Originally Posted by BIG JIM MERRILEES

There was a UK case a while back where a woman was charged with the death of her young baby through neglect. It transpires that this woman was special needs and did not have the mental capacity to look after a baby. She did not think she was doing any wrong. After this was established in court the medical professionals and Social Services were criticised for allowing this woman to "fall through the net" and not give her the support she needed. Nobody from these services was prosecuted for murder. Perhaps they all should have stood trial.....


Jim, your example here makes my point. The legal system worked. They found the woman was mentally incompetent to judge right from wrong. The court didn't "make" the woman mentally incompetant by judging her as such. Just as the jury in my example didn't "make" the woman guilty of murder, just judged her as such. I agree 100%, perhaps the folks at the social agencies should stand trial. If it's found that they were negligent or, worse, malicious, then they should be punished accordingly. But, do you blame the agencies themselves? How about the socialist system that puts such agencies in place? I certainly wouldn't blame them. So you make my case. It's people, individuals or groups of individuals, who must take responsibility for their own actions. The lady who was proven to the court to be mentally incapable of knowing right from wrong was responsible for her own actions...responsible, but in her case, society did not, and I believe should not, punish her. She is, however, still responsible, is she not? The folks at the social programs may also be responsible, not for directly hurting the child, but for failing to protect a child from someone who was potentially dangerous. But as we move out from the circle of responsibility, there lies a danger in and of itself. Maybe the woman should have been sterilized? Or kept locked up? Or maybe the child should have been taken away from her? Or made a ward of the state? And who should have paid for it? What do you think?

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