Coffee with Anna Vlog Edition #3: Python Kills Toddler; Teacher Fired for Pumping Breast Milk, Failure to Report Child Missing a Felony & a Giveaway

  

Good Morning! On the agenda today:

• In the vlog I discuss several articles and I've got links for you in case you want to read more:
  • Python Kills Toddler; Mother Convicted of Manslaughter
  • Teacher Fired for Pumping Breast Milk
  • Proposed Legislation for Felony Charge for Failing to Report Child Missing
• If you haven't read this week's posts on bouncy house safety and liability, go read them. It's important! It could save your child's life and your savings account; or both.
• By the way, I'm giving something away tomorrow at 10 a.m. Listen to the whole vlog to find out what it is and how to enter. 
• It's much easier to write than to vlog. So, I'm going to do 1 more and then evaluate whether to continue with this format. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Have a great weekend! Over and out...

Anna

Comments

[Matt Weber]

Great video. I would love to enter for the tickets to the fair. Going tomorrow but two times never hurts, right?

[glb]

Anna – I’m quite pleased that you brought up the proposed legislation for a Caylee’s law. I am a parent, but I am also a person who is against nearly any legislation that is authored quickly as a knee jerk response to a crime or in honor of a victim. Many times this “knee jerk” legislation does not take into account the misapplication of justice that could be the end result. The law could allow for prosecution that is not the intent of the law, but ability is there because of the law’s existence.

For example: I have an eleven year old daughter. If she stays at a friend’s house overnight and does not plan to come home until the next evening because of events that are planned with the other family. What if she and her friend convinced the other parent that they were staying at my house, yet both girls went somewhere different and something terrible happened to them? What if it was found out by both myself and the other parent that the girls were not at either house and we were so frantic with worry and trying to find them, that we did not notify the proper authorities until the 26th hour? I would be a grieving parent and suddenly facing possible prosecution for a serious crime.

What if the crime carries a punishment of a felony and up to three to five years in prison or possibly more?

How can the timetable be proven?

Another aspect to this proposed legislation is not reporting your child’s death within one hour. If anything, this part of the law would make me an immediate criminal. I have been through the deaths of close family members. Most people go into shock when something happens to a close relative. As a mother, I can assure you that my state of mind should I witness the death of my child or find them deceased would be one of severe anguish. How can I say that I would not want to hold them for a little while before I called the authorities and had them removed by a coroner? What if they died in some manner in their sleep at the beginning of the night and you did not find them until morning. A law with strict penalties, or teeth as I call them, would allow for prosecution.

And again, how can an hour timetable be proven?

I won’t go into details, but in Minnesota alone there laws where the punishment does not fit the crime. Look at the roots of those laws and most are from knee jerk legislation. I don’t see many citizens petitioning their legislative body to have these changes made, so yeah, you can say I am firmly against any new legislation that the crime does not fit the punishment and could have serious unintended results.

Could the legislation potentially protect an innocent victim? Yes, I don’t doubt it might but at what cost to other innocent or un-intended parties who will fall into the pitfall of such legislation.

Sorry to be so up in arms, but the proposed Caylee’s law has my blood boiling.

As of this moment in time, 1,291,383 people have signed the petition on Change.org for the proposed Caylee’s law. What I wonder is this: how many watched the news and signed this petition due to emotion instead of critical evaluation of proposed legislation and possible consequences of such a law?

[Colleen McGuire]

I, Colleen, hereby enter said "Minnesota State Fair ticket giveaway contest." I do this on my own accord, without influence or force.

Had to make it at least sound legal-ish. :) Thanks Anna!

[Becky]

I would love the tickets to the fair!

[Becky]

I tweeted about it :) (@Beck0323)

[Becky]

I liked you on Facebook. Can you tell I really want these tickets?! :)