For love of a child, Dominick’s Law

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 11, 2010 . 7:21PM

From the time he was born, I have never taken my son for granted. His specialness was not lost on me when I looked into those royal blue eyes that would eventually turn a chestnut brown. He could make the people around him perform like circus animals. The night he was born I lay awake watching him sleep and then, when the nurses took him to the nursery so I could rest, I cried for hours because I feared what the world would throw at this child and how he would respond. What would he face? How would I keep him safe? How would others treat him and how could I protect him?

AJ and I have a special bond. Even at 9, he longs to spend time with me every day. I’ve been sick recently and can’t go up and down the steps. He’s been sleeping in my bed to make sure I don’t need anything in the middle of the night. As I read my book, due to my insomnia, I notice that he will roll towards me and reach his little hand out so he can hold my hand while he sleeps. When he wakes up and notices that I’m there, he smiles a sleepy smile and says in a surprised voice, “I love you, Mama” and rolls back into that deep eyed slumber that involves him giggling in his sleep and talking to whatever person is entertaining him in dream world.

Because my mama bear instinct for this little one is so strong, it gives me an ache I can’t describe when I read about mothers that don’t have that instinct or that can’t follow through in protecting their children. Recently, my friend Natalie wrote about Dominick Calhoun and his tragic death after being beaten to death over the course of a weekend in April. Dominick was beaten and tortured for days for wetting his pants by his mother’s boyfriend, Brandon Hayes. His mother had left the house during the beatings and did nothing. Natalie has the ability to feel some compassion for the mother and I love her for the amazing amount of love she has in her heart. I’m of the opposite side of this response in that a mother had an entire weekend to save her child and she did nothing. Regardless of fear, at some point, instinct to save your child has to take over, doesn’t it?

Dominick’s family, minus his mother, are working hard to enact Dominick’s Law which would increase the penalties for child abusers. The family has a facebook page that addresses the process of passing the bill and what the bill entails.

So, now we mourn the passing of Dominick and, as a mother, I fear more for my child. The idea that someone I could trust could hurt my child sends fear through me. The one thing I know is that I will die before I knowingly let it happen. Tonight, when he stretches out his hand, I’ll hold it just a little bit tighter.

Vigilante justice: Mob beats man who allegedly raped 11-year old girl

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 17, 2009 . 2:10PM

Several weeks ago, I was on twitter and noticed one from my friend, Happy Hour Sue. She’d mentioned a story about a man who’d allegedly raped an 11-year old and had been beaten by an angry mob. The vigilante justice had been given when someone recognized the man in his neighborhood, walking down his street. The crowd was not charged for the beating because of the “high level of emotion” in the community.

The video you just saw was taken before anything was confirmed about Jose Carrasquillo, the suspect in the case. Later, ABC news reported that they found surveillance camera of Jose with the 11-year old rape victim, dragging her down an alley and into a backyard where he raped her severely enough that she had to undergo surgery.

What are your thoughts on vigilante justice? In this case, investigators implied that they might not have found Carrasquillo without the help of the neighbors who chased him down. He may have gone on to hurt others. Did he deserve the beating?

I think that most parents would have done the same thing that the neighbors did. They would have chased down the guy and hurt him, then held him down until the police got there. We’ve become very reliant upon our penal system to deter crime. In this case, we took care of our own.

For the better or for the worse?