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Parents as Felons

Parents as Felons

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There's a story concerning this incident in the New York Times, but since it has a paywall, I'll just repeat the version that I got in my Reason roundup from the Libertarian magazine daily newsletter:

"A North Carolina couple, Jessica Ivey Jenkins and Sameule Jenkins, let their 7- and 10-year-old sons walk 10 minutes to the store by themselves, with Sameule staying on the phone with them as they completed their journey. They made it to the store safely, but on the way back, the 7-year-old was hit and killed by an SUV driver while crossing the street. The county district attorney charged the parents with involuntary manslaughter, and their remaining children were taken away from them. The parents have struggled to afford bail, and pleaded guilty to felony child abuse (with suspended prison sentences). Those felony convictions will jeopardize their employment, and likely mean they'll be evicted from their home. (Also, wasn't the pain of losing their child enough? It's not like the conviction helps them understand that, in this case, they made a decision that resulted in something tragic; they already know that.) It's a terribly sad story and yet another example of how parenting decisions that used to be commonplace have become increasingly criminalized, with awful accidents used as fodder for more fearmongering."

Guilty of homicide for letting a 10 year old and a 7 year old walk to the store? Does anybody agree with this?

EDIT: Apparently they pled guilty to felony child abuse, not involuntary manslaughter so they're not guilty of homicide. There's a Newsweek story covering the case here: https://www.newsweek.com/district-attorney-defends-charging-parents-boy-fatally-struck-2110485

When I was a kid, children in my neighborhood walked to the store, crossing streets without their parents all the time. When did it become "child abuse" to allow them to do so?


What happened to the SUV driver who killed the kid?



@no1marauder said
Guilty of homicide for letting a 10 year old and a 7 year old walk to the store? Does anybody agree with this?
Not me.


@AThousandYoung said
What happened to the SUV driver who killed the kid?
From the Newsweek article:

"The driver, a 76-year-old woman, was not charged."


@no1marauder said
There's a story concerning this incident in the New York Times, but since it has a paywall, I'll just repeat the version that I got in my Reason roundup from the Libertarian magazine daily newsletter:

"A North Carolina couple, Jessica Ivey Jenkins and Sameule Jenkins, let their 7- and 10-year-old sons walk 10 minutes to the store by themselves, with Sameule stay ...[text shortened]... streets without their parents all the time. When did it become "child abuse" to allow them to do so?
Children need some autonomy. Certainly a 10-year-old should be granted the agency to walk about a neighborhood on their own, or in the accompaniment of a 7-year-old sibling. Cocooning kids does them no favors later in life.

US society has an incredibly warped conception of risk and responsibility.


@no1marauder
The USA is very sick and it's dying. This is yet another insane thing to add to the list.


@no1marauder said
There's a story concerning this incident in the New York Times, but since it has a paywall, I'll just repeat the version that I got in my Reason roundup from the Libertarian magazine daily newsletter:

"A North Carolina couple, Jessica Ivey Jenkins and Sameule Jenkins, let their 7- and 10-year-old sons walk 10 minutes to the store by themselves, with Sameule stay ...[text shortened]... streets without their parents all the time. When did it become "child abuse" to allow them to do so?
Try this on for size.

This was in North Carolina, and the family who lost their kid is black. (I feared this was the case, the article has a picture of the son and dad.) I doubt this would have had the same result had the family been white. These parents got railroaded.

2 edits

@Suzianne said
Try this on for size.

This was in North Carolina, and the family who lost their kid is black. (I feared this was the case, the article has a picture of the son and dad.) I doubt this would have had the same result had the family been white. These parents got railroaded.
I saw a picture of the Mom. She's white.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/gastonia-father-pleads-guilty-after-7-year-old-son-hit-killed-by-car/275-aa7eb8e0-6ae6-44ef-821e-8c095f24d1a8

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/north-carolina-child-killed-car-parents-arrested-manslaughter-charges-rcna211900


@no1marauder said
There's a story concerning this incident in the New York Times, but since it has a paywall, I'll just repeat the version that I got in my Reason roundup from the Libertarian magazine daily newsletter:

"A North Carolina couple, Jessica Ivey Jenkins and Sameule Jenkins, let their 7- and 10-year-old sons walk 10 minutes to the store by themselves, with Sameule stay ...[text shortened]... streets without their parents all the time. When did it become "child abuse" to allow them to do so?
I certainly disagree with it.

Are you supposed to keep kids prisoner or something?


@AThousandYoung said
I saw a picture of the Mom. She's white.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/gastonia-father-pleads-guilty-after-7-year-old-son-hit-killed-by-car/275-aa7eb8e0-6ae6-44ef-821e-8c095f24d1a8

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/north-carolina-child-killed-car-parents-arrested-manslaughter-charges-rcna211900
Huh, okay, didn't see that.


@shavixmir said
I certainly disagree with it.

Are you supposed to keep kids prisoner or something?
People here love to tell others how to parent. It's ridiculous sometimes.


@Suzianne said
Try this on for size.

This was in North Carolina, and the family who lost their kid is black. (I feared this was the case, the article has a picture of the son and dad.) I doubt this would have had the same result had the family been white. These parents got railroaded.
😂


@shavixmir said
I certainly disagree with it.

Are you supposed to keep kids prisoner or something?
Noooo…you are supposed to remove there genitalia and convince they are abnormal


@Mott-The-Hoople said
Noooo…you are supposed to remove there genitalia and convince they are abnormal
And you call US sick.