ANDERSON/Fairfax NZ
Accounts of people being dragged by the hair, slammed into walls, bitten, strangled and nearly drowned have been revealed in a report on child abuse and domestic violence in New Zealand.
The revelations come in the release today of the long-awaited Glenn Inquiry Report into child abuse and domestic violence.
The $2 million inquiry, set up in late 2012 with funding from millionaire Sir Owen Glenn, aimed to address New Zealand's appalling record of child abuse and domestic violence by giving those most affected a voice, inquiry patron and former Governor General Dame Cath Tizard said.
The People's Report summarised the experiences of about 500 survivors of abuse, frontline workers and offenders who told their stories to the inquiry.
Abuse resulted in broken teeth, noses, fingers and ribs. In one case, a child was burnt to death.
A woman told the inquiry her her son had witnessed her partner sitting on her daughter's face so she couldn't breathe.
When his sister turned pale, the boy was scared she would die.
"Their dad thought that was funny", the woman said.
The report also offered harrowing accounts of sexual violence, victims of which were often ignored or dismissed.
One person said: "You say your father had sex with you before you were two, people just sort of go, 'Oh, yeah'."
Another said their sister was used as a sex slave by five of her foster fathers.
"The file said she plays up to the men, is very promiscuous child [sic], and nothing was ever done."
One woman said her father would tie her mother to a bed and let his friends rape her.
Abuse also took the form of neglect, which was used by some fathers as a way to punish their former partners.
One recounted: "The kids have gone seven days without a shower when they're with their dad. And for a 13-year-old girl going through her menstrual cycle and stuff that's disgraceful."
One person said childhood emotional abuse had scarred her for life.
"The belittling, shame and humiliation, and the people doing and saying to the child: 'you're worthless', 'you're bad', 'you're a mistake', yelling at them, threatening them, bullying them, ignoring them for a punishment, the silent treatment, they won't talk, no hugs, no kisses, no affection, neglect, emotional abuse, calling them stupid," the person said.
"As for me, I was the devil's daughter and I'll go to hell. Guilt, that's what comes into the child, and shame."
One mother said the court system was responsible for the breakdown of her children's relationship with their father.
"The sad thing is, if the court had taken the domestic violence seriously from day one, there were things that could've been put in place to make the contact with the kids and their dad safe and healthy," she said.
"But instead, they hate him now, they really hate him. "They shouldn't feel that way about their father, even if he was abusive towards me."
There were calls from victims for more support: "Not everybody has a family, and from what I know of other people that have been abused in childhood, it is ongoing, it is the rest of their life, it is the rest of my life. I will die because of it."
- Stuff
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/national-news/10162711/Harrowing-abuse-revealed-in-report
Harrowing abuse revealed in report
Last updated 12:04 16/06/2014
JOHN KIRK ANDERSON/Fairfax NZ
Accounts of people being dragged by the hair, slammed into walls, bitten, strangled and nearly drowned have been revealed in a report on child abuse and domestic violence in New Zealand.
The revelations come in the release today of the long-awaited Glenn Inquiry Report into child abuse and domestic violence.
The $2 million inquiry, set up in late 2012 with funding from millionaire Sir Owen Glenn, aimed to address New Zealand's appalling record of child abuse and domestic violence by giving those most affected a voice, inquiry patron and former Governor General Dame Cath Tizard said.
The People's Report summarised the experiences of about 500 survivors of abuse, frontline workers and offenders who told their stories to the inquiry.
Abuse resulted in broken teeth, noses, fingers and ribs. In one case, a child was burnt to death.
A woman told the inquiry her her son had witnessed her partner sitting on her daughter's face so she couldn't breathe.
When his sister turned pale, the boy was scared she would die.
"Their dad thought that was funny", the woman said.
The report also offered harrowing accounts of sexual violence, victims of which were often ignored or dismissed.
One person said: "You say your father had sex with you before you were two, people just sort of go, 'Oh, yeah'."
Another said their sister was used as a sex slave by five of her foster fathers.
"The file said she plays up to the men, is very promiscuous child [sic], and nothing was ever done."
One woman said her father would tie her mother to a bed and let his friends rape her.
Abuse also took the form of neglect, which was used by some fathers as a way to punish their former partners.
One recounted: "The kids have gone seven days without a shower when they're with their dad. And for a 13-year-old girl going through her menstrual cycle and stuff that's disgraceful."
One person said childhood emotional abuse had scarred her for life.
"The belittling, shame and humiliation, and the people doing and saying to the child: 'you're worthless', 'you're bad', 'you're a mistake', yelling at them, threatening them, bullying them, ignoring them for a punishment, the silent treatment, they won't talk, no hugs, no kisses, no affection, neglect, emotional abuse, calling them stupid," the person said.
"As for me, I was the devil's daughter and I'll go to hell. Guilt, that's what comes into the child, and shame."
One mother said the court system was responsible for the breakdown of her children's relationship with their father.
"The sad thing is, if the court had taken the domestic violence seriously from day one, there were things that could've been put in place to make the contact with the kids and their dad safe and healthy," she said.
"But instead, they hate him now, they really hate him. "They shouldn't feel that way about their father, even if he was abusive towards me."
There were calls from victims for more support: "Not everybody has a family, and from what I know of other people that have been abused in childhood, it is ongoing, it is the rest of their life, it is the rest of my life. I will die because of it."
- Stuff
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Indianapolis Dad Pleads Guilty to Beating his 9 month old son
There is no mention at all of MOTHER. Where is she?
Father admits to having 'anger management issues' as if that should excuse his behavior? Why did this convicted child abuser with admitted anger control issues have custody of two babies? How many of the past convictions were his own children? They were all infants.
An Admitted FATHER with a a Prior history of Child Abuse to infants in 2004 and in 2009 yet this FATHER JOHNNY BISHOP still had apparently full physical custody?
Indianapolis father accused of beating his then-9-month-old son pleads guilty
http://www.indystar.com/article/20130130/NEWS02/130130040/Indianapolis-father-accused-beating-his-then-9-month-old-son-pleads-guilty
Johnny Bishop, the Indianapolis father accused of beating his then-9-month-old son, has pleaded guilty to battery charges against him.
Bishop, 30, was arrested last July after police received a report of an infant who was not breathing. Police found Bishop performing a CPR on his son inside a van parked outside an auto shop on the Southside. The infant was later transported to Riley Hospital for Children in critical condition.
Bishop pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery, one count of battery and one count of child neglect. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon at Marion County Superior Court, said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Schmadeke.
As his son remained in the hospital last July, Bishop called his action “a stupid choice.”
Court documents said that as detectives interrogated Bishop, he knelt in front of a chair in the interview room and said, “Please help me with my anger issue. I made a stupid choice. I hope these people forgive me. I don’t know why I did that.”
Bishop told detectives that on July 11, 2012, he brought his son and daughter with him to work at A to Z Auto, 1149 E. Troy Ave. He told police he did not have seatbelts in his van, so his son fell from his car seat twice, documents said.
Later that day, while he was changing the boy's diaper, Bishop said his arms "tensed up" and he stopped breathing. That's when he took the boy to the van and performed CPR on him, he told detectives. He said he put two fingers into his son's throat to try to make him puke or breathe, documents said. He also mentioned shaking the boy to consciousness a couple of times.
But prosecutors said the boy’s injuries were indicative of non-accidental trauma.
Documents said doctors at Riley found two subdural hematomas or bleeding of the brain, a possible skull fracture and brain tissue damage.
Bishop later told detectives that he has anger problems, and also admitted striking his then 3-year-old daughter. Detectives found bruises on the girl’s buttocks and scratches in other parts of her body.
Schmadeke said the boy has since been released from the hospital. It’s not immediately known who now has custody of Bishop’s two children.
This is not Bishop's first child battery charge.
In November 2003, he was arrested for allegedly beating a then-9-month-old baby boy. The police report said the boy had fractures to his left arm and rib.
Indiana Department of Correction's offender database shows Bishop was convicted of battery in April 2004. A separate battery conviction happened in October 2009.
Indianapolis father accused of beating his then-9-month-old son pleads guilty
http://www.indystar.com/article/20130130/NEWS02/130130040/Indianapolis-father-accused-beating-his-then-9-month-old-son-pleads-guilty
Johnny Bishop, the Indianapolis father accused of beating his then-9-month-old son, has pleaded guilty to battery charges against him.
Bishop, 30, was arrested last July after police received a report of an infant who was not breathing. Police found Bishop performing a CPR on his son inside a van parked outside an auto shop on the Southside. The infant was later transported to Riley Hospital for Children in critical condition.
Bishop pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery, one count of battery and one count of child neglect. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon at Marion County Superior Court, said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Schmadeke.
As his son remained in the hospital last July, Bishop called his action “a stupid choice.”
Court documents said that as detectives interrogated Bishop, he knelt in front of a chair in the interview room and said, “Please help me with my anger issue. I made a stupid choice. I hope these people forgive me. I don’t know why I did that.”
Bishop told detectives that on July 11, 2012, he brought his son and daughter with him to work at A to Z Auto, 1149 E. Troy Ave. He told police he did not have seatbelts in his van, so his son fell from his car seat twice, documents said.
Later that day, while he was changing the boy's diaper, Bishop said his arms "tensed up" and he stopped breathing. That's when he took the boy to the van and performed CPR on him, he told detectives. He said he put two fingers into his son's throat to try to make him puke or breathe, documents said. He also mentioned shaking the boy to consciousness a couple of times.
But prosecutors said the boy’s injuries were indicative of non-accidental trauma.
Documents said doctors at Riley found two subdural hematomas or bleeding of the brain, a possible skull fracture and brain tissue damage.
Bishop later told detectives that he has anger problems, and also admitted striking his then 3-year-old daughter. Detectives found bruises on the girl’s buttocks and scratches in other parts of her body.
Schmadeke said the boy has since been released from the hospital. It’s not immediately known who now has custody of Bishop’s two children.
This is not Bishop's first child battery charge.
In November 2003, he was arrested for allegedly beating a then-9-month-old baby boy. The police report said the boy had fractures to his left arm and rib.
Indiana Department of Correction's offender database shows Bishop was convicted of battery in April 2004. A separate battery conviction happened in October 2009.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Custodial dad charged after young children found in squalor (Indianapolis, Indiana)
I'll correct this headline if I see contrary information, but it certainly appears that dad AARON INGLE not only lived in utter filth with his three kids, but that he was a custodial dad. Though the press refuses to make this clear--as usual.
Why does Daddy appear to be custodial? Notice that the "estranged" wife was the one who requested a police wellness check on the children--and it appears she lost custody after Daddy accused her of abusing the 4-year old. Given that Daddy is apparently a totally dysfunctional slob--in addition to being an alcoholic and a prescription drug abuser--I'm not thinking his credibility is too high in these matters. But as the fathers rights people always tell us, only Moms file false allegations. Daddies never, ever do.
And notice that these children were taken on a Tuesday, which suggests that Daddy had more than weekend visitation.
So does CPS want to admit that they f***ed up on this one too, in terms of their daddy worship? Didn't think so.
http://www.wthr.com/story/13997921/father-charged-after-young-children-found-in-squalor
Father charged after young children found in squalor
Posted: Feb 09, 2011 10:32 AM CST
Updated: Feb 09, 2011 4:35 PM CST
Jeremy Brilliant/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Three young children were removed from a home where feces and rotten food were found on the floor. Police arrested the father inside the house in the 800 block of Biltmore on the city's west side.
Even from the outside, trash appears to be piling up. When police went to the home late Tuesday night they found filth everywhere and children aged two, four and six living in it. Their father, 30-year-old Aaron Ingle, was arrested for neglect.
"Very dirty, very unsanitary, very unsafe," said Sgt. Linda Jackson, Indianapolis Metro Police Department.
Officers reported an odor of feces & urine, dirty diapers lying around, rotting food possibly months old in the kitchen, and trash all over.
"That's awful. I mean, you would never have thought because you look at the kids and they looked healthy. They never looked malnourished or anything like that," said Russell Rogers, neighbor.
But another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she was concerned about the children.
"They'd come down here and talk to me all the time, especially the little girl, she was just - I would ask her if she was okay and she would just shrug her shoulders like, 'whatever'. I knew something was wrong," said the woman.
While we couldn't see inside the house itself, what's going on inside the garage might be an indication of the situation there. There were all kinds of mattresses, an old refrigerator and trash strewn all over the floor.
Police say Ingle was drunk and verbally abusive to officers. In the trash outside the home were dozens of beer cans and several empty whisky bottles.
According to officers, Ingle was so drunk he was staggering, and falling into walls as he walked. Ingle was slurring his words so badly that officers couldn't understand what he was saying.
Police say the younger children were in dirty diapers. The oldest child was only wearing underwear.
"It was not safe. There wasn't anything there for them to eat and they needed to be placed somewhere where they were going to be cared for," said Sgt. Jackson.
Officers say the house smelled strongly of urine and feces, and was under construction, with bare wood and nails on the floor. They say the four-year-old had paint all over his body. The two-year-old's diaper was filthy and sagging six inches off his backside. The six-year-old's bedroom had rotting food that appeared to be months old, along with mice feces and empty bottles of condiments and dirty diapers.
"I'm actually shocked to know that it was two doors away that something like this could take place. But we never know what happens inside other people's homes," said Rogers.
Officers say the bathroom was extremely unsanitary, and the floor of the bathroom had dry rot and missing floorboards. The kitchen was equally deplorable, with the counter tops covered in dirt, grime and grease, along with rotting food and numerous liquor bottles and beer cans. Dishes had food that appeared to have been left for weeks or even months.
One of the officers stepped on a loose nail through his work boots while trying to make his way through the kitchen.
The suspect's estranged wife called police requesting that they check on the welfare of the couple's children. Aaron Ingle accused her over the summer of punching their four-year-old boy in the eye.
All three of the children have been taken into state custody and could be placed with relatives. Aaron Ingle faces three felony counts of child neglect.
Ingle told police he had been drinking alcohol and taking Klonopin, which is an anti-anxiety medication available only by prescription.
Why does Daddy appear to be custodial? Notice that the "estranged" wife was the one who requested a police wellness check on the children--and it appears she lost custody after Daddy accused her of abusing the 4-year old. Given that Daddy is apparently a totally dysfunctional slob--in addition to being an alcoholic and a prescription drug abuser--I'm not thinking his credibility is too high in these matters. But as the fathers rights people always tell us, only Moms file false allegations. Daddies never, ever do.
And notice that these children were taken on a Tuesday, which suggests that Daddy had more than weekend visitation.
So does CPS want to admit that they f***ed up on this one too, in terms of their daddy worship? Didn't think so.
http://www.wthr.com/story/13997921/father-charged-after-young-children-found-in-squalor
Father charged after young children found in squalor
Posted: Feb 09, 2011 10:32 AM CST
Updated: Feb 09, 2011 4:35 PM CST
Jeremy Brilliant/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - Three young children were removed from a home where feces and rotten food were found on the floor. Police arrested the father inside the house in the 800 block of Biltmore on the city's west side.
Even from the outside, trash appears to be piling up. When police went to the home late Tuesday night they found filth everywhere and children aged two, four and six living in it. Their father, 30-year-old Aaron Ingle, was arrested for neglect.
"Very dirty, very unsanitary, very unsafe," said Sgt. Linda Jackson, Indianapolis Metro Police Department.
Officers reported an odor of feces & urine, dirty diapers lying around, rotting food possibly months old in the kitchen, and trash all over.
"That's awful. I mean, you would never have thought because you look at the kids and they looked healthy. They never looked malnourished or anything like that," said Russell Rogers, neighbor.
But another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she was concerned about the children.
"They'd come down here and talk to me all the time, especially the little girl, she was just - I would ask her if she was okay and she would just shrug her shoulders like, 'whatever'. I knew something was wrong," said the woman.
While we couldn't see inside the house itself, what's going on inside the garage might be an indication of the situation there. There were all kinds of mattresses, an old refrigerator and trash strewn all over the floor.
Police say Ingle was drunk and verbally abusive to officers. In the trash outside the home were dozens of beer cans and several empty whisky bottles.
According to officers, Ingle was so drunk he was staggering, and falling into walls as he walked. Ingle was slurring his words so badly that officers couldn't understand what he was saying.
Police say the younger children were in dirty diapers. The oldest child was only wearing underwear.
"It was not safe. There wasn't anything there for them to eat and they needed to be placed somewhere where they were going to be cared for," said Sgt. Jackson.
Officers say the house smelled strongly of urine and feces, and was under construction, with bare wood and nails on the floor. They say the four-year-old had paint all over his body. The two-year-old's diaper was filthy and sagging six inches off his backside. The six-year-old's bedroom had rotting food that appeared to be months old, along with mice feces and empty bottles of condiments and dirty diapers.
"I'm actually shocked to know that it was two doors away that something like this could take place. But we never know what happens inside other people's homes," said Rogers.
Officers say the bathroom was extremely unsanitary, and the floor of the bathroom had dry rot and missing floorboards. The kitchen was equally deplorable, with the counter tops covered in dirt, grime and grease, along with rotting food and numerous liquor bottles and beer cans. Dishes had food that appeared to have been left for weeks or even months.
One of the officers stepped on a loose nail through his work boots while trying to make his way through the kitchen.
The suspect's estranged wife called police requesting that they check on the welfare of the couple's children. Aaron Ingle accused her over the summer of punching their four-year-old boy in the eye.
All three of the children have been taken into state custody and could be placed with relatives. Aaron Ingle faces three felony counts of child neglect.
Ingle told police he had been drinking alcohol and taking Klonopin, which is an anti-anxiety medication available only by prescription.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Social services blamed for children being abused by fathers (United Kingdom)
I have no doubt that these study results could be replicated in Canada, the US, Australia, and any number of other countries around the world. In general, social service agencies--due to the influence of the fathers rights movement and traditional patriarchal thinking--are more interested in maintaining the father's "right" to his child victims than in maintaining the safety of babies and children. Or the mothers of those children.
Not much evidence here that poor oppressed daddies are being "robbed" of their kids, is there?
http://www.discountvouchers.co.uk/news/145973535.html
3rd Feb 11
Social services blamed for children being abused by fathers
by Natasha Redman
A report has found that nearly 90 per cent of men who abuse their children remain in close contact with them. It claims social services are not preventing or monitoring abusive and violent fathers. The study was the first to investigate the role of children’s services in cases of abusive fathers.
The report, Working with Risky Fathers, was primarily concerned with men that don’t live with their children. Family Rights Group (FRG) said abusive fathers were routinely being overlooked by children’s services. It claimed this placed the children at risk of further emotional and physical harm.
The report was launched by the FRG and the Parenting Fund. It found that 88 per cent of the fathers surveyed in the study remained in contact with their children despite abusive histories. It also said there was a huge deficit in the assessment of the risk these men presented to their children.
The group’s survey found that in 46 per cent of cases child services didn’t have the birth father’s phone number. It also found that in over 60 per cent of cases the father’s parenting capacity was unknown. The report surveyed case files of domestic abuse over an 11-year period.
Chief executive of FRG Cathy Ashley said if these men are not assessed, dangerous fathers may have access to their children. She said the report highlighted the fact that mothers were often left to protect their children. This is even the case when the mothers are also being abused, added Ashley.
Not much evidence here that poor oppressed daddies are being "robbed" of their kids, is there?
http://www.discountvouchers.co.uk/news/145973535.html
3rd Feb 11
Social services blamed for children being abused by fathers
by Natasha Redman
A report has found that nearly 90 per cent of men who abuse their children remain in close contact with them. It claims social services are not preventing or monitoring abusive and violent fathers. The study was the first to investigate the role of children’s services in cases of abusive fathers.
The report, Working with Risky Fathers, was primarily concerned with men that don’t live with their children. Family Rights Group (FRG) said abusive fathers were routinely being overlooked by children’s services. It claimed this placed the children at risk of further emotional and physical harm.
The report was launched by the FRG and the Parenting Fund. It found that 88 per cent of the fathers surveyed in the study remained in contact with their children despite abusive histories. It also said there was a huge deficit in the assessment of the risk these men presented to their children.
The group’s survey found that in 46 per cent of cases child services didn’t have the birth father’s phone number. It also found that in over 60 per cent of cases the father’s parenting capacity was unknown. The report surveyed case files of domestic abuse over an 11-year period.
Chief executive of FRG Cathy Ashley said if these men are not assessed, dangerous fathers may have access to their children. She said the report highlighted the fact that mothers were often left to protect their children. This is even the case when the mothers are also being abused, added Ashley.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Getting real about abuse and alienation
Great new article by Joan S. Meier, from the George Washington University School of Law. Check it out:
http://www.wscadv.org/docs/FR-2010-Report.pdf
http://www.wscadv.org/docs/FR-2010-Report.pdf
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Babysitting dad charged with child abuse; left infant, toddler home alone (Beaufort, North Carolina)
Dad BRANDON ADKINS has been arrested on child abuse charges after he left his 2-year old and 5-month old home alone. Given that mom found that the TV had been thrown near the baby's crib, and that a bottle of bleach had been dumped all over the floor, it sure looks to me like Daddy was having a temper tantrum over something. One of the commenters to this article said something about the mom cutting off contact with this idiot. Nice sentiment, but the courts don't allow mothers to act authoritatively on behalf of their offspring. And certainly not in North Carolina.
http://www2.wnct.com/news/2010/dec/23/beaufort-father-charged-child-abuse-ar-640754/
Beaufort father charged with child abuse
Beaufort Police arrested Brandon Adkins last Saturday after his wife told police she came home that afternoon and actually had to crawl through a window to get inside.
By Lindsay Landry
Published: December 23, 2010
BEAUFORT, N.C. - A father has been charged with child abuse after police say he left his two small children home alone.
Beaufort Police arrested Brandon Adkins last Saturday after his wife told police she came home that afternoon and actually had to crawl through a window to get inside.
Once inside she said she found her two children ages two and five months alone in the apartment when Brandon was suppose to be watching them.
The wife told police a television had been thrown near the baby's crib and a bottle of bleach had been poured all over the living room floor.
Adkins received a two thousand dollar bond and is scheduled to appear in court on March 22nd.
http://www2.wnct.com/news/2010/dec/23/beaufort-father-charged-child-abuse-ar-640754/
Beaufort father charged with child abuse
Beaufort Police arrested Brandon Adkins last Saturday after his wife told police she came home that afternoon and actually had to crawl through a window to get inside.
By Lindsay Landry
Published: December 23, 2010
BEAUFORT, N.C. - A father has been charged with child abuse after police say he left his two small children home alone.
Beaufort Police arrested Brandon Adkins last Saturday after his wife told police she came home that afternoon and actually had to crawl through a window to get inside.
Once inside she said she found her two children ages two and five months alone in the apartment when Brandon was suppose to be watching them.
The wife told police a television had been thrown near the baby's crib and a bottle of bleach had been poured all over the living room floor.
Adkins received a two thousand dollar bond and is scheduled to appear in court on March 22nd.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Study: Child abuse rates twice as high in Israel as in US; father killers outnumber mothers (Tel Hashomer, Israel)
Not only is child abuse high in Israel, there are more fathers who kill than mothers (19 vs. 12). And of the parents who murdered "together", it's not explained here how many of those mothers were battered themselves and found guilty of failure to protect in a situation where the father was the active perpetrator.
For more information on dad ITAI BEN DROR, see here:
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2010/07/writing-for-this-murder-was-on-wall.html
Study: Child abuse rate twice as high in Israel than in U.S.
For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused - some 45,600 children in real terms.
By Dana Weiler-Polak
More than 45, 000 children in Israel have been the victims of abuse over the past 12 months, the head of the Israel National Council for the Child, Dr. Yitzhak Kadmon, said Monday.
Speaking a conference tackling the issue of infanticide, held at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Kadmon said that initial studies showed the rate of children suffering abuse over the past 12 months was twice as high in Israel than in the United States. For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused (45,600 children in real terms), as opposed to 10.1 children per thousand in the U.S.
In the last eight years, 42 children in Israel have been murdered by a family member, the majority at the hands of a parent. Of that number, 75% of the victims were under the age of 4 years, and most of them were boys. The data also showed that 19 of the 42 murders had been carried out by the child’s father, 12 by the mother and six by both parents together.
One of the most shocking cases of child murder in Israel occured in July, when Itai Ben Dror of Netanya admitted to killing his three young children, in order "to give them peace and quiet from their mother."
For more information on dad ITAI BEN DROR, see here:
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2010/07/writing-for-this-murder-was-on-wall.html
http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2010/07/dad-murders-3-children-during.html
It's one of those cases where the father murdered the kids while they were in unsupervised visitation. The mother was threatened with loss of custody if she didn't allow the visits. Same story as we see all over the planet these days.....
Study: Child abuse rate twice as high in Israel than in U.S.
For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused - some 45,600 children in real terms.
By Dana Weiler-Polak
More than 45, 000 children in Israel have been the victims of abuse over the past 12 months, the head of the Israel National Council for the Child, Dr. Yitzhak Kadmon, said Monday.
Speaking a conference tackling the issue of infanticide, held at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Kadmon said that initial studies showed the rate of children suffering abuse over the past 12 months was twice as high in Israel than in the United States. For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused (45,600 children in real terms), as opposed to 10.1 children per thousand in the U.S.
In the last eight years, 42 children in Israel have been murdered by a family member, the majority at the hands of a parent. Of that number, 75% of the victims were under the age of 4 years, and most of them were boys. The data also showed that 19 of the 42 murders had been carried out by the child’s father, 12 by the mother and six by both parents together.
One of the most shocking cases of child murder in Israel occured in July, when Itai Ben Dror of Netanya admitted to killing his three young children, in order "to give them peace and quiet from their mother."
Monday, May 10, 2010
CONFIRMED: Protective Mothers were Right - by Barry Goldstein
Great new essay by Barry Goldstein.
CONFIRMED: PROTECTIVE MOTHERS WERE RIGHT
Barry Goldstein
For many years, protective mothers have complained about a broken custody court system giving custody to abusive fathers. The courts dismissed the complaints by saying they came from disgruntled litigants. Now, a new book based on multi-disciplinary research has confirmed that common mistakes in the custody courts have resulted in thousands of children being forced to live with abusers. Domestic Violence, Abuse and Child Custody: Legal Strategies and Policy Issues, co-edited by Dr. Mo Therese Hannah and Barry Goldstein includes chapters by over 25 of the leading experts in domestic violence and custody in the U.S. and Canada including judges, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, journalists and domestic violence advocates. Although the writers come from different disciplines and professional experience, there is remarkable agreement that the courts' failure to use up-to-date research is responsible for placing children at risk and undermining laws designed to prevent domestic violence.
The custody court system developed practices to respond to domestic violence allegations over thirty years ago at a time when there was no research. The courts relied on popular assumptions such as the belief domestic violence was caused by mental illness, substance abuse and the victims' behavior. They assumed domestic violence only involved physical abuse and children were unaffected unless directly assaulted. All of these and many other assumptions relied on by the courts have proven wrong, but the court continues to use outdated and discredited practices. Even worse, after hearing misinformation constantly repeated for over thirty years the myths and stereotypes are so deeply ingrained that courts often don't believe accurate information based upon up-to-date research because it is so different from what they have heard repeated their entire professional careers. Hopefully by putting all the research together in one volume, the book will force the courts to take a fresh look at practices that have worked so poorly for children.
Most cases are settled more or less amicably. The problem is with the 3.8% of contested custody cases that continue to trial and usually far beyond. The courts think of these as "high conflict" cases and literally they are, but 90% of these cases involve abusive fathers which is why they can't be settled. Male supremacist groups have developed an unspeakably cruel tactic of encouraging abusers to go after the children as a way to pressure the mother to return, punish her for leaving and avoid child support. As a result, the courts repeatedly see cases in which fathers who had little involvement with the children before the separation suddenly seeking custody, but the court system has been slow to recognize the tactic or respond to it. Judges have constantly been told that children do better with both parents in their lives but not that this is untrue if one of the parents is abusive.
In the typical case, the mother is the primary parent. She complains about the father's abuse and he counters by claiming alienation. Primary attachment refers to the parent who does most of the child care in the first couple of years of a child's life. If the child is separated from their primary attachment figure, the child is more likely to commit suicide, suffer depression, have low self-esteem and other harmful attributes. Children who witness domestic violence are more likely to engage in a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors when they are older and their developmental progress is interfered with. On the other hand, it is common even in intact families for parents to make negative statements about the other parent and there is no research that alienation causes long-term harm to children. At the same time, in our still sexist society, mothers continue to do most of the child care so claims of primary attachment are virtually always true and often not contested by the father. Contrary to popular myths, women rarely make false allegations of abuse so that at least 98% of a mother's allegations of abuse in custody cases are accurate. Fathers on the other hand, are 16 times more likely to make false allegations in contested custody cases than mothers. This is not because women are so much more honest, but that most fathers in custody cases are abusers using the children to maintain control of their ex-partner and they seem to believe they are entitled to use any tactics to win custody. Accordingly most allegations of alienation by fathers in custody cases are false. In other words the allegations by the mothers have the most consequences for the children and are most likely to be true, but the courts are paying more attention to the allegations by the fathers that are likely to be false and of little consequence to the children.
The book can be used by mothers and their attorneys to challenge the common mistakes made in domestic violence cases. One of the big problems is that because of the original mistaken assumption that domestic violence is caused by mental health or substance abuse issues, the courts have relied on mental health professionals who have little or no understanding or training in domestic violence. They rarely have any familiarity with up-to-date research and instead frequently rely on myths and stereotypes. Although professional ethics require psychologists and psychiatrists to consult with an expert if they are handling a case involving an issue in which they lack expertise, evaluators and other court professionals routinely ignore this requirement by pretending they have expertise even with only an hour or two of training.
Evaluators often rely on psychological tests to create the illusion of a scientific basis for their opinions. These tests were developed for a population very different from the parents seen in custody court. When advocates for mothers tell courts that most abusers tend to be manipulative or mothers rarely make deliberately false allegations they respond by saying they are judging THIS case and cannot rely on probabilities. Under the best of circumstances the psychological tests are accurate between 55-65% of the time. So what happens if the mother is part of the 35-45% for which it is not accurate? Even worse factors like domestic violence or the pressure of going through a contested custody case reduce the accuracy significantly.
Furthermore, many of the tests are gender biased and criticize women but not men for the same responses. Of course the evaluators rarely inform courts of this information and most attorneys don't know enough to raise these issues.
A critical problem that does not receive the attention it deserves is that judges and the professionals they rely on repeatedly fail to recognize domestic violence because they don't know what to look for. Judge Mike Brigner wrote a chapter for the book in which he discusses his training of judges about domestic violence. They constantly ask him what to do about women who are lying. When he asks what they mean they refer to women who return to their abuser, seek protective orders, but don't follow-up or don't have police or medical reports after alleged assaults. In reality battered mothers do all these things for safety and other good reasons, but when ignorant professionals use this to discredit allegations of abuse, they have no chance to get it right. Another common example is when judges, lawyers or evaluators watch fathers interact with the children. If the children show no fear, it convinces these professionals that the abuse allegations must be false. What the children understand is that their father would never hurt them in front of witnesses, especially someone he is trying to impress and in fact they could be punished if they showed fear. At the same time the mental health professionals are discrediting valid allegations based on information that is not probative, they tend to look only for physical abuse and miss many other domestic violence tactics that demonstrate the control and coercion he practices.
The mistaken practices give the courts little chance to recognize the father's abuse, but it is even worse than that. The mental health professionals often use their failure to recognize domestic violence as an excuse to pathologize the mother. She is often called delusional or paranoid because she believes something they missed. This or the assumption she is deliberately trying to interfere with the father's relationship with the children often results in extreme outcomes in which the mother is given supervised or no visitation based on the court's mistakes. In her chapter on retaliation and manipulation, Joan Zorza says that in light of the frequency in which courts fail to recognize domestic violence they should avoid retaliating or penalizing mothers who continue to believe the allegations of abuse after the court finds against them. This recommendation can be used to ask courts to modify orders with extreme results when there is no proof the mother is unsafe.
Some child protective agencies have participated in programs in which they work with the local domestic violence agency. The train each other and when there is a case with possible domestic violence issues, the child protective caseworkers consult with domestic violence advocates. This helps them recognize and respond more appropriately to domestic violence cases. This should be considered best practices and needs to be expanded to the custody courts.
The custody courts do a particularly bad job of responding to allegations of sexual abuse. By the time a child reaches the age of 18, one-third of the girls and one-sixth of the boys have been sexually abused. The myth is that rape and sexual abuse are mostly committed by strangers but in fact 83% of the time it is someone they know, often the father. Courts don't want to believe a father could do something so heinous especially if he is successful in other parts of his life. Accordingly a very high percentage of sexual abuse allegations result in custody to the alleged abuser.
One of the problems is that sexual abuse of children is very hard to prove. Often there is no physical evidence particularly if the child does not reveal it immediately. Younger children may not have the language to describe what was done to them and older children may have been threatened or don't want someone they love to get in trouble. Few of the evaluators relied on by courts have expertise in child sexual abuse. What is a mother supposed to do when the child's behavior or other clues suggest sexual abuse? If she does nothing she is placing the safety and well-being of her child at risk, but if she asks for an investigation she can lose custody. We have seen many cases in which a child acts out because the father violated the child's boundaries such as by sleeping with the child. The father did not inappropriately touch the child. The issue could easily be handled by instructing the father to change his routine and it would be totally safe for the father to continue with normal visitation. This would be a win-win situation, but instead courts and the unqualified professionals they rely on assume the mother is making deliberately false allegations and so separate the child from their primary attachment figure and deny the child a relationship with her.
The book also takes on Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) which is one of the major reasons courts get so many cases wrong. Dr. Paul Fink past president of the American Psychiatric Association wrote a chapter about PAS and Nancy Erickson who is an attorney and law professor who went back to school to become a psychologist wrote about how to challenge false allegations of PAS. Richard Gardner concocted PAS based on his belief system which included many statements to the effect that sex between adults and children is appropriate. Many of his quotations are in the chapter and can be cited to judges who presumably will not want to be associated with such behavior. There is no scientific basis to PAS and it is not recognized by any reputable professional organization. It is based on the myth that most allegations of abuse are false. Psychologists are starting to lose their licenses for using PAS because they are in effect diagnosing something that does not exist. As PAS has become more discredited, abusers and the professionals they pay to support them have started using PAS by other names such as parental alienation or just alienation. It the idea is to assume allegations of abuse must be wrong or to justify giving custody to the alleged abuser and supervised or no visitation to the protective mothers they are using the discredited PAS by another name.
Professor Garland Waller wrote a chapter about the failure of the media to cover the crisis in the custody court system. She writes about the tipping point when enough information reaches the public so that they will no longer tolerate frequent court mistakes that place children in jeopardy. We believe this book can move us towards the tipping point and hope those committed to ending the injustice in the custody court system will consider some of the following actions to help us reach the tipping point.
1. Inform the courts in your area about this book. They can find additional information at domesticviolenceabuseandchildcustody.com.
Ask the courts to use the research in the book to train judges and other court personnel and to reform practices that the research demonstrates are working poorly for children.
2. Contact your local media to cover the crisis in the custody court system by using the research in the book to understand the harm the courts are doing to children. If you want to seek publicity for your case use the book to show the context and national problem and then your case illustrates how it played out in a local case. When there are local domestic violence stories bring the information in the book to the reporters.
3. If you have local colleges, universities or law schools in the area, ask them to incorporate the research from the book into the curriculum and to sponsor programs about the custody courts based on this research.
4. Ask local and college libraries to obtain a copy of the book. This would be particularly helpful for protective mothers who cannot afford to purchase the book.
5. Cite the book in court cases and appeals. Use the research to challenge unqualified evaluators and other court professionals and to obtain experts who can put this research into evidence.
6. Use the book to inform legislators of the problems in the court. Ask them to hold hearings and sponsor legislation to protect children and prevent abuse. We will soon have legislative proposals available based on the research in the book.
7. Work together with domestic violence agencies, women's groups and anyone else sympathetic to the cause.
8. Come up with your own ideas. We cannot tolerate a system that continues to place children in jeopardy because they fail to use the up-to-date research now available.
CONFIRMED: PROTECTIVE MOTHERS WERE RIGHT
Barry Goldstein
For many years, protective mothers have complained about a broken custody court system giving custody to abusive fathers. The courts dismissed the complaints by saying they came from disgruntled litigants. Now, a new book based on multi-disciplinary research has confirmed that common mistakes in the custody courts have resulted in thousands of children being forced to live with abusers. Domestic Violence, Abuse and Child Custody: Legal Strategies and Policy Issues, co-edited by Dr. Mo Therese Hannah and Barry Goldstein includes chapters by over 25 of the leading experts in domestic violence and custody in the U.S. and Canada including judges, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, journalists and domestic violence advocates. Although the writers come from different disciplines and professional experience, there is remarkable agreement that the courts' failure to use up-to-date research is responsible for placing children at risk and undermining laws designed to prevent domestic violence.
The custody court system developed practices to respond to domestic violence allegations over thirty years ago at a time when there was no research. The courts relied on popular assumptions such as the belief domestic violence was caused by mental illness, substance abuse and the victims' behavior. They assumed domestic violence only involved physical abuse and children were unaffected unless directly assaulted. All of these and many other assumptions relied on by the courts have proven wrong, but the court continues to use outdated and discredited practices. Even worse, after hearing misinformation constantly repeated for over thirty years the myths and stereotypes are so deeply ingrained that courts often don't believe accurate information based upon up-to-date research because it is so different from what they have heard repeated their entire professional careers. Hopefully by putting all the research together in one volume, the book will force the courts to take a fresh look at practices that have worked so poorly for children.
Most cases are settled more or less amicably. The problem is with the 3.8% of contested custody cases that continue to trial and usually far beyond. The courts think of these as "high conflict" cases and literally they are, but 90% of these cases involve abusive fathers which is why they can't be settled. Male supremacist groups have developed an unspeakably cruel tactic of encouraging abusers to go after the children as a way to pressure the mother to return, punish her for leaving and avoid child support. As a result, the courts repeatedly see cases in which fathers who had little involvement with the children before the separation suddenly seeking custody, but the court system has been slow to recognize the tactic or respond to it. Judges have constantly been told that children do better with both parents in their lives but not that this is untrue if one of the parents is abusive.
In the typical case, the mother is the primary parent. She complains about the father's abuse and he counters by claiming alienation. Primary attachment refers to the parent who does most of the child care in the first couple of years of a child's life. If the child is separated from their primary attachment figure, the child is more likely to commit suicide, suffer depression, have low self-esteem and other harmful attributes. Children who witness domestic violence are more likely to engage in a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors when they are older and their developmental progress is interfered with. On the other hand, it is common even in intact families for parents to make negative statements about the other parent and there is no research that alienation causes long-term harm to children. At the same time, in our still sexist society, mothers continue to do most of the child care so claims of primary attachment are virtually always true and often not contested by the father. Contrary to popular myths, women rarely make false allegations of abuse so that at least 98% of a mother's allegations of abuse in custody cases are accurate. Fathers on the other hand, are 16 times more likely to make false allegations in contested custody cases than mothers. This is not because women are so much more honest, but that most fathers in custody cases are abusers using the children to maintain control of their ex-partner and they seem to believe they are entitled to use any tactics to win custody. Accordingly most allegations of alienation by fathers in custody cases are false. In other words the allegations by the mothers have the most consequences for the children and are most likely to be true, but the courts are paying more attention to the allegations by the fathers that are likely to be false and of little consequence to the children.
The book can be used by mothers and their attorneys to challenge the common mistakes made in domestic violence cases. One of the big problems is that because of the original mistaken assumption that domestic violence is caused by mental health or substance abuse issues, the courts have relied on mental health professionals who have little or no understanding or training in domestic violence. They rarely have any familiarity with up-to-date research and instead frequently rely on myths and stereotypes. Although professional ethics require psychologists and psychiatrists to consult with an expert if they are handling a case involving an issue in which they lack expertise, evaluators and other court professionals routinely ignore this requirement by pretending they have expertise even with only an hour or two of training.
Evaluators often rely on psychological tests to create the illusion of a scientific basis for their opinions. These tests were developed for a population very different from the parents seen in custody court. When advocates for mothers tell courts that most abusers tend to be manipulative or mothers rarely make deliberately false allegations they respond by saying they are judging THIS case and cannot rely on probabilities. Under the best of circumstances the psychological tests are accurate between 55-65% of the time. So what happens if the mother is part of the 35-45% for which it is not accurate? Even worse factors like domestic violence or the pressure of going through a contested custody case reduce the accuracy significantly.
Furthermore, many of the tests are gender biased and criticize women but not men for the same responses. Of course the evaluators rarely inform courts of this information and most attorneys don't know enough to raise these issues.
A critical problem that does not receive the attention it deserves is that judges and the professionals they rely on repeatedly fail to recognize domestic violence because they don't know what to look for. Judge Mike Brigner wrote a chapter for the book in which he discusses his training of judges about domestic violence. They constantly ask him what to do about women who are lying. When he asks what they mean they refer to women who return to their abuser, seek protective orders, but don't follow-up or don't have police or medical reports after alleged assaults. In reality battered mothers do all these things for safety and other good reasons, but when ignorant professionals use this to discredit allegations of abuse, they have no chance to get it right. Another common example is when judges, lawyers or evaluators watch fathers interact with the children. If the children show no fear, it convinces these professionals that the abuse allegations must be false. What the children understand is that their father would never hurt them in front of witnesses, especially someone he is trying to impress and in fact they could be punished if they showed fear. At the same time the mental health professionals are discrediting valid allegations based on information that is not probative, they tend to look only for physical abuse and miss many other domestic violence tactics that demonstrate the control and coercion he practices.
The mistaken practices give the courts little chance to recognize the father's abuse, but it is even worse than that. The mental health professionals often use their failure to recognize domestic violence as an excuse to pathologize the mother. She is often called delusional or paranoid because she believes something they missed. This or the assumption she is deliberately trying to interfere with the father's relationship with the children often results in extreme outcomes in which the mother is given supervised or no visitation based on the court's mistakes. In her chapter on retaliation and manipulation, Joan Zorza says that in light of the frequency in which courts fail to recognize domestic violence they should avoid retaliating or penalizing mothers who continue to believe the allegations of abuse after the court finds against them. This recommendation can be used to ask courts to modify orders with extreme results when there is no proof the mother is unsafe.
Some child protective agencies have participated in programs in which they work with the local domestic violence agency. The train each other and when there is a case with possible domestic violence issues, the child protective caseworkers consult with domestic violence advocates. This helps them recognize and respond more appropriately to domestic violence cases. This should be considered best practices and needs to be expanded to the custody courts.
The custody courts do a particularly bad job of responding to allegations of sexual abuse. By the time a child reaches the age of 18, one-third of the girls and one-sixth of the boys have been sexually abused. The myth is that rape and sexual abuse are mostly committed by strangers but in fact 83% of the time it is someone they know, often the father. Courts don't want to believe a father could do something so heinous especially if he is successful in other parts of his life. Accordingly a very high percentage of sexual abuse allegations result in custody to the alleged abuser.
One of the problems is that sexual abuse of children is very hard to prove. Often there is no physical evidence particularly if the child does not reveal it immediately. Younger children may not have the language to describe what was done to them and older children may have been threatened or don't want someone they love to get in trouble. Few of the evaluators relied on by courts have expertise in child sexual abuse. What is a mother supposed to do when the child's behavior or other clues suggest sexual abuse? If she does nothing she is placing the safety and well-being of her child at risk, but if she asks for an investigation she can lose custody. We have seen many cases in which a child acts out because the father violated the child's boundaries such as by sleeping with the child. The father did not inappropriately touch the child. The issue could easily be handled by instructing the father to change his routine and it would be totally safe for the father to continue with normal visitation. This would be a win-win situation, but instead courts and the unqualified professionals they rely on assume the mother is making deliberately false allegations and so separate the child from their primary attachment figure and deny the child a relationship with her.
The book also takes on Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) which is one of the major reasons courts get so many cases wrong. Dr. Paul Fink past president of the American Psychiatric Association wrote a chapter about PAS and Nancy Erickson who is an attorney and law professor who went back to school to become a psychologist wrote about how to challenge false allegations of PAS. Richard Gardner concocted PAS based on his belief system which included many statements to the effect that sex between adults and children is appropriate. Many of his quotations are in the chapter and can be cited to judges who presumably will not want to be associated with such behavior. There is no scientific basis to PAS and it is not recognized by any reputable professional organization. It is based on the myth that most allegations of abuse are false. Psychologists are starting to lose their licenses for using PAS because they are in effect diagnosing something that does not exist. As PAS has become more discredited, abusers and the professionals they pay to support them have started using PAS by other names such as parental alienation or just alienation. It the idea is to assume allegations of abuse must be wrong or to justify giving custody to the alleged abuser and supervised or no visitation to the protective mothers they are using the discredited PAS by another name.
Professor Garland Waller wrote a chapter about the failure of the media to cover the crisis in the custody court system. She writes about the tipping point when enough information reaches the public so that they will no longer tolerate frequent court mistakes that place children in jeopardy. We believe this book can move us towards the tipping point and hope those committed to ending the injustice in the custody court system will consider some of the following actions to help us reach the tipping point.
1. Inform the courts in your area about this book. They can find additional information at domesticviolenceabuseandchildcustody.com.
Ask the courts to use the research in the book to train judges and other court personnel and to reform practices that the research demonstrates are working poorly for children.
2. Contact your local media to cover the crisis in the custody court system by using the research in the book to understand the harm the courts are doing to children. If you want to seek publicity for your case use the book to show the context and national problem and then your case illustrates how it played out in a local case. When there are local domestic violence stories bring the information in the book to the reporters.
3. If you have local colleges, universities or law schools in the area, ask them to incorporate the research from the book into the curriculum and to sponsor programs about the custody courts based on this research.
4. Ask local and college libraries to obtain a copy of the book. This would be particularly helpful for protective mothers who cannot afford to purchase the book.
5. Cite the book in court cases and appeals. Use the research to challenge unqualified evaluators and other court professionals and to obtain experts who can put this research into evidence.
6. Use the book to inform legislators of the problems in the court. Ask them to hold hearings and sponsor legislation to protect children and prevent abuse. We will soon have legislative proposals available based on the research in the book.
7. Work together with domestic violence agencies, women's groups and anyone else sympathetic to the cause.
8. Come up with your own ideas. We cannot tolerate a system that continues to place children in jeopardy because they fail to use the up-to-date research now available.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Hundreds attend battered mothers custody conference (Colonie, New York)
Many thanks to Dr. Mo Hanna and the many, many other hardworking folks who make this annual conference a reality.
http://capitalnews9.com/capital-region-news-12-content/your_news/capital_region/492704/hundreds-attend-battered-mothers-custody-conference
Hundreds attend battered mothers custody conference
By: Megan Eaton
In domestic violence custody cases, many victims search for a way to make their voices heard. Our Megan Eaton went to a conference aimed at searching for solutions and has more.
COLONIE, N.Y. -- More than 175 people attended the three day Battered Mothers Custody Conference hoping to find solutions to what they call a broken system.
Heather Boltz attends the seventh annual Battered Mothers Custody Conference both as a victim's advocate, and a victim.
“I was involved in some litigation, because my ex-husband assaulted me. That litigation resulted in, you know, I had custody of our daughters and the court continued to allow him to come around me and what would happen is he would continue to assault me and the court was not protecting me,” said Heather Boltz.
Fearing for her safety, and that of her children, she felt she had no choice but to leave Albany County with her two daughters.
Because her ex husband was never convicted of domestic abuse, after she left the area, courts awarded him custody of their children.
He has since taken the girls down to Florida, where Boltz says she's been barred by him from seeing them. That was five years ago. Hers is just one of the many stories shared during the conference.
“As a group that is concerned with the safety and protection of children and battered women, what are we going to do about it, so we talk about a lot of different proposals and initiatives for individual cases and to reform the system,” said Dr. Mo Hannah, conference chair.
It’s so often thought of as a women's issue but it really is a man’s issue it’s important that men take a role in ending domestic violence,” said Barry Goldstein, conference planner.
Many at the conference say the family court system needs help and would like to see changes made nation-wide.
“A lot of times what you get is almost like competing jurisdictions. So in my case I would get a restraining order from criminal court and family court would step in and say to my husband-at the time husband-that he could have contact with our daughters, which the restraining order from criminal court would say no,” said Boltz.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally, who was not at the conference, does recognize that things need to be done to fix the system.
Their county was one of the first in the state to introduce an integrated court docket.
Instead of having competing cases in criminal court, and family court, everything is tied together with one Supreme Court judge.
While it might slow down the process, it makes it easier for victims of domestic violence to seek justice. Governor Paterson is also trying to help, by signing bills that help domestic violence victims. Including one last year that requires courts to show how incidents of domestic violence affected their custody and visitation rulings and although Paterson's legislation is too late to help Boltz, she knows others will benefit from it.
“It’s not retroactive, but it can hopefully help other women,” said Boltz.
This mix of mother’s lawyers and others hope to work with the courts to find a solution that's fair for everyone.
http://capitalnews9.com/capital-region-news-12-content/your_news/capital_region/492704/hundreds-attend-battered-mothers-custody-conference
Hundreds attend battered mothers custody conference
By: Megan Eaton
In domestic violence custody cases, many victims search for a way to make their voices heard. Our Megan Eaton went to a conference aimed at searching for solutions and has more.
COLONIE, N.Y. -- More than 175 people attended the three day Battered Mothers Custody Conference hoping to find solutions to what they call a broken system.
Heather Boltz attends the seventh annual Battered Mothers Custody Conference both as a victim's advocate, and a victim.
“I was involved in some litigation, because my ex-husband assaulted me. That litigation resulted in, you know, I had custody of our daughters and the court continued to allow him to come around me and what would happen is he would continue to assault me and the court was not protecting me,” said Heather Boltz.
Fearing for her safety, and that of her children, she felt she had no choice but to leave Albany County with her two daughters.
Because her ex husband was never convicted of domestic abuse, after she left the area, courts awarded him custody of their children.
He has since taken the girls down to Florida, where Boltz says she's been barred by him from seeing them. That was five years ago. Hers is just one of the many stories shared during the conference.
“As a group that is concerned with the safety and protection of children and battered women, what are we going to do about it, so we talk about a lot of different proposals and initiatives for individual cases and to reform the system,” said Dr. Mo Hannah, conference chair.
It’s so often thought of as a women's issue but it really is a man’s issue it’s important that men take a role in ending domestic violence,” said Barry Goldstein, conference planner.
Many at the conference say the family court system needs help and would like to see changes made nation-wide.
“A lot of times what you get is almost like competing jurisdictions. So in my case I would get a restraining order from criminal court and family court would step in and say to my husband-at the time husband-that he could have contact with our daughters, which the restraining order from criminal court would say no,” said Boltz.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally, who was not at the conference, does recognize that things need to be done to fix the system.
Their county was one of the first in the state to introduce an integrated court docket.
Instead of having competing cases in criminal court, and family court, everything is tied together with one Supreme Court judge.
While it might slow down the process, it makes it easier for victims of domestic violence to seek justice. Governor Paterson is also trying to help, by signing bills that help domestic violence victims. Including one last year that requires courts to show how incidents of domestic violence affected their custody and visitation rulings and although Paterson's legislation is too late to help Boltz, she knows others will benefit from it.
“It’s not retroactive, but it can hopefully help other women,” said Boltz.
This mix of mother’s lawyers and others hope to work with the courts to find a solution that's fair for everyone.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Dad on trial for murder and rape of infant son, assault on 3-year-old daughter (Opelika, Alabama)
Dad BARRY LEE JONES in on trial for the murder, sexual assault, sodomy, and rape of his infant son, and for assaulting his 3-year-old daughter, who suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen. Calling this guy a piece of sh-- doesn't seem to do justice. Even the medical people, who are trained to stay detached and objective, were weeping during their testimony.
http://www2.oanow.com/oan/news/local/article/emotional_day_on_the_stand/110114/
Emotional day on the stand
Vasha Hunt Opelika-Auburn News
Dr. John McFarland took the stand Wednesday as the prosecution called witnesses in the capital murder trial of Barry Lee Jones, 20, of Opelika. Jones faces charges of capital murder, sexual assault, sodomy and rape in connection with the death of his infant son, Kevin Christopher Jones, and injury to a then-3-year-old girl.
Amy Weaver
Staff Writer
Published: November 18, 2009
The small 5-year-old girl clutched to a female Lee County employee for comfort and support when she took the witness stand Wednesday in a capital murder case.
Her foster mother waved to her from a nearby chair as at least one familiar face to the visibly timid child. She had met Lee County chief trial assistant district attorney Robbie Treese before, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get her to verbally answer some questions, even one about the color of her purse. She remained quiet and introverted, answering some questions with a slow nod of her head.
The 16-member jury in the capital murder case against 20-year-old Barry Lee Jones of Opelika was not present for her testimony as Treese tried to determine if the girl could verbalize answers in the courtroom.
Treese let her leave the courtroom and then told Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III that she hasn’t talked much about her visit to the emergency room of East Alabama Medical Center since it happened nearly two years ago.
Jones faces charges of capital murder, sexual assault, sodomy and rape in connection with the death of his infant son, Kevin Christopher Jones, and injury to the girl.
After two days of jury selection, Wednesday’s court proceedings began with opening statements.
In his statements, William Whatley of Montgomery, one of Jones’ defense attorneys, told jurors that the state is required to show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and asked them not to let their emotions cloud their judgement.
The prosecution called its first witness, an EAMC multi-care technician, at 9:30 a.m.
EAMC doctors John McFarland and Larry Thorne also testified, both saying that when they saw the then-3-year-old girl that December morning, she told them she was experiencing stomach pain because she was “hit with Kevin.” ER nurse Isabelle Green said the same thing.
Both doctors were emotional at times during their testimony.
At one point during his testimony, McFarland, an ER physician, broke into tears. He then apologized to the jury for the show of emotion.
“I had forgotten how upsetting it was to see those injuries,” he said.
McFarland said he and the rest of the ER staff were “horrified” to see bruises on the baby boy, and then to discover injuries to his rectum. The veteran medical professional, visibly shaken while he viewed photos of Kevin, said he deemed his injuries to be a result of ongoing and current sexual abuse.
Thorne, a pediatrician, said the injuries to the girl were the result of abuse. He had difficulty talking about the marks on her body. He said her stomach was so tender, it couldn’t be touched.
“It was blunt (force) trauma from some object,” he said.
Marcia Baylor, multi-care technician at EAMC, testified that she remembers a “young black man” coming into the ER with an unresponsive baby in his arms. She took the baby and asked the young man to follow her, but he did not.
When McFarland talked to Jones that morning, he recalled how unemotional the young father was after learning of Kevin’s death.
“I was sort of chilled seeing him so flat,” he said.
Both McFarland and Thorne examined Barry Lee Jones after he told them each that morning that someone hit him in the head.
“He said he was knocked out and he didn’t know what happened,” McFarland recalled.
According to an affidavit, Jones has claimed that someone else injured the children after knocking him unconscious.
Both doctors said they found no signs of trauma to Jones’ head.
“I didn’t see anything — not even a little scratch. Nothing,” Thorne said.
Opelika police officer Jim Moody, who conducted an investigation at Jones’ residence on Toomer Court, testified that he found no signs of forced entry at any doors or windows at the house.
Testimony is expected to resume this morning.
The Opelika-Auburn News does not publish the names of abuse victims.
http://www2.oanow.com/oan/news/local/article/emotional_day_on_the_stand/110114/
Emotional day on the stand
Vasha Hunt Opelika-Auburn News
Dr. John McFarland took the stand Wednesday as the prosecution called witnesses in the capital murder trial of Barry Lee Jones, 20, of Opelika. Jones faces charges of capital murder, sexual assault, sodomy and rape in connection with the death of his infant son, Kevin Christopher Jones, and injury to a then-3-year-old girl.
Amy Weaver
Staff Writer
Published: November 18, 2009
The small 5-year-old girl clutched to a female Lee County employee for comfort and support when she took the witness stand Wednesday in a capital murder case.
Her foster mother waved to her from a nearby chair as at least one familiar face to the visibly timid child. She had met Lee County chief trial assistant district attorney Robbie Treese before, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get her to verbally answer some questions, even one about the color of her purse. She remained quiet and introverted, answering some questions with a slow nod of her head.
The 16-member jury in the capital murder case against 20-year-old Barry Lee Jones of Opelika was not present for her testimony as Treese tried to determine if the girl could verbalize answers in the courtroom.
Treese let her leave the courtroom and then told Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III that she hasn’t talked much about her visit to the emergency room of East Alabama Medical Center since it happened nearly two years ago.
Jones faces charges of capital murder, sexual assault, sodomy and rape in connection with the death of his infant son, Kevin Christopher Jones, and injury to the girl.
After two days of jury selection, Wednesday’s court proceedings began with opening statements.
In his statements, William Whatley of Montgomery, one of Jones’ defense attorneys, told jurors that the state is required to show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and asked them not to let their emotions cloud their judgement.
The prosecution called its first witness, an EAMC multi-care technician, at 9:30 a.m.
EAMC doctors John McFarland and Larry Thorne also testified, both saying that when they saw the then-3-year-old girl that December morning, she told them she was experiencing stomach pain because she was “hit with Kevin.” ER nurse Isabelle Green said the same thing.
Both doctors were emotional at times during their testimony.
At one point during his testimony, McFarland, an ER physician, broke into tears. He then apologized to the jury for the show of emotion.
“I had forgotten how upsetting it was to see those injuries,” he said.
McFarland said he and the rest of the ER staff were “horrified” to see bruises on the baby boy, and then to discover injuries to his rectum. The veteran medical professional, visibly shaken while he viewed photos of Kevin, said he deemed his injuries to be a result of ongoing and current sexual abuse.
Thorne, a pediatrician, said the injuries to the girl were the result of abuse. He had difficulty talking about the marks on her body. He said her stomach was so tender, it couldn’t be touched.
“It was blunt (force) trauma from some object,” he said.
Marcia Baylor, multi-care technician at EAMC, testified that she remembers a “young black man” coming into the ER with an unresponsive baby in his arms. She took the baby and asked the young man to follow her, but he did not.
When McFarland talked to Jones that morning, he recalled how unemotional the young father was after learning of Kevin’s death.
“I was sort of chilled seeing him so flat,” he said.
Both McFarland and Thorne examined Barry Lee Jones after he told them each that morning that someone hit him in the head.
“He said he was knocked out and he didn’t know what happened,” McFarland recalled.
According to an affidavit, Jones has claimed that someone else injured the children after knocking him unconscious.
Both doctors said they found no signs of trauma to Jones’ head.
“I didn’t see anything — not even a little scratch. Nothing,” Thorne said.
Opelika police officer Jim Moody, who conducted an investigation at Jones’ residence on Toomer Court, testified that he found no signs of forced entry at any doors or windows at the house.
Testimony is expected to resume this morning.
The Opelika-Auburn News does not publish the names of abuse victims.
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